Kevin Pietersen is on a serious mission after making his most shocking admission to date: "I'm not very good at Twenty20 cricket, am I?"

On the eve of the World Twenty20 in England, Pietersen made the searingly honest appraisal of his short form career so far, but has vowed to make amends next month.



Despite being one of the world's finest batsmen in Test and one-day cricket, Pietersen's Twenty20 career lags too far behind for his liking and he is determined to do something about it.

In fact, Twenty20 cricket hasn't been particularly kind to him at all on the field and for a player of Pietersen's talents and mindset, serial failure simply won't do.

He has made just one Twenty20 50 for England, averaging just 26, and even though he became the most expensive player in the Indian Premier League his record there wasn't much better.

Bangalore Royal Challengers paid $1.55million for him to be their inspirational batsman and captain, but he could only muster two wins from the six games he played, and when he returned home to resume England duties the team reached the final without him.

"I made a great captain didn't I" chuckled Pietersen. "We won two out of six when I was there and then Anil Kumble took over and they got to the final.

"People are going to take pot shots at me over the IPL and the money I earned in two weeks, but it was such a great experience. I loved it.

"To captain the side four days after arriving and not knowing what some of the guys did and not knowing most of their names made it a huge task for me. I wasn't as focused on my batting as I was on trying to learn guys names and what they did.

"The more you play T20 cricket the better you become and I haven't played a lot of it, and I'm not very good at it.

"The more I play it though the more I'll catch up with my records in Test and one-day cricket definitely. I just know that I will get much better at it. I've worked out some new theories about how to go about my batting in T20 and that will make a difference, hopefully starting next week!"

Thankfully for England fans it is rare for Pietersen to consistently fail and the World Twenty20 that begins a week today against Holland is the perfect time to put things right.

Usually when Pietersen puts his mind to something he succeeds, in fact he is probably guilty of switching off when the pressure and intensity is not great enough. He is a big match player and he knows this World Twenty20 will be as big as it gets.

It was less than two years ago that Pietersen called Twenty20 a 'silly game with silly shots' but he admits his attitude to the game has since changed.

If he can start firing and the rest of the side can make their home advantage count, not even the missing Andrew Flintoff should dampen England's chances of glory.

He added: "The way T20 has now turned into a huge, huge business and the way that it has grown into having World Cup T20 tournaments, playing for your country means that my opinion of it has changed hugely.

"You have to be serious about it. You're playing for England in a World Cup at home, that is serious. It is no longer a silly game with silly shots, I want to win it full stop.

"The standard of cricket in the first tournament probably wasn't as good, whereas now the seriousness with which the guys are putting their heads to it means that the standard is going to be really high.

"I'm so excited about this tournament, it is going to be huge. It is a massive event, and since we have never won one of these global tournaments, it is about time we did and that is why it is such a big thing for me.

"It is a shame that Fred is not available, but we can definitely win the T20 World Cup if we play good positive cricket consistently."

PIETERSEN RECORD

Tests: 52 RUNS: 4494 AVE: 50.49 100s: 16 50s: 14

Odi: 92 RUNS: 3127 AVE: 46.67 100s: 7 50s: 20

T20: 15 RUNS: 379 AVE: 26.78 100s: 0 50s: 1

Results are Unpredictable: Sometimes bottoms up
I think 20-20 is such a game that we can't predict the result.It can be the team's day when that day is any player's day of the team.I do agree that sticking to the basics would do better and the reason why the Deccan chargers have made it is the same reason.RP and Rohit came in touch with bowl and bat respectively and later also made it with bowl at some instances and Symmo will always contribute in team's performance.But the jackpot for the DC is the Gilly's form.It has been a consistent performance from Adam, and has impressed a lot with gloves.In fact all of the team members has contributed a lot when required.

Muti dimensional players are a farce
One of the reasons why DC lost last years was that they selected too many multi dimensional players, Afridi, Symonds,Styris, Rao. These days there is hardly a true all rounder in the world who can take care of both batting and bowling consistently, Afridi everybody knows he can’t bat anymore, Symonds failed with the ball bigtime,Styris I don’t know why he was hired in the first place, Rao batted well but his bowling was not that good.Bits and pieces players failed to execute their roles and in the absence of quality bowlers they failed to defend even decent totals.Laxmans personal form also didn’t help much.But I have always maintained that the Chargers always had 4 foreigners,RP Singh, Rohit Sharma and Laxman as the players in the side. Rest were making up the numbers.

Wham Bham licence does not work always
I think DC management must have now realized the difference between a slogger and a quality batsman,the definition of a T20 specialist batsman has been changed.Anybody can bat like Afridi, give them a Wham Bham licence and a little net practice even your tail enders will loft the ball for a few boundaries. The risk associated with such batting is always high and only those players who have wide range of shots will be more successful as it has been proved by Gambhir, Marsh, Sehwag, and Sharma.I think DC will trade a few of their players this year.
This season of IPL 2 was very exciting. Deccan chargers, who was at the last place in the year 2008, has finally proved its vigor by clinching the title of this season. Certainly, the captaincy of Gilchrist proved to be a boon for DC. No doubt, the Banglore Royal Challengers have given a good fight to DC, but at the end of the day "jo jeeta wahi sikander."


Soccerisation of cricket in process
What I dd not like was the owners Rami Reddy , Dr Mallya, SRK and Preity Zinta sharing the dugout with players . It puts them in even more pressure than there actually is, it doesn't make one bit of a difference in the matter of inspiring them to even bigger heights.They are way better off minding their own business and sit tight and let the players do their job. This is in a way soccerization of cricket what Roman Abramovich trying to do to Chelsea's .

Captaincy matters
Talk about change of guard like DC and KKR and BRC , all have changed their captains in due course . One of the reasons why DC won was the fact that the change of captaincy was done with least fuss unlike the multi episode dramatic transition in Knightriders and the marginally less so change of guard in the Royal Challengers. Both Shahrukh Khan and Vijay Mallya should take lessons from DC . Shahrukh in particular should understand that showmanship may win superstar status but does not win cricket matches. Neither do abrasive blogs and potshots at living legends.

KISS (Keep It simple stupid )

RR were amongst the highest runs as well as lowest totals but what DC did was to stick to the winning formula was of sheer simplicity and back-to-basics attitude. The good old cricketing wisdom of runs, catches and wickets winning matches holds good for any form of cricket let alone bonsai cricket. Laptop analyses do not take you to beyond the KKR heights is now proved.

League maturing up
4 of the 8 captains in the league were foreigners and the conversion to win the cup for the foreign captains has been 100% . Also on the tactics front the DD captains faltered midway goes on to say that the players and captains alike are still learning their basics on the job . some imported talent has worked for some franchisees but wont continue for long . Eventually the next generation has to take on the rains and relieve the icons from the game . Bonsai will remain bonsai till the next line to guard does not mature up and demystify the fact that this form is for the retired players . The likes of Pathan , Jadeja , Rohit and also Kohli need to come forward and prove the fact that IPL is a league and not a retirees den to make gold in 30 days for 3 years .


What say folks ??

Think about it .. there has been so much in so little a time that the mind at times takes a sigh . Multi captain theory ,Dada – no dada , Fake IPL player , security concerns moving making IPL Internatinal Premier League,Strategic breaks , Million dollar english sand babies flopping . first ball goldern ducks , beer sipping fielders and McGrath sitting out . Fixing scandals and Miandad’s “joke” All this and more makes me think if it is a “league”

The Indian Premier League 2009 was in troubled waters even before its start, when the Government of India had refused to provide security to the extravagant tournament due to its clash of dates with the General Elections.

There was anger all over with rumours about the second edition being scrapped due to security issues. But before something unfortunate happened, Cricket South Africa came to the rescue of the tournament and its fans. Political parties making hay terming it as a “national shame ”. However the first edition was a winner hands down! It had the perfect start with a mammoth 158 flowing out of Brendon McCullum’s bat in the very first match. And there was a dream ending too – a mighty close encounter between eventual champions Rajasthan Royals and MS Dhoni led Chennai Super Kings. No one, in their wildest dreams would have thought that the de-glam squad of Rajasthan would lay their hands on the gorgeous trophy.

Things haven’t changed much even now in the sense that there still prevails uncertainty in the extravagantly lucrative tournament. The 2009 edition has been full of surprises so far and there have been incidents that have left a bitter taste in the mouth of fans forcing them to draw comparisons with IPL 2008. Let us have a look at a few mis-hits of the second edition.

Kolkata Flight Riders


No one expected Kolkata Knight Riders to take the exit route even before half the number of games in the competition was played. No ‘build up’ to the series, no PR activities, no advertisements and no star power worked. No one Korbo-ed anything, so the lorbo and jeetbo part remained out of the question, completely. And yes, the over hyped ‘Multiple Captains Theory’ did not work, or better, was a blunder.

Depriving Ganguly of captaincy, calling in Sanjay Bangar and keeping the expensive Mashrafe bin Mortaza to warm the benches in the cool Kingsmead were only a couple of the innumerable mistakes that the SRK owned team committed. Keeping one of the most successful captains of international cricket away from the helm of all action is something that no management in proper mental sanity would do. Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan had once said on national television that Sourav Ganguly would remain the captain till the time he owns KKR. Talk about a change of heart…Bollywood style!!


Strategic Time-Out


This one is a complete torture, honestly. Seven and a half minutes of stoppage time after 10 overs in every innings takes away the seriousness and the set mood of the viewers. Such a long break in a micro format is absolutely not required. It is not good for the spectators and not even for the players. It has already received flak from all corners of the cricketing fraternity and the irritation is spreading big time amongst its audience.

The strategy break might work in favour of either team in the match. The break gives both the teams to analyze their progress in the match and change their approach if required. The gap breaks the concentration of the batsman and as we have seen, in almost every match, there has been a wicket or two falling in the 11th over of the game. The strategic time out might work for the team that has been on the backfoot as they get the time to resurrect their plans while it might put brakes on the team going all guns blazing.

The main objective, however, is to generate revenue. Seven and a half minutes of break gives the IPL generate ample revenue from its advertisers, twice in a match. Lalit Modi, the chairman and commissioner of the IPL, has said that it will definitely be a part of the ongoing season. As of next year, it will be decided after the tournament.

Competitive Pitches, Dropped Catches


First ball ducks and wickets in the 11th over (thanks to the strategic break) have become a common sight in the latest edition of the IPL. There are bets being laid on first ball ducks and inning scores of less than 150. Being a T20 game, the spectators expect a cracker of a match with runs flowing out of the blade like water from a broken dam. They do not want to see wickets at regular intervals and scores of 120-140 being chased for victory.

The 20 over format has, more often than not, been a high scoring format and that is what is expected out of it. We want to see the bowlers being thrashed and bashed out of the park. Ironically, this IPL has seen only one score of over 200 in all.

Catches are dropped more than they are taken. Run-out opportunities missed in a fashion that can be related to gully cricket, or even worse. Till the 33rd match of the IPL (Rajasthan v Bangalore), 55 catches had been dropped, with Kolkata (ahem, ahem) leading the table.

Flop Shows
Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Brendon McCullum, Chris Gayle, Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff…whew…! Big names, small show. The above are only a few to name. The English duo of KP and Freddie were the most expensive catches at 7.5 crores each, but neither could do much for their respective teams, and now, have returned with their hefty pay packets to their homeland to play West Indies.

Delhi Daredevils captain Sehwag and his deputy, Gambhir, are known to be tailor-made for the 20 over format. Fearless hitting is their characteristic, bludgeoning the opposition, their charisma. But both have failed to give their team a rock solid quick start. Thanks to the middle order suspension, they have sustained the top order shocks and scares comfortably. Gambhir, however, looked like getting back to his best when he won the Man of the Match award for his 71 off 57 balls versus KKR (31st match).

Brendon McCullum’s stint in IPL can only be remembered by his 158 n.o in the very first match of the IPL in 2008 - a perfect start that a tournament like the Indian Premier League could get. Nothing could have been better. Chris Gayle set the stage ablaze with a scintillating century in the first match of the T20 World Cup in 2007, but it seems like someone has poured a bucket of water on his fiery blade in the IPL.

With the bigwigs (in context to both names and age) like Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Matt Hayden, Dravid, Adam Gilchrist and Gibbs performing well, it would be great if the rulers of the format come to the fore and take the series to a different altitude altogether.

DLF Maximum or CITI Moment of Success?

Is it all about money honey? Yes it is. IPL is all about money, money and more money. Millions of dollars to buy players, hefty advertising costs, security budget etc. It’s raining cash in IPL.

The latest addition is the renaming of a SIX. It is now known as the ‘DLF Maximum’. A crucial wicket is called a ‘Citi Moment of Success’. Gone are the days when commentators spoke just for the love of the game. Sadly, it is just about the commercial proliferation and we get capitalist fabricated emotions to hear when an exciting moment comes in a game. Needless to say, it takes away the beauty of the effort and leaves us with an incomplete feeling. But as they say, ‘In Rome, do as the Romans do’, we must also take a cue and leave the poor commentators do their ‘job’ of making their sponsors happy and keep the money flowing.

Australian Rajasthani for Beer

Hopefully, you readers know what is being talked about here. Yes, it is the ‘sip of beer’ on the boundary lines by none other than the very cool and mischievous, the Australian Rajasthani, Shane Warne in the match against the Royal challengers Bangalore.

The spin legend was captured on camera gulping a mouthful of beer from a mug that was supposedly offered to him by a spectator. Now if that is something to be angry over, be amused or just enjoy the video, is up to the viewers to decide.

Cricket is often a great metaphor for life. And we like this newest format of the game, T20, because it can teach us a lot about how to manage our investments. Here are 10 things we have learned from the IPL about investing.
Start early: T20 does not reward late starters - teams must start putting runs early in their innings. Otherwise, it can get to late and the batsmen are always playing catch up. Similarly, we must also start investing and saving early. This allows us to benefit from compounding of capital, as well as allows us to "keep the scoreboard ticking" in order to move closer to our goals. Additionally, we have seen how batting sides take advantage of fielding restrictions early in the innings. Similarly, early in our innings during our youth we must also take advantage of the freedom to do things that we might not be able to later in life. One of these freedoms is to start building our financial resources when we have very few other financial obligations
Risk and Reward tradeoff: T20 is all about taking high risks and ensuring that the team gets rewarded for it - whether its aggressive opening batsmen, or field placing or taking risks in trying out new bowlers. Similarly, finance is all about risk and reward. One must understand that one cannot get very high returns without taking on risk, just like a batsman faces the risk of being caught at the boundary if he is trying to hit a six. We should not be surprised if we get out trying to reach for extraordinarily high returns on our investments because these are of the most risky kind. Also, just like not every ball can be hit for a boundary, not every investment will turn out to be a goldmine. Sometimes singles are equally important
Be ready for the unexpected: In case of rain or weather related delays, the Duckworth-Lewis method gets used and can lead to unexpected outcomes that might be highly unfavourable to one of the teams. The only way out is to have already got enough runs on the scoresheet. Similarly, our investments must also always be ready to deal with unexpected situations that life might throw at us. We must have enough of a margin of safety to be able to protect ourselves against the proverbial rainy days
Strategic break: Teams take a strategic break to review their progress and plan for the remaining overs. Similarly, as individuals we too must do the same. Unless we regularly review how well our finances our doing and how we must tackle the challenges that the future will throw our way, we might not end up meeting our targets
Balance: Just like a T20 teams needs the right balance of big hitters, anchors and effective bowlers, our investment portfolio also needs the right balance of investments. Too much of growth or aggressive funds, without adequate support or backup, might end up with too much imbalance that can hurt us. We must recognize that our investments should be diversified across sectors and different assets, and not be concentrated in any one area
One bad over: One bad over can change the direction of a game and can often make it difficult to recover if a team does not have enough runs on the board (if you are batting) or enough wickets already (if you are bowling). Sometimes in life one also goes through a "bad over" which could take the form of a job loss, or serious injury or illness. If we do not have an adequate safety net then our personal financial situation can be beyond repair
Consistency gets rewarded: The Purple cap or Orange cap are given to the best performing bowler or batsman respectively. To win these awards, a player needs to consistently be a good performer. We too must strive to get this Purple or Orange cap when it comes to our personal finances. What matters most is that we have consistent performance over a long period of time. There is no point in investing in a fund that is really hot in one year, but a poor performer at all other times
Coaching helps: Whether its a team coach or a specialist bowling or fielding coach, T20 has shown us that some guidance and direction, especially an objective view from the outside, can help in improving a team's performance and meetings a team's goals. Similarly, our investments can also benefit from some guidance and expertise, especially to get a check on whether we are doing the right things and not making careless mistakes that might hurt us later on in life
Distractions can be entertaining but ultimately the score matters: T20 is highly entertaining not only on the pitch but also because of all the music and dancing. But, ultimately a team wins or loses on the back of the score that it has made. Similarly, in investing distractions like the hottest investments or the flavours of the month will come and go, but what matters the most is that our "investment scorecard" shows a healthy average. We must focus on what matters and ignore the distractions
Winning attitude: The IPL has shown that even young players with lesser talent or resources than the great cricketers can do well if they bring the right attitude to the pitch. Similarly, investing is not just about being rich or already having lots of money. We can start with few resources and little experience but over time make a fortune for ourselves through a positive attitude and willingness to learn from our mistakes. We should not get disheartened if one of our investments has lost money. Just like a young cricketer who believes in himself, we should believe in what we have invested in and stick it out. If we have put in the right kind of preparation, we will also come out the winner over the long run

As they say in cricket, or in any other game, you need more players with character than with just talent. Talent may ‘deceive’ you in tricky situations, but players with character will raise the bar in difficult times and win you more matches under pressure.

Before the inaugural edition of IPL, no one knew Yusuf Pathan or Ravindra Jadeja. They were, at that time, raw materials which needed complete support from seniors, so that they could believe in their abilities and play their natural game.

Here are some of the lesser known stars who have shone in the limelight making me believe that league churn out the best talent available in a vast country like India .
Left-arm spinner Shadab Jakati was the unlikely hero for Chennai Super Kings in their crucial Indian Premier League game against Delhi Daredevils at the Wanderers Stadium on Saturday. He claimed four wickets to help Super Kings register an 18-run win.


The 28-year-old Goa player struck two vital blows to tilt the match in his team's favour as Daredevils' David Warner and Dinesh Karthik threatened to take the game away from Super Kings. Jakati broke the rollicking 74-run partnership by having Warner stumped for 51 on the fifth ball of the 15th over. Thereafter, he removed the hard-hitting Karthik to reduce Daredevils to 132 for six.

Jakati took four wickets for 24 runs, which also included wickets of T Dilshan and Pradeep Sangwan to walk away with the Man of the Match award.

Abhishek Nayar is a Mumbai Indian player , a left-handed batsman known for his long-standing and hard-hitting capabilities, and he is also a medium-paced bowler. Abhishek Nayar has a unique batting style and his ability to bat at any position of the batting has helped his team enormously. The anonymous, inexpensive Abhishek Nayar can smite Andrew Flintoff, the most expensive IPL player, for three sixers in one over.


That character was shown by another young man from lowly Madhya Pradesh, Naman Ojha. Though he has scored aplenty in the domestic circuit, IPL has proved to be a completely new arena for him.
He failed in his debut match against Delhi Daredevils, scoring a golden duck. Any other captain might have dropped the rookie after that match. But Warne saw in him a champion match-winner, and the seeds of his wisdom germinated in the very next match, when coming as an opener Ojha surprised one and all by smashing 68 against Kings XI Punjab and forging a 135-run opening stand with Graeme Smith. He provided an encore with another fifty in the next match to steer his team to victory over Bangalore Royal Challengers.

The name list could be endless . some are taking their chances while some are not that lucky this time but all I can say that they are all headed in the right direction . However strong might be the halo of the foreign players but their representation cannot be effective without the support of local talent . had it not been for Raina , CSK would not be topping the charts just due to Hayden . AB De Villiers continues to impress .. some day it is the local SA knowledge of conditions but that wouldn't have been possible without the bowlers Mishra and some local talent support . Hail IPL .. churn out hard and good .

Check it out!

Some might be wondering what does teh areticle on advertising to do with Cricket. Well dear friends , it has a remote connection .I love the simplicity and creative appeal these ads have. Its a great idea to use humans as animated characters.
There are a series of commercial ads rangind from 25 to 35 seconds which I would archive shortly for you to injoy .

ZooZoos are the most entertaining and intelligent things on TV. Or so we thought until we learnt they’re not things at all but thin, young people transformed into TV commercials for Vodafone. Well, they could and have fooled us. Anyone who thinks those flat, white, elastic creatures without a bone or curve in their bodies are human, hasn’t seen the male or female form, lately.

Not that it matters. We love ‘em. So much so, we wish they would replace IPL (where the ads appear most often) as the main attraction. Zoozoos are inventive, unexpected; most IPL matches are predictable. We don’t know what zoozoos will do next; we’ve seen what’s happening most often in IPL. The team batting first has struggled but manfully put up a woefully low score so we switch channels only to be lured back by the sight of half of the team batting second being out halfway through and the last over deciding the match when, as commentators say, “We have a match on our hands”.
Vodafone international roaming ad uses words which are basically Kerala dishes - 1. Parota (Similar to Chapatis made from Maida) 2. Puttu Kadala (Rice cakes with chana) 3. Kappa meen (Fish and tapioca)

So we are just one day away from the first test between England, and the team from Caribbean at Lords. To start with it will be interesting to see how the windies will adapt to the conditions in England and I have to say that till now they have not come out with good performances in the warm up games.


Windies have been further hampered by Gayle joining the team late as he wanted to play one more IPL game! well being the captain of your national team it does not look good.

As far as selection issues are concerned they are probably still debating on who will be the third seamer and in the race are Richardson, Baker, and Sammy and for the all rounder slot Bernard will likely fit in.

For England as we know that it will be the first game for Flower as a permanent coach and he would like to start on a good note. As far as the team is concerned it looks straightforward what with Panesar likely to miss out and Bresnan as well as Onions getting their first chance in tests. I am actually impressed by Onions as he can generate good pace from a short run up and gets late swing also he is reasonably accurate.

I do think that England are the favourites as the Windies team do not look well prepared. For England I expect Anderson to be the key as if there any swing he will trouble the top order. Strauss is in good form and of course KP is also there. It would be interesting to see how Bopara will play at 3 which has become the problem area for England.

For them their openers namely Gayle, and Simmons have to fire but Simmons's habit of closing his face off the bat and Gayle being struck in the crease early on may mean that if there is some movement bowlers like Anderson can trouble them but if they do get a good start then the strong middle order can come into play, of course both Edwards, and Taylor have to fire with the ball too.

Rajasthan Royals threw its weight behind pacer Kamran Khan, who has been reported for a suspect bowling action, and said it would do everything to help the left-arm bowler come out of the crisis.


Rajasthan Royals captain-cum-coach Shane Warne said he was impressed with the pacer and hoped the crisis would soon be over.

"Kamran has made a big impact in this IPL. He is a young man with a great work ethic and a huge appetite to learn. With these attributes in mind, we are confident that this issue will be resolved very quickly," Warne said.

"However, our first priority is a swift recovery from his knee injury from the last game. We currently await a full medical report after his MRI scan today," he said.

Chairman and co-owner Manoj Badale echoed his view and said, "The Royals have always been about finding young talent and supporting them all the way with holistic development and the best specialists in every field.

"Kamran is a great example of that and within our coaching setup, we will ensure that we support him to the next phase of his development," he said.

1. Seen on a banner ..
For fishing tips contact Andrew Symonds..
For slapping tips contact Harbhajan Singh..

2. "Commit your sins when Sachin is batting. You won't be punished because even God will be watching him bat."

3. This strategy break in IPL 2 reminds me of 'taste maker' in Maggi... both don't serve their intended purpose.

On the 5th day of the 3rd Test match India needed only 6 wickets to win this test match but the rain destroy the half day of the match and the end result- match drawn. Harbhajan took 4 wickets.Sachin Tendulkar ball well he took 2 wickets .Total: 281 / 8 in 94.3 overs (Run Rate: 2.97) india need only 2 wickets to win the test match but rain ..Gautam Gambhir, the Man of the Match .Rahul Dravid receives a special award for taking the most number of catches in Test cricket ever. He overtook Mark Waugh in this game. On being asked about how it feels, he says that he has played with greats like Srinath, Kumble, Bhajji and to have helped his team-mates with catches has been a real pleasure. This Test series win on New Zealand soil has come after 40 years. Quite a nice milestone indeed. We will come with lots of things IPL and ICC Twenty – Twenty World cup.