To hit or not to hit

I admire everything about Sachin Tendulkar, except for his voice. He started his career before I could even lift a bat.

But I still would not like to have him in my IPL team. Mumbai Indians do not have a choice in this regard. Without Sachin, Mumbaikars might not even turn up for the games. And Mukesh Ambani is smart enough to realize that.

Talent is all around us, much like terrorism in the Land of the Pure. So, why wouldn't a team want someone totally committed to the team, and not to himself. Lets take a look at Mumbai Indians' last over today, and Sachin is batting on 90.

2nd ball, Sachin on Strike : A slow bouncer, Sachin misses. And he is not happy he gets a wide. Don't the umpires realize that he's on 90 and he needs all the help he can get to reach 100.

3rd ball : A smart shot played by Sachin down the leg side, and he gets a 4. Moves to 94, and is a little relieved.

4th ball : A shot straight to the fielder, which even to Gautam Gambhir would mean one run. But well, how does Sachin get to his century if he's not on strike. So, lets sacrifice the young lad (Rayadu I believe is his name). "I'm the captain, and I shall not drop him from the team as he has sacrificed his wicket for my century".

5th ball : A good shot, down the ground for 4 runs. And Sachin moves to 99.

6th and last ball of the match : This is where you would see every player on earth trying to go for the maximum. Its the last ball, and each player would want a six or a four. In these tight IPL games, 2-3 runs can decide a game. But if Sachin goes for a biggie and gets out, when does he complete his century. Plus what will happen to all the fans who wants to see Sachin score a century. So, lets just play it safe and take a single.

And thats exactly what Sachin does. A single off the last ball of the match, and walks across the pitch to the non-strikers end, acting as if it means nothing to him.Its just a number, just a century. And having played just for this century for the last 6 balls, and then acting as if it were insignificant doesn't really go down well with me.

What I like about Sehwag, or other players is that they aren't scared of going for a six or a four when on 47-48 or 97-98. They don't believe so much in individual laurels, but play for the team.

Thats how Sachin was for the first 12 years of his life. But the present Sachin is one who would possibly score a 95 off 70 balls, and reach his century in a 100 balls.

Once again, as I said, I do admire Sachin Tendulkar. He certainly has given me many happy memories.

But he also has given me opportunities to fault him, like in the game today. If he had possible made a few more runs in the final over, it might have meant victory for Mumbai Indians.

It however doesn't matter to me as much, as I don't support Mumbai Indians. But I do enjoy cricket, and not the type I saw today.

EPL Weekend

Firstly, welcome to Honest Referee, a blog that aims to analyse every weekend of footballing action in the EPL, and points out the big decisions by the referee that were given, that weren't given and those that should not have been given.

This is a blog that endeavors to state what the final scoreline should really have been, and takes into account only the errors and decisions made by the referee. The final scoreline in no way reflects how well a team played, or how bad.

Also, it tries to take a humorous angle where ever possible.

To start off, let us consider the most exciting game of the weekend gone by, the Manchester United - Liverpool game.

True, Manchester United played brilliant football, and a certain gentleman brought back memories of his merry making days at White Hard Lane, but that certainly doesn't guarantee them a win, nor does it cover up for their poor defending.

And continuing on defending, Liverpool were so bad they made Manchester United look good. What the problem is, and where it lies, is the question that evaded Rafa Benitez, and is working its magic even on Hodgson. Why the defence doesn't include Daniel Agger, a brilliant player coveted by some of the greatest clubs outside England, is not really understood.

Getting back to the game, Manchester United started great and completely outplayed Liverpool in the first half, without having a genuine chance on goal. The goal that they did manage to score, was largely credited to Konchesky, paving a path for the ball to go into the goal.

That, and a brilliant second goal by Berbatov, a looping bicycle kick (the audacity to try something like that in such an important game) put Man U firmly in command.

And then they became comfortable, in fact, too comfortable.

First came Johny Evans trying to sweep Fernando Torres off his feet. Agreed the striker is handsome and its all right for Johny Evans to try, but I'm sure Alex Ferguson would not have been too happy. I believe he too wanted the striker. And things did sour between them, as Alex did call Torres a cheater after the game.

So, Gerrard steps up and coolly slots the penalty, and makes a game out of it.

However, Manchester players weren't done with Torres, and up stepped John O'Shea, going down on Torres. Now this is where the referees had a say, and he did have quite a say. The rule books state all along that the last defender to foul a striker in a supposed scoring position commands a red card, but how would Man U win matches if referees started playing fair at Old Trafford.

So John O'Shea stayed on, and good that he did, coz he sure got to play a part in the winning goal, and also got a chance to witness a wonderful dance performance by Nani in Liverpool's penalty area.

How Nani manages to take a shower under the force of the water, or not fly away with a storm is surprising. On the football field, he flies and slips more then the ball itself.

Back to the game, and Man U got to keep all its players. Its like they had 2 lives each, they could each foul and continue playing the game.

What the score would have been, had the referee played his part well, I do not know. But by not doing so, he certainly made it a classic Old Trafford match, different rules for different teams.