Category: Sport

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Sport

Match Prediction: 1992 Winners Pakistan Vs 1975, 1979 Winners West Indies

NOTTINGHAM (England): Pakistan, which has lost their last 11 ODIs on the trot run into a buoyant West Indies team that amassed 421 in their last match, a warm-up, against a formidable New Zealand side in the two sides’ first match of the ICC World Cup 2019 at the Trent Bridge in Nottingham on May 31.

But the West Indies captain Jason Holder isn’t giving much to the run-up of the past World Cup winners ahead of his side’s opening clash of the 2019 Men’s Cricket World Cup. “We just want to be as professional as we possibly can and not take anything for granted,” he told the official news site of CWC19.

“We just assess who we’re playing against, formulate our plans and look to execute them. You try to pinpoint particular areas that you can attack.”

“Us as a bowling group, we just want to be as disciplined as we possibly can. In the past, we’ve been a bit inconsistent and just generally when you’re just sitting back and analysing the game, we just want to be ticking our box in terms of being consistent and being ruthless,” he added.

In his opposite camp, some good news finally came in the form of pace spearhead Mohammad Amir being declared fit and available for selection for the match.

Amir, who missed the 2011 and 2015 World Cups due to a five-year ban for spot-fixing, was seen bowling using his full run-up in the team’s practice session.

There was speculation that the 27-year-old, who missed the last four matches of the one-day international series against England earlier this month, might not be able to make his World Cup debut at Trent Bridge.

His fitness, along with the arrival of veteran Wahab Riaz — who was the most impressive bowler in Pakistan’s losing effort against Afghanistan in their only played warm-up match — suddenly makes Pakistan bowling regain the old age. For, giving the two company would be the bowler of the tournament of the last Champions Trophy Hasan Ali and leggie Shadab Khan. Left-arm slow Imad Wasim, an all-rounder, too is in a good nick.

Does that make Pakistan’s bowling attack better than that of the Windies? It surely does. It easily does.

Unfortunately for Pakistan, that still might not be enough against a team that has packed on so many and so huge power hitters that even mis-hits by them are going to land deep into the stands. That huge power hitter could be Chris Gayle. Or Carlos Braithwaite. Or, what’s his name, yes, Andre Russell. And we’re not even allowing Lewis, Hope, Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer (explosive talent), Pooran and Holder in that list.

Yes, the Windies can spectacularly implode — just as they can fall to spectacular deliveries, like a reverse-swinging yorker by Wahab — but, going by the recent history between the two teams, it seems unlikely today.

Pakistan’s batting, on the other hand, barring opener Fakhar Zaman, is a steady and almost a steady, almost a solid ‘test match qualified’ unit. Imam ul Haq, Babar Azam (one of the world’s best batsman currently), Harris Sohail, veteran Mohammed Hafeez and captain Sarfaraz Ahmed make a lineup that scored over 300 in all the matches that Pakistan played against England in their recent bilateral series.

But can that ‘solid’ batting line up bat out an opposition? Nothing so far has suggested that they can.

And for that as one of the principal reasons, we predict that West Indies would comfortably defeat Pakistan in the two teams’ first match of the ICC World Cup in Nottingham on May 31.

Irrespective, Windies and Pakistan are both exciting teams and we hope today’s match is a more balanced one than the England vs South Africa opener.

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Sport

The Top Three Takeaways from the Chelsea-Manchester United Draw

The latest edition of the Chelsea-Manchester United clash was the proverbial tale of two halves: The Blues absolutely mastered the surprisingly docile visiting Red Devils that had displayed enormous attacking intent with the team selection. The domination, though, was not reflected by a mere one-goal lead via a crisp Antonio Rüdiger header.

Then came the hour mark of the match and everything changed. Manchester United players changed gears and scored two goals via Anthony Martial, while Chelsea discarded ‘Sarri-ball’ and embraced the long-ball like there was no ground in the middle. It was through sheer madness of injury-time melee that Chelsea managed to find an equalizer via Ross Barkley in the 96th minute.

What that, in essence, means that both the teams played only one half, and therefore, did not deserve to win the whole match.

In the end, it would’ve felt like a loss to Jose Mourinho. But overall, Maurizio Sarri would be the more disappointed one for handing over the top spot to City and Liverpool.

As a match, there were three major takeaways from the match:

Hazard is NOT a 38-Games-a-Season Player:

Prior to the clash of the two titans at Stamford Bridge, Eden Hazard was consistently being placed alongside Ronaldo and Messi. Talking to the media prior to the match, even Mourinho said that Chelsea would win the Premier League if Hazard keeps firing.

However, the ‘if’ that Mourinho hinted at is what has been the bane of Chelsea supporters, and indeed football aficionados.

Arsenal legend Paul Merson recently pinpointed the issue when he said that “the problem with Chelsea ace Eden Hazard is he can go missing for six months at a time”.

Was today the first day of those six months? Almost certainly not ㅡ but he did go missing for a big chunk of the match time. He also lost the ball a few times and was not accurate with his ‘cute’ flicks and other trickery.

To give credit where due, Hazard himself accepted that aspect of the game last season after ‘going missing’ against Barcelona in both the legs of the Champions League match.

Contrast that with what Messi produced at Wembley a few weeks ago against Tottenham Hotspurs in their Champions League match.

Title Contenders Chelsea Need New Contenders Both at the Front and the Back:

There is more or less a consensus developing across the Premier League is that Alvaro Morata is coming to the end of his Chelsea career, a new striker is arriving in January. He has scored two goals in the Premier League so far at an average of over 300 minutes per goal!

Unfortunately, his substitute Olivier Giroud hasn’t scored even a single goal. In fact, he played and won the FIFA World Cup without scoring a single goal!

Clearly, Sarri needs a forward that can put the ball in the opposition goal ㅡas early as during the January window.

Adding to the woes is the volatility at the back. Marcos Alonso and David Luiz are both great talents, but not necessarily great in defence.

Luiz pulled out of position which led to Manchester United’s second goal. Alonso, while continuing to lie on the ground, though one can barely fault a player for lying prostrate on the ground after a collision, gave an easy target for Martial to fire in the second goal.

In any case, the two represent a case of turning a winger and a mid-fielder into defenders.

At the moment Sarri looks adamantly in support of the two ㅡ despite having the likes of Andreas Christensen and Gary Cahill in the ranks. But, he might need a Bonucci or a Rugani to become a really reliable title contender.

It Promises to Come Good for Manchester United, Eventually

Twice in two matches now, Mourinho’s boys have come back from behind to lead. But for a mad scramble at the end, twice they would have won.

How did it happen, amid all the negativity surrounding the team, and especially the manager?

It happened because Mourinho is a great coach. He no longer needs to prove that. Unfortunately, his personality gets in the way of a fair assessment of his managerial acumen. This writer believes that he is very different from, but just as good as Pep Guardiola. And he proves this in the way he manages most of the ‘big matches’. He may not win them, he may not even be attractive, but he manages to extract what needs to be for the team.

Today, he again managed to completely blunt the Hazard factor. A year ago, it was Ander Herrera who was assigned the job. Today, it was Ashley Young. With a misfiring striker and a shackled talisman, Chelsea could’ve gone only as far. And but for the error by Paul Pogba (missing his marker) that led to the first goal, and the late chaos in the 16-yard-box, he would’ve pulled off a perfect execution.

Add to that the fact that man-to-man, Manchester United is one of the best teams in the Premier Leagueㅡ something acceded by Sarri before the match. It is perhaps an issue of emotions and/or egos, that is stopping the team from gelling. Once that is sorted out, and it would be, eventually, it promises to come good for Utd.

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Huffington Post (UK) Journalism Sport

England At The Ashes Look Like Deer Caught In Headlights

What was billed as a close Ashes series prior to the first Test at the Gabba in Brisbane has now been reduced to a one-horse race

After a day that saw Australia lose just one wicket and a relative Test rookie Mitch Marsh pile on an unbeaten 180, apart from the small matter of an unbeaten double century by Oz captain and the man of the moment Steven Smith, England assistant coach Paul Farbrace said, “We don’t have that extra pace and we haven’t got the highest quality of magical spin. We’ve got what we’ve got and we’ve had to work exceptionally hard”. An exaggerated version of the statement could well be, “We’ve got what we’ve got, we just have to learn to bat, bowl and field”.

Exaggerations are like that – outlandish. But they tend to convey the core import of a conversation.

England is not competing in the current Ashes, because England is “not playing”. The performances of its key stars, namely Alastair Cook, Joe Root, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, and Moeen Ali, can best be described by the reflexes of a deer caught in headlights. Make no mistake, that is not only half the English team, but the only half that is experienced enough to be leading a fight in a tough battle like an away Ashes series.

Alastair Cook, who played his 150th Test in Perth, has made a total of 83 runs in the six inningsat an average of 13.8 in the three matches so far. Captain Joe Root fared slightly better, scoring 175 at an average of 29. Amid a largely untested upper and middle half of the batting line up, these two fine batsmen were expected to lead the way for England. Lead they have not, scoring a grand total of 258 runs between them in the first three Tests.
Contrast the collective effort of the top English duo with Steven Smith alone’s 239 in the first innings of the third test, and you get the picture.

The bodies are toiling, the sweat is flowing, the shirts are getting dirty, but the brain just does not seem to be guiding them well.

At the other end, with Anderson, Broad, Voakes and Overton being different expressions of the same variety, the success of the English bowling depended a lot on the variety provided by their ‘number one spin bowler’, Moeen Ali. Alas, he fared just as bad as the batsmen mentioned earlier. In the six innings of the first three matches, Ali took a measly three wickets for 317 runs, at over 100 runs per wicket. In contrast, Australia’s number one spinner Nathan Lyon, till writing this piece, has taken 14 wickets for 347 runs at 24.7 runs apiece.

Clearly, the English team has not spoken with either the bat or the ball. Since ability cannot suddenly disappear overnight, it clearly seems to be a case of the heart not giving company to the body on the pitch.

Is it because of the controversy surrounding Ben Stoke’s exclusion from the Ashes party due to an altercation outside a Bristol nightclub in September, a little before the Ashes tour?

Did the incident during the early stages of the tour that involved England wicket-keeper Jonny Bairstow greeting Australian opener Cameron Bancroft in a bar in Perth with what eventually was termed as “non-malicious meeting of heads” add to the psychological chaos? After all, it was considered weighty enough to lead to a midnight curfew being imposed on the squad.

And then, there was the bizarre one of England batsman Ben Duckett being suspended pending an internal investigation by the ECB after he was involved in an incident at the same bar, in which he is believed to have poured beer over the head of James Anderson.

There’s a lot going on in a captain’s mind already. He certainly can do without such ungainly distractions. Bairstow indeed accepted prior to the third test that the off-field incidents have let Root down.

This is not to pin all the blame for the performance on the field to those incidents. It is just to say that the English brains do not seem clutter-free enough to be facing the Oz challenge. The bodies are toiling, the sweat is flowing, the shirts are getting dirty, but the brain just does not seem to be guiding them well. They know who and where they are, they see the Aussies coming hard at them, but they are not able to react to it.

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Huffington Post (UK) Journalism Sport

Chelsea Need to Focus On January Transfers And Barcelona

Languishing 14 points behind leaders City, Chelsea would do well to shift focus to the Champions League, after due reinforcements in the January transfer window

Before their stumble in the away London derby game against West Ham, Chelsea had won six and drawn one of their previous seven matches, including the Alvaro Morata header-inspired 1-0 home victory over Manchester United.

And yet, the chances of retaining the League looked all but improbable even before the defeat to The Hammers because of Manchester City’s imperious form and its formidable fourteen-point lead over third-placed Chelsea. As things (read current form and points tally) stand, Chelsea – or any other team for that matter — can win the League only if City themselves decide to squander the advantage.
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte seemed to have thrown in the towel for the title race after the defeat at the London Stadium:

“When you lose four games my experience, my previous experience tells me that it’s impossible to fight for the title. In 16 games to lose four games it means the target must be another.”

But Chelsea supporters need not drop their shoulders. They should see this as an opportunity. With the League defence prospects all but evaporated, Antonio Conte can opt to give his all to the biggest one of them all – the Champions League.

Of course, a 1-1 home draw with Athletico Madrid at home in the last group stage match meant that Chelsea’s horror show in Rome has came back to haunt them, as they finished second in the group – and got paired with Barcelona in the 16 draw.

The first leg will take place at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday February 20 and Chelsea will travel to the Nou Camp on Wednesday March 14.

Not the best way to start the knock-out stage, right?

Yes; and no. Chelsea are one of the bogey teams for Barcelona, if you subscribe to the term. The 2011 Champions League Champions from London, who had broken Barcelona hearts with a come-from-behind win in the second leg of that year’s semi final at the Camp Nou, are unbeaten in the their last seven matches with the Catalan giants. How many teams boast of statistics like that!

The two sides have met 15 times previously, with the bragging rights being split almost unnaturally evenly – five wins apiece for the two sides and five draws. Beat that in terms of offering an even contest.

Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde has already expressed his respect for the opposition and singled out the threat that Alvaro Morata poses to his side in the last-16 tie:

“It’s a tough draw for us because of the magnitude of the opposition. With the signing of Morata they’ve added pace in attack, while (Eden) Hazard is very good between the lines.”

What makes things very interesting in the meeting of the two former champions is the record of Lionel Messi. Royal blue goalpost is certainly his most favourite target. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner is yet to score against the reigning Premier League champions in his eight attempts thus far! And what do they say about all Messi teams – stop Leo and you win more than half the battle against Barca. Or some percentage of that.

Of course, it is never that straight-forward. But the point is, unlike what the ‘armchair (read “social media”) experts’ might tell you, this is a tie that can go either way.

Antonio Conte alluded to something similar in a press conference when he exhorted his players, especially the mercurial Eden Hazard, to go for it across the two legs against Barcelona:

“The tie will see Eden Hazard come up against Lionel Messi and Conte has issued a war cry to his most influential player and his team-mates. ’This type of game is a good chance for every player to show the right value, not only for Hazard, but for every player in the right way.”

Even prior to the clarion call by the boss, the Blues dressing room was prepared for the pairing – and is said to be not too daunted by the task ahead.

But if the assured calm needs to kick the talk on the pitch, there will have to be a couple of additions to the squad during the January transfer window. Conte has gone hoarse crying for reinforcements since the beginning of the season. With the Premier League defence probably gone, the Chelsea hierarchy might finally heed to the request.

But the simple action now could prove to be a tricky one – what with most A-listers would’ve already played the group stages of the Champions League, making them ineligible to play for Chelsea in this season. So, while a Sandro from Juventus is a must for the long term, short and mightily important objectives demand Chelsea augment their defence (David Luiz suspect and Antonio Rudiger and Gary Cahill both not the most reliable currently) and midfield (since Tiémoué Bakayoko clearly needs more time) with immense talents from sides that have not featured in this year’s Champions League.

Consider this – four very good matches out of the remaining seven, and Chelsea could actually be a champion. I know you are thinking, “if wishes were horses”. But the emphasis is not here on the number of matches. It is about how straight-forward, though not easy by any stretch of imagination, it is to plan – as against planning for 22 more matches in the Premier League.

By the time you read this, Chelsea would have already played Huddersfield Town at the John Smith’s Stadium. Another loss for Chelsea can really put everything at stake, but a win might offer precious little to change the eventual fate. And that is indeed the point of this piece.

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Huffington Post (UK) Journalism Sport World Diary

Chelsea Remains The Team To Beat

This article was first published on The Huffington Post (UK Edition) here.

If there was one message that rose above all the others after the engaging and edgy Premier League encounter between Tottenham Hotspurs and Chelsea at Wembley, it was that despite all the doomsayers pronouncements about disharmony and dejection at Stamford Bridge, the rest of the teams in the league would have to work desperately hard to take the trophy off Chelsea’s hands.

Chelsea’s defence organiser and captain Gary Cahill, midfield creator Cesc Fabregas and stand-alone genius Eden Hazard, were all missing – while new signing Tiemoue Bakayoko and last year’s hero Pedro were both far from 100% fit. Add to that a new boy up front, a new boy in the back three, and an old boy in a new position in the midfield – and you know why playing the last year’s runners-up was always going to be an exercise of having the back against the wall for Chelsea.

But that didn’t matter in the end. Because Chelsea proved to have something that only the real champions have – self-belief, tenacity, and an enormous sense of timing.

They went forward in the first seven or eight minutes and should have been a goal up if Morata had not missed a sitter by heading out a sublime cross by César Azpilicueta. Then, as they realised that Spurs were getting into the game, they decided to ‘allow their opponents to come to them’. And when got their second opportunity, they made the most of it with the man of the match Marcos Alonso scoring the first goal of the match via a sublime, world-class free kick. And then it was back in the trenches, till Mitchy Batshuayi scored an unfortunate own goal. With barely any time left, Chelsea went out again, got lucky because of first Hugo Lloris’ unfathomable throw straight down the middle and then bungling it decisively by letting Alonso’s shot from an angle under him.

That play was Chelsea manager Antonio Conte’s well thought-out switch to 3-5-2(Willian just behind Morata) from the last year’s 3-4-3.

The Italian had set up what is known as the catenaccio tactical system. In Italian, catenaccio means ‘door-bolt’, thereby implying closing any opportunities for the opponent to score. Well, one can argue that is another name for ‘Mourinho’s Parked Bus’. The difference is that in the case of Mourinho, it was a natural style for him for all seasons whereas Conte’s approach was a dire tactical response to a dire situation.

Conte used the catenaccio tactical system like most Italian teams are known (accused?) to use it – a counter-attacking option wherein the team sits back, hopes to get one or two chances to invade the opponent’s box, make use of the chances, and then apply the ‘door-bolt’ to things.

Mitchy almost spoiled it. But Alonso made sure that in the end, it worked out precisely as planned.

In other words, injuries, suspensions, and depleted squad size or not, Conte is not only aware of and open to a variety of tactical options but also has the ability to quickly drill them decisively into a team that has its own share of impetuous personalities. This, again, is something that only the real champions have in them.

The game on Sunday, the first-ever league game at the national stadium, typified the recent abrasive clashes between the London rivals. A red card looked round the corner at many stages of the match – with my Blues fans taking to social media to ask how Jan Vertonghen’s tackle on Victor Moses was any different from the one that saw Chelsea captain get a straight red in the match against Burnley. But it was amply clear to viewers that Chelsea players seemed to be under strict instructions from Conte to avoid getting a red fourth match in the running.

Just as one defeat was not the end of the world, one victory is not a panacea for Chelsea’s problems. The questions remain: Would Morata be able to fill the big shoes of Diego Costa? And hey, when is that saga going to end – before it starts affecting the dressing room in a major way? Is Bakayoko really an upgrade on Nemanja Matic? Where are the defence backups?

But if the victory at Wembley is anything go by, we can be sure that Chelsea are the champions of England not because of ideal circumstances of the previous season. They are champions because they can fight to win despite everything. And that’s why Antonio Conte’s Chelsea remains the team to beat.

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Huffington Post (UK) Journalism Sport

Chelsea And Conte Need To Transfer Faith, NOW

For the second consecutive game, Chelsea lost points due to a disjoint performance by an ill-equipped defence. That that would be the opening line about a Chelsea performance even in the new season reveals how little has changed in that department for the team; and how much the stagnation threatens to repeat the 2015/16 season.

Unlike their visit to Swansea, where Chelsea clearly were the better side and should have won despite the two comical goals against them, the game against Liverpool was more a tale of two halves. Chelsea simply did not turn up in the first half. Though it dominated possession in the second half, it just could not make the final kill. That would, in all fairness, mean that Liverpool were the better team in the first leg of the meeting between the two giants.

And yet, Liverpool did not win just because they were better; they also won it because Chelsea continue to be so poor in defence and organisation that they allow every ‘better’ to look ‘much better than actual’.

Unfortunately, that truth is a consequence of the bigger truth: Chelsea have been miserly in the transfer market and suffer from a dangerous fixation with the backline that looks eminently unreliable – after having served the club superlatively for the most part of the last decade.

While it might sound harsh to hold the first line of argument against Roman Abramovich, especially after the $1bn that he has spent on the club in the last decade, the truth is that Chelsea did indeed baulk at the transfer market prices for the second consecutive year – in comparison to, say, a Manchester United that was not afraid to break the bank for a single midfield player. So, in a way, it is indeed about buying new players too.

But the bigger reason, it seems, is the longstanding love relationship with the trio of John Terry, Gary Cahill, and most importantly, Branislav Ivanovic.

All three of them seem to be past their best years – at least in the Chelsea colours. Ivanovic was so off the pace and poor in the 2015/16 season that the social media was full of ridicule heaped upon him by fans, including Chelsea supporters. He no longer seems to be able to make telling crosses, nor can he make his long throws count anymore. On the wrong side of 30, he is not the quickest on the field too. Never renowned for technical craftsmanship, it is really surprising how he manages to hold his place so regularly in a team that is desperate for defensive robustness.

Ivanovic’s extended run probably owes to the fact that he generally does not catch the eye for what he does. That misfortune seems to prefer Cahill recently. Even though the referee missed a trick and did not call the foul on Cahill in the match against Swansea that cost Chelsea their second goal, the fact remains that he was less than assured in the game. Repeating his performance, his meek clearance push outside the box resulted in Jordan Henderson getting acres of space just outside the box, and scoring a sumptuous goal. Cahill too, like Ivanovic and some others in the Chelsea team, does not have the speed to handle the likes of Philippe Coutinho, Raheem Sterling et al.

John Terry is the only one amongst the three that could still be in the team – purely for his organisational skills. He is the ‘voice’ in the box. He is naturally wired to continuously have a look over his shoulder to get the ‘larger picture’, and direct his troops accordingly. It seems improbable that in Terry’s presence Chelsea would have left four Liverpool players open for a cross. Simply unthinkable.

But that is not to say that he is NOW not indispensable. If Chelsea had made the correct buys in the transfer market, Terry might not have started all the games. At his age, it would not have been the most insulting thing to happen either.

Yes, Chelsea and Conte need to now transfer faith. Maybe David Azpilicueta on the right, David Luiz in the centre, and Marcos Alonso on the left is not such a bad idea to start the next game with.