Kulkarni has filled in very well for Zaheer | Column by Sanath Jayasuriya

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SANATH JAYASURIYA ON MUMBAI INDIANS’ PROSPECTS

THE win against Bangalore on the weekend was an important lifeline for the Mumbai Indians, keeping us in the chase for the semifinals. Hopefully, by the time you read this we’ll have built on that with a win against Kings XI Punjab, but even if we don’t, the equation remains the same: we have to win our last three games.

We know only too well we’ve been underachieving thus far in the tournament. However, what I also know is that we have the class and temperament to win this tournament. If we can fight our way into the semifinals, our tough run in qualification might just turn out to be an advantage. We will be battle hardened and used to performing under pressure.

The big positive from the weekend was our top-order batting. We lost Sachin (Tendulkar) early but we did not panic. The promotion of Ajinkya Rahane worked beautifully. He is a talented cricketer and I’ve been really impressed with him. He has the strokes and his nimble feet against the spinners were a treat to watch.

The 104-run partnership between JP Duminy— who was brilliant once again—and Rahane was just what we needed. We did not set our sights too high and our 158-run target was always going to be competitive as long as we bowled well. In the end, although the margin of victory was just 16 runs, we won quite comfortably.

Another exciting young Indian talent, Dhawal Kulkarni, led the way with some miserly seam bowling. Replacing the injured Zaheer Khan, one of the leading bowlers in the world during the past year, is no easy thing. But he showed a good head for a young 20-year-old and responded brilliantly to the pressure.

Much of the IPL’s media focus is on the overseas players or India’s big name players, but ultimately one of the most exciting things about the tournament is the global platform it gives for India’s upcoming players. It gives the likes of Ajinkya and Dhawal a chance to showcase the talent and also a perfect arena to hone their skills and gather precious experience. This will be a huge plus for India in the coming years.

From our perspective, it is wonderful to see them flourish for the Mumbai Indians and I hope they continue in the next week. Certainly, after the weekend, the mood in the camp has been upbeat and determined. We know we have the ability. We just have to focus on delivering that potential at the right time.

I am ready to rise to the challenge | Column by Sanath Jayasuriya

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SANATH JAYASURIYA ON HIS RESPONSIBILITIES

MUMBAI Indians continue to perform below expectations even as we enter the last 10 days of the tournament. However, in tournaments like these you must not make the cardinal mistake of panicking. Things are not clicking, but it takes only one spark to change things around.

Last year we started dreadfully, but then found our feet and nearly clinched a semifinal berth. This year we are again behind the leaders, but our tournament is far from over with four games remaining after the game against the Royal Challengers.

I’d expect eight wins to guarantee a semifinal berth and seven wins to be sufficient for us considering that we also picked up a point from a “no result’’. Last year that was exactly what lifted Delhi above us into the knock-out stages.

After our win in Port Elizabeth, we need three wins out of four matches against Kings XI, Jaipur, Chennai and Delhi. All good teams, but so are we when we play to our potential.

The first of these clashes against Kings XI Punjab will be an intriguing battle. They’ve struggled a little bit of late with their bowling, especially in the latter overs, but they did a far better job against Team Hyderabad and the return of Brett Lee, a talismanic figure, is obviously good for them.

They’ll be worried though about the fitness of Mahela (Jayawardene). He has visibly grown in confidence as the tournament has progressed and he now has a very cool head which allows him to marshal their middle order. If his hamstring injury is serious, it would be a huge blow. Whether Mahela plays or not though, they have some dangerous players. We have not seen Luke Pomersbach in this year’s event, but he is a big hitter and cannot be underestimated. Then they have proven match winners like Yuvraj and Sanga.

For us, the key will be more batting support for JP (Duminy). He has been the cornerstone of our batting but the rest of the top and middle order have not provided sufficient back-up. Some of that responsibility will fall on me and I feel ready to rise to that challenge. The management went for a new strategy on Friday night and left me out. As a player, that was disappointing.

Our batting hasn’t been consistent | Column by Sanath Jayasuriya

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SANATH JAYASURIYA ON CONTRIBUTING MORE

DESPITE Mumbai Indians having one of the best-balanced teams in the tournament, we are making hard work of our qualification to the semifinals. There is still time, but the loss against Team Hyderabad on Wednesday was a blow. We should have won that game.

I thought our seam bowlers did a terrific job to restrict Hyderabad to 145 for 6, especially as we were missing Zaheer (Khan) with a shoulder injury. Dhawal Kulkarni did brilliantly though as his replacement, snaring Gibbs early and conceding just 21 runs from his four overs. However, our batting, not for the first time, has not been consistent enough. We have usually had one or two players settle down, but we are not performing as a unit. The top-order of Team Chennai and Team Delhi have performed as a unit and we have to do the same.

Credit to RP Singh, though. He was been superb for Team Hyderabad this season and fully deserves his place in India’s T20 squad for England. Without obvious straining, he hits the pitch, bowling a heavy ball, and gets some movement. He can be a real handful.

Once again, after RP’s double strike to dismiss Sachin and me, it was JP Duminy who calmly re-built the innings. The more I see of him the more I’m impressed. He has been our leading scorer by a distance and our biggest failure is not being able to support him.

Closeness of the competition has added to its charm | Column by Sanath Jayasuriya

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SANATH JAYASURIYA ON THE TRENDS IN IPL 2

THE half-way point of the second IPL has passed with seven out of eight teams still in contention for the semifinals. Unlike in international cricket where the divide between the top eight teams in the world can be quite wide, the closeness of this competition and the resulting tension and excitement has helped make this IPL a huge success.

When the IPL was relocated there were understandable concerns. Playing in front of Indian crowds is a thrill for the players and a great spectacle. If this event was played out in front of empty stands it would have been a real blow. But South Africa’s love of sport has saved the IPL. Not all matches have been sellouts, but the crowds have been large and the atmosphere brilliant.

In short, the IPL has spread itself beyond India and that raises the obvious question: should more IPL matches be played overseas in the future too? I am sure Lalit Modi has begun thinking about the future already. The problem, though, is how much the tournament can be internationalised without it becoming a logistical nightmare.

It would be nice to play a couple of games at Lord’s, for example, but the long-haul flights and jetlag would create problems. We might see matches in Dubai and Colombo too. It’s also interesting to see some different trends. The most important one is the impact of the spinners.

While there are only three spinners among the top 10 wicket-takers, of the four most economical bowlers, three are M Muralitharan, Pragyan Ohja and Anil Kumble! Another trend is the domination of overseas batsmen. In 2008, five out of the top 10 batters were Indians.

This year only Suresh Raina, Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh are there. There are two possible reasons; either conditions are favouring non-Indian players, or franchises are packing their top-order with more overseas players. The latter explanation is backed up by another interesting stats: Indian bowlers have been among wickets. Seven out of the top 10 wicket-takers are Indians.

The likes of R P Singh, Ohja, Irfan Pathan, Ashish Nehra, Ishant Sharma and Balaji have had an excellent run, a great sign for India as they look towards the World Twenty20.

Time to get ruthless | Column by Sanath Jayasuriya

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MI Will Have To Cut Down On Errors As Contest Hots Up

SANATH JAYASURIYA ON MUMBAI INDIANS’ CHALLENGES

AT the moment the Mumbai Indians are blowing hot and cold. We are doing lots of things right and there have been lots of positives in the first half of the tournament, but with the players and the management team we have, it is naturally disappointing to be in the lower half of the points table.

However, it is crucial that we stay cool and remain focused on each game. Such is the nature of this tournament, with seven teams jockeying for semifinal berths, that every game is like a final. There is no need to panic. We have to back ourselves. We have the talent and the experience.

The turnaround in Bangalore’s fortunes just shows how unpredictable this tournament has become. A week ago after four consecutive defeats, they looked downcast, their hopes just started to fade. However, now, they are right back in the tournament.

Losing against them was a big disappointment, but credit to Jacques Kallis and Robin Uthappa, who batted brilliantly. To share a 126-run partnership in this form of cricket is not easy. They put our bowlers under pressure and in the end they won easily.

Obviously, the day could not have started much worse with Dillon du Preez taking three wickets in eight balls, including two of our main batters, Sachin and JP Duminy. That really put us on the back-foot and I had to be extra cautious, as did Dwayne Bravo when he came to the crease.
However, we did manage to accelerate. I got out after getting my eye in and that was very frustrating. But we were still happy to reach 149 for 4. We managed to add 48 runs in the last three overs and that gave us a chance. Unfortunately, we could not take more than one early wicket. After that defeat, we now have three days to prepare for the next match. It means some extra rest in what has been quite a hectic tournament. However, we also face the challenge of playing our next two matches against Delhi and Hyderabad, the two original frontrunners for semifinal places.

Obviously, both games are going to be tough, so we’ll first focus on Wednesday night’s clash versus Team Hyderabad. They have now lost Fidel Edwards, who did a decent job with the new ball and hence they’ll have to adjust slightly. They are also struggling to get their momentum going again after their winning start.

We will have to hit them hard and fast so we can get on top early. Now that we are at the business end of the tournament, we have to cut down on mistakes and have to be more ruthless. Every game is crucial and we simply must hit top gear this week

A victory today will take us closer to the semifinal | Column by Sanath Jayasuriya

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SANATH JAYASURIYA ON MUMBAI INDIANS’ NEXT GAME

HAVING slipped-up against Kings XI Punjab last week in Durban it was vital we bounced back quickly and we did just that against Knight Riders. It was a close game and we made some mistakes, but I thought the team showed a great fighting spirit.

Because teams are more closely matched in this tournament we are seeing tighter matches and more cliff-hangers than in the inaugural IPL. This means that the teams that cope best under pressure will take more of the 50/50 matches. We missed out in a thriller against Kings XI, but we showed a better temperament against Knight Riders, refusing to panic at critical moments. That is something we need to build on because as the tournament progresses the pressure is growing steadily.

J P Duminy’s 52 not out was the game-maker for us against Knight Riders. They bowled well and they put us under pressure. Run scoring was not easy and on 96 for 5 after 16 overs, we were definitely on the backfoot. However Duminy took charge when it mattered most.

In several matches thus far, we have seen crucial runs added in the last four overs of the first innings, lifting mediocre scores up to respectability. We saw RC do that against Kings XI after our game and Duminy’s late rally, scoring 54 from the last 24 balls was a huge moment. Then Zaheer Khan stood up in the first three overs of the chase. He has undoubtedly been India’s best fast bowler in the past year and arguably the best in the world alongside the likes of Dale Steyn. His dismissals of Chris Gayle and Sourav Ganguly secured the initiative.

In the space of six overs the match had swung emphatically. But such is the unpredictable nature of this format, Brad Hodge was still able to give us a late scare with some sensible and skilful batting, reducing the target down to a manageable 38 from four overs. We were under pressure again. However, Lasith (Malinga), although ultimately wicketless, was brilliant again. His last two overs were near-perfect. By choking off the runs, conceding just 11 runs, he sealed the win.

Today’s match is an opportunity to start pushing greater pressure on both Team Hyderabad and Team Delhi. We will make our progression to the semifinals much easier by claiming win number four. However, Royal Challengers, responding well to Kumble’s leadership, also seem to be growing in confidence

Mentally tough Duminy has a good cricket brain | Column by Sanath Jayasuriya

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SANATH JAYASURIYA ON THE POSITIVES FOR MI

IT’S fair to say we were pretty pleased to be chasing 120 for victory on Wednesday against Kings XI Punjab. The bowlers did a terrific job. However, sometimes the small run chases are the hardest. We ended-up putting ourselves under pressure and the result was very disappointing.

There is no point in getting too upset, though. That’s cricket, as they say. Had JP Duminy’s slog sweet travelled two feet further we’d have been celebrating a famous win and one of the best innings of the tournament. As it was, Punjab were the ones dancing with joy.

There were definitely positives for us to take from that match. We showed again that we have a high-class bowling attack. We have wicket-takers and we have great variety. The bowlers put Kings XI under pressure from the word go and made them work for every single run, with Malinga leading the way alongwith Bhajji and Zaheer.

We can also take a big positive from JP’s mature innings. I have heard a great deal about him in the last six months and during this competition I have seen why. He is talented, clearly has a good cricket brain and is also mentally tough. The manner in which he manoeuvred the ball around, stealing singles with deft touches and picking-up valuable two’s was superb.

His innings was similar to Kumar’s (Sangakkara) earlier in the evening. Both batsmen showed calmness under pressure that only the highest quality batsmen possess. While all around them wickets were tumbling, they were quietly accumulating and strategising. It was just a big shame that no-one was able to stay with JP and help push us over the line. Bravo and Nayar nearly pulled it off, adding 33 and 49 respectively, but we lost wickets just when the pendulum was swinging our way. It was frustrating, but you also have to congratulate Kings XI for putting us under pressure, fielding well and holding their nerve.

On Friday, however, we have a chance to make amends at Buffalo Park against the Knight Riders. We are still not even at the half-way point in this tournament. As Sachin said the other night losing is OK; we still have time. There is certainly no need to panic

Our attack is one of the best | Column by Sanath Jayasuriya

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SANATH JAYASURIYA ON THE WIN AGAINST KNIGHT RIDERS

Monday night’s clash with Knight Riders was a big game for us and winning it so convincingly was a welcome confidence boost, lifting us into the top four of the table. Wednesday’s clash against Kings XI Punjab might be a harder test as they are picking up some momentum.

We were lucky to win the toss at Port Elizabeth giving us the chance of putting up a total. As is the case all around the world, chasing is often tough under lights. Fortunately, both Sachin (Tendulkar) and I were able to get-off to a good start. Ishant Sharma was always going to be a key threat and we felt a good start against him would be crucial.

Sachin has been in glorious touch all tournament and he made life easy for me at the beginning of the innings. It is a joy batting at the other end with him. He was the one that launched the attack and after that I just tried to feed him as much of the strike as possible. It was about four overs before I hit my first boundary.

Some days things just fall into place and Monday night was one of those. We are both
experienced and we both looked to play our natural aggressive game. Everything clicked and it was great fun. My only regret was that the 127-run stand did not lead to a total of around 200. We let things slip a bit at the end and that’s an area to work on.

One big difference for us this year is having a fully fit Lasith Malinga. Sitting at the top of the wicket-taker’s list, he’s been penetrative and economical with new and old ball. When you see him charging in, bowling with great pace and control, you realise just how much he’s been missed by Sri Lanka in the past year after his knee injury. He’s a natural wicket-taker.

We always knew that Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum had the capacity to chase down the 188-run target. History was always in our favour under lights, but Gayle especially is such a brutal player. So Lasith having McCullum caught in the gully in his first over was a crucial blow. When Dwayne Bravo snared Gayle, I was confident of a victory.

At the end, Lasith once again illustrated his value at the death of the innings. His ability to bowl at pace into the block hole can be devastating against the lower order. With Lasith, Zaheer, Bravo and Harbhajan we undoubtedly have one of the best attacks in the competition.

However, the performance of Abhishek Nayar should not be forgotten amongst the big names. He did a brilliant job for us taking the wickets of Brad Hodge and Sourav Ganguly.

Sachin and Sanath were absolutely amazing : JP Duminy

What a match we had on Monday! It was one of those days that everything just went our way and we got our basics right. Sachin and Sanath were absolutely amazing and just took the game away from Kolkata Knight Riders. They are the kingpins of the team, and watching them lead from the front was a boost for us youngsters who watch and learn from them.

Sachin and Sanath were my heroes while growing up and being in the same dressing room has been a great experience for a young guy like me. It was even more of an honour to share Sachin's birthday celebrations with him! Batting with him was amazing, too, and I hope I get more opportunities to do so.

Yesterday, the bowlers were spot on, especially Lasith, Nayar and Bravo who just went through the top order. Perhaps the big score we posted took some of the pressure off them, as they did not have to worry about defending a small total and were able to just play their game. Nayar is shaping up well and turning out to be a good all-rounder -- look at the way he smashed Flintoff in our first match, against Chennai! All in all, I think we have a very balanced side with good team spirit and are looking good for the upcoming games.

One of those will be tomorrow when we take on Kings XI Punjab who have won two matches on the trot now. We will really have to concentrate against them and play like we did yesterday. We may be on a high now but still cannot take them for granted as they can be very destructive. Irfan -- who can do a lot of damage with bat and ball -- Yuvraj, Sangakkara, Mahela and Bopara can really hit out. We will have to bowl well and a couple of early wickets will do wonders for us.

Yuvraj is one of their key players, and I remember him hitting Stuart Broad for 36 in one over here at Kingsmead during the ICC world T20. But we have world class bowlers in our side and it will take a great effort from him to repeat that act. We will also have to be careful of Yusuf Abdullah, who has been doing quite well of late.

Having Jonty and Pollock to advise us definitely gives us an edge over most teams. I have learned a lot from Jonty, who has worked with us in the national side too, and Pollock brings so much knowledge and insight of the grounds and conditions with him.

I was looking forward to playing my first IPL in India. Even by watching it on TV last year we could get a feel of what a great experience it was. It is big in South Africa, but back in India it would have been special. Still, I am enjoying the experience of meeting and learning about different players, countries and cultures. To the fans back in India, keep supporting us even though we are not there. Hopefully we will do you proud and bring the trophy back home

Spin has a huge role to play in Twenty20 cricket | Column by Sanath Jayasuriya

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SANATH JAYASURIYA ON THE TRENDS IN IPL 2

WHEN Twenty20 cricket arrived a few years ago it was commonly felt that it would suit seam bowlers rather than spinners, big hitters rather than those batsmen with classic techniques, and young players rather than experienced pros. One week into the second IPL and those early predictions have been shown to be wide of the mark.

Indeed, we have witnessed three clear trends. First, spin has a huge role to play in T20 cricket. Second, on good pitches with a fair balance between bat and ball you cannot just slog. Thirdly, experience can be a precious commodity in this high-pressure format.

During the first week we have seen starring roles from several of the tournament’s older players. Sachin Tendulkar set the tone for the Mumbai Indians. Rahul Dravid, relieved of the captaincy, has been brilliant for Royal Challengers. Sourav Ganguly fired for the Knight Riders.

Adam Gilchrist has been on-song for Hyderabad and Mathew Hayden certainly does not look like he has been fishing and surfing these last few months since his retirement.

Of course, you need to be fit and athletic even if you are an oldie (like me). When you are in your mid to late 30s you need to work much harder on your fitness. But the key thing is that the experience you have gathered over the years helps navigate yourself through tight situations. As a batsman, your shot selection improves and your risk-taking is better calculated.

Seeing the spinners do well has also been very encouraging. This year there has been quite a bit of turn and bounce. That has helped even the parttimers like Kevin Pietersen and Yousuf Pathan. If you look at the stats for the best economy rates in the tournament you’ll notice that seven out of the top 14 bowlers are spinners. That’s terrific.

The great fear about T20 cricket was that we’d lose some of the variety that makes cricket so compelling. However, encouragingly, the trend we are seeing here in South Africa seems to be the opposite.

Ajantha was the wrong choice | Column by Sanath Jayasuriya

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SANATH JAYASURIYA ON THE CHALLENGE AHEAD

We’ve the allround skills to beat Hyderabad

ON Thursday night, the Mumbai Indians celebrated Sachin’s 36th birthday with a small party. His birthday is now part of our IPL social calendar, but the main difference from last year was the fact that Sachin is fully fit this year and leading from the front.

That’s made us a far stronger team. We missed Sachin last year in the first half of the competition and only really started winning properly once he returned. It was no coincidence. His value as our premier batsman and our leader is immense. Everything is built around him.

He is now 36, but that is not too old when you are as fit as he is. He is far from finished and I see no reason why he could not play another World Cup in 2011. He is batting brilliantly, as he showed in our opening game with a masterful little innings, and has plenty more runs in the tank. I enjoy playing with him because his cool and calm manner ensures a relaxed and laid-back team.

He has seen everything in cricket during the last two decades and there is never even a whiff of panic. His teammates feed off that. You need to be relaxed to play your best cricket.

I hope we can now give him a proper birthday treat with a strong performance against Team Hyderabad on Saturday night. It’s been a slow tournament for us after the first clash with Chennai and the wash-out against Team Jaipur, so we are eager to get back on the park. It’s obviously an important game for us. Team Hyderabad look a different outfit from last year.

They have a sense of purpose and some key players — Adam Gilchrist, Rohit Sharma and Fidel Edwards — are looking good. I imagine it will be a tight game, but I’m confident we have the all-round skills to beat them. This year we have good balance and variety in the XI.

Hopefully, though, it will not be quite as tight as the thriller on Thursday night between Team Jaipur and Knight Riders.

That was a breath-taking game. Both teams had their moments, Knight Riders will be really disappointed that they did not win outright and then also squandered their chances in the Super Over. Chris Gayle had set them up beautifully and a target of 16 is very challenging. However, I thought the decision to give Ajantha (Mendis) the ball was a mistake.

He bowled brilliantly earlier in the night and we all know he is a matchwinner, but the dew factor made the move high risk. Personally, I think a seamer was needed and Ishant Sharma was the best candidate.

- Sanath Jayasuriya

Jayasuriya proves age is just a number - Harsha Bhogle

The unchanged aura of Sanath Jayasuriya

Thursday 29th January 2009

In a dream that often recurs I find I am visiting familiar places, some I may have lived in, others merely travelled through, and people I knew still reside where they did, hang out under the same light pole, are doing the same things they used to . The only person that's changed is me and I get the feeling I am a traveller looking at an unchanged past. I found similar thoughts coming back, though I was wide awake this time, while watching Sanath Jayasuriya bat on Wednesday.

He is still crashing the ball past a bewildered fielder at point, surprising third man who might harbour thoughts of reaching the ball; still playing the pick up shot and depositing the ball into the stands at square leg; still charging back for the second like there is a brownie waiting for him. There is still a great simplicity of thought and action and often those are the humble building blocks of greatness. He is now the oldest man to score a one-day hundred and I suspect that, like Sergei Bubka, he will keep breaking his own record.

I had the opportunity of watching him closely when he played for the Mumbai Indians last year and was struck by the passion he still exudes. It is no coincidence that the two longest serving international cricketers love the game deeply and with no reservation. And so, thirteen years after he set the cricket world alight at the World Cup, that itself seven years after his debut, he continues to be Sri Lanka's talisman cricketer; his is still the wicket valued more than any other. Jayasuriya makes age look like an irrelevant statistic. There is still joy and anger and disappointment and a burning desire to win. Cricket is not yet a chore, arriving at the ground is not yet a job. When that happens he will age rapidly, young men will knock him over without realizing the enormity of what they have done.

If there is a pleasant feeling of déjà-vu watching Jayasuriya bat there is a rather more disagreeable one with the insistence of umpires to go to the replay for close catches. We saw that with Kulasekara's excellent effort to catch Gambhir off his own bowling. For all that you know the catch might have been clean but the moment it was referred to the third umpire, there was only one result possible. In spite of all the advances that television has made, it cannot rule on close catches, they will always look like bump balls. This was comprehensively proved many years ago and indeed, cricket went through a phase when the on-field umpire had to rule on whether or not a catch was clean. Yet, years later we continue to try and use technology that cannot help. Cricketers have known for many years that if they wait they might just tempt the umpire into asking for a reply and the moment that happens they are safe.

Cricket needs to find a solution to this and I'm afraid the only workable one is to ask the umpire to follow his instinct and get the players to agree to it. You can at best have a quick chat with the third umpire in case it was a clear bump ball but if the picture is not conclusive the on-field umpire must go with his instinct. In Australia, having discovered that a lot of the not out verdicts were probably out, third umpires tend to give a batsman out on the replay. I am afraid that is no solution either because the moment the third umpire is called in, he has to go by the evidence that is in front of him. I won't be surprised if Gambhir was actually out but the moment the rectangle was drawn by the umpire he would have known he was safe.

A little earlier a decision that could easily have been checked by a replay produced a mistake. It takes no time at all to verify if the ball pitched in line before passing an lbw verdict. It is one of the easiest replay decisions and far more conclusive than a lot of other pictures. Thushara's ball to Tendulkar pitched sufficiently outside the leg stump. All you needed was a quick word on the walkie-talkie and the right decision would have been arrived at. It would have had none of the dangers of predicting where the ball would have gone which is an area I am extremely concerned about in use of replays.

We need to take the help of replays when they are simple and conclusive not when they involve judgement. But this strange use of technology was only a minor blot on a day when Jayasuriya turned the clock back again.