Can India make it to the World T20 semi-finals?

In just a few hours, Pakistan & Bangladesh will play the last of a bunch of tedious, one-sided group matches in the World T20. Barring any unforeseen events, Pakistan should win comfortably and move on into the Super Eights which is where all the fun should begin (Unless, there's rain, which is very possible.)

Of course, Pakistan could lose.... which would be awesome. And they could also lose by a margin big enough that they'd be knocked out of the tournament.... which would be just amazing! Bangladesh would have to win by 36 runs to replace Pakistan in the Super Eights on net run rate. And if they somehow pull it off, it'll surely get all the conspiracy theorists going. But, Bangladesh has players that are good enough to cause an upset. Heck, they beat India in the ODI World Cup in 2007 and I still haven't recovered from that loss even though we won the whole damn thing 4 years later! In T20 cricket anything is possible.  

Which brings us to India's chances of getting though their incredibly difficult Super Eights group and reaching the semis. Assuming Pakistan takes care of business tomorrow, as they should, India will play Australia, Pakistan & South Africa, in that order, over a period of 5 days. 2 out of these 4 teams will make one half of the semi-final line-up.The other half of the line-up will come from the other Super Eights group which consists of Sri Lanka, West Indies, England & New Zealand.

India play Australia on Friday morning at 7 am Los Angeles time. I'll be calling in sick to work that day. Call it a bout of Cricket fever.

It'll be interesting to see if the pitches at the R Premadasa stadium, where India will be playing all its matches, will have some serious bounce left in them come Friday. The strip used for India's match v. Afghanistan was pretty lively for the sub-continent, but the one against England was a bit slower. So, the Indian batsman were able to play the short-pitched stuff comfortably. This will be key against the Aussies. They have two really quick bowlers in Starc & Cummins and, though inexperienced, I feel these two pose the biggest threat to India's strong batting line-up. 

I can't believe I'm saying this but Australia may be the easiest opposition India will face in the Super Eights! And, I'd probably say that this will be Australia's easiest game in the Super Eights too! Pakistan & South Africa have the best and most balanced bowling attacks in the tournament and that's what will win you games in this format. 

So, for India & Australia, winning that first game becomes crucial because, for the team that loses, having to beat both Pakistan & South Africa will prove to be as difficult as getting KP to talk about anyone but himself!

India has the more experienced side and Gambhir & Rohit found some form in the match against England. If Sehwag & Zaheer can put in half decent performances, India should win this game. 

That'll bring us to the cricketing Kurukshetra that is any high-profile India-Pakistan match. I don't have to remind any one of India's record against Pakistan in World Cups/World T20s. Pakistan's batting is its weakness and it can crumble under pressure in the high-pressure games. However, If it clicks India is in big trouble because this will be the toughest bowling attack that India will face in this tournament. So, it's going to come down to who will step up and score the runs for Pakistan. 

Finally, India will play the Saffers in the final game of the entire Super Eights stage. I like this because both teams will know what is required for them to qualify for the semis if it comes down to net run-rates etc. These two teams played the final Super Eights game in the first World T20 and India had to win by a certain margin to get through to the semis. South Africa could even afford to lose the game as long as it wasn't a massive defeat and they'd still qualify. They were the home team. They suffered a big loss. They didn't make it to the semis. India.... well they did pretty alright from there. 

Can we get an encore, please?

US Open Dreams

The US Open starts next Monday in Queens, NY. I'll be in NYC starting Wednesday and I have tickets for the night session on Saturday. Yesssssssssss!!

I was talking to my cousin who lives in NY earlier today and we were discussing the possibilities of who might be playing on that Saturday night. On the men's side, we are certain to watch one of the top 5 seeds - Federer, Murray, Nadal, Djokovic or Roddick. On the women's side..... well honestly i don't care about watching any of the top seeds except for Venus. I'd love to watch her play.

For me, the ideal scenario would be - and please bear with me here while I dream for the impossible to happen - Sania Mirza & Somdev Devvarman both playing on that night against a high seed and causing major upsets. That's all. Is that too much to ask for? While I'm at it, should I also ask that the lottery ticket in my wallet be the one that wins the jackpot?

But seriously, the odds of me getting my US Open wish are higher than India winning the 1983 Cricket World Cup and I think the odds against us were 500-1 then. By the way, Devvarman isn't even in the tournament yet! He's just won the 1st round of qualifying and plays his 2nd game tomorrow. He has to win three games in the qualifying rounds to just enter the main draw. I do believe he's capable of doing that much. Once he's in the main event, there's no knowing what'll happen.

Sania, on the other hand, is already in, as she's ranked 71 at the moment. By tomorrow night, we'll know who she'll be playing in the first round as the draws will be coming out. Once that happens, I'll be charting the course for her to be playing a 3rd round match against Dinara Safina on Saturday night with me, Mrs. Sportsfan, my family & my friends screaming ourselves hoarse in the stands. Of course, we'll be saving our voices for the next game when Som Dev Dev Var Man takes Federer out.

Anybody wanna put money on that? ;-)

Indian Sports Fan: Y.E. Yang

Indian Sports Fan: Y.E. Yang

Y.E. Yang

I haven't posted anything since last week and a major event in the world of golf took place on Sunday. I had posted about the progress of Jeev Milkha Singh in the PGA Championship last week. He did make the cut but didn't play great during the weekend. In fact, he was downright awful on Sunday. However, Y.E. Yang of South Korea made history by beating Tiger Woods in the final round.

Mid way through the final round, Padraig Harrington looked like the one who'd challenge Tiger since he had started with pars on the first 7 holes. Then, he posted a scarcely believable 8 on the par 3 8th hole! So, that was that for his title defense. It looked like the tournament was Tiger's for the taking. But he didn't look his usual self all day. It never felt like he was going to crush everyone that stood in his path. But, Yang was the only one left in position to challenge him and everyone just kept waiting for him to crumble under the pressure.

I like Tiger Woods. But he always, always wins. So, normally I'd root for the guy playing against Tiger but, at first, I was reluctant to root for Yang. If he won, he'd become the first Asian player to win a major and I had been dreaming about Jeev Singh or another Indian being in that position. However, by the time he made the brilliant chip-in for eagle on the 14th hole, Yang had won me and the entire crowd over. There was no stopping him from there and his amazing approach shot from the rough on the 18th sealed it. When he made the birdie-putt to win the tournament, the crowd - full of Americans - went wild for the Korean-born Yang. In the same week when American soccer players had encountered some of the most dangerously partisan crowd in Mexico, it was just great to see the fans root for a man who had upset the American hero. I can't think of too many countries where an outsider would get such support from the fans. Granted, it's easier to do so in an individual sport as compared to a team sport. Still, it was a great sight to see.

Everytime an Indian plays in a major tournament, I dream about one of them winning it all. It always seems like it would be impossible for one of our golfers to win against such greats from all over the world. But, Y.E. Yang just did it. When will it be our turn to celebrate? I really can't wait for that day.

Saina & Jeev

Saina went down fighting to Lin Wang today. She had beaten Wang a few weeks ago but couldn't repeat that result today. She's still only 19 though, and I've been reading all the experts from around the world saying that she has it in her to reach the top. That is very encouraging.

Jeev, true to form, put me through a hell of a roller-coaster ride today. Alternating between birdies & bogeys, he finished with a round of 1-over 73 and a total of 3-over for the tournament. That puts him right on the brink of the cut line as it stands right now. Of course. Why would he make things easier for himself and his fans? Where's the fun in that? Just like the Indian cricket team, he always leaves things hanging till the last moment. And why do I even care so much??

Meanwhile, Tiger sits on top of the leaderboard with defending champion Padraig Harrington right behind him. It's going to be a great weekend at Hazeltine. Now, if only Jeev can make the cut and put together a couple of good rounds....

PGA Championship!!!

Jeev Milkha Singh tees off at 10:55 AM (PST) at the Hazeltine National Folf Club in ...... Chaska, Minnesota??? Who would have thought that such a great golf course would be in MN? I mean it gets so ridiculously cold over there in the winter. I didn't know where Hazeltine was until now. I have to say, I'm very surprised. I guess, because I've lived in Mumbai & Los Angeles all my life, I have this tendency to underestimate smaller centers. I'm just a big-city snob. I need to get out to the interiors ( that's an oxymoron, i think.). Although, my buddy Nirav went to Minnesota in the winter for work and absolutely hated the unbearably frigid climate. And everyone he met there and in Idaho said "Oh, you're from LA?!! Take me back with you!" I guess it means they hate it there too. On second thought, I'll shelve my plans to visit the interior. I'm going to NYC next month. That's very much in my comfort zone.

Back to Jeev. I can't wait for his round to start. Last year, he was atop the leaderboard at the end of Round 1!! He finished T-9th. That was a different course, though. But, I think that he'll find Hazeltine to his liking. He does well at the Masters and this course is even longer than Augusta.

I thought that Saina Nehwal would have finished her 3rd round match by now but I see no news of her match online. Hey, if the World Championships are being held in "Cyberabad", shouldn't there be a decent website which covers the tournament well and is updated on a daily basis?

Indian Sports Fan: Saina Nehwal in Round 3

Indian Sports Fan: Saina Nehwal in Round 3