Hail Hayden the Hurricane, someone slap Sreesanth

In Thursday's awesome match at the IPL, Mathew Hayden showed us once again why he's the holder of the Orange cap. The way he sent the ball flying to the boundary, the way he stepped to the pitch of the delivery and smashed a six, the way he effortlessly did it with just one hand (on a few occasions), the finesse, the raw power, coupled with the complete lack of any sort of aggression. Such a wonderful batsman, without him Chennai Super Kings wouldn't have won most of their matches. Only one word can describe this force of nature...... AWESOME!!

For a long time I felt some sort of sympathy for the fool who got slapped last season of the IPL. After that slap, his career pretty much went off the cliff, with him being dropped from most of the team selections. Yes, I'm talking about Sreesanth. Later this season, he's been getting hit left, right and center to the boundary and all over the ground. But I've begun to really hate him. The way he acts is as if he's Brett Lee or Shane Warne with a ton of wickets to his name. He forgets that he's been hit for 23 in a single over in one match. Besides that his antics, his hair, his attitude...... ughhhh...!!!



Hayden took his deliveries and converted them beautifully to sixes and fours. Wonderful way to show him who's boss. Hayden later fell to a catch off Sreesanth's bowling (after 3 sixes in just that over). To which the pacer added some choice comments in Hayden's face. Really, Sreesanth, do you not have some shame?? Didn't this guy just belt you all over the ground? Didn't you get his wicket after all that? What right do you have to speak when this veteran of International cricket has just done that to you?

Someone give this guy his slap,
then the photographers can have their snap;
A few words at the batsman and he thinks he has style,
A slap will set right his silly smile.
Then he'll bawl like a spoilt brat;
But it'll sure put a stop to his unrefined chat.
The next time the little boy loses his cool,
who will harken to this hapless fool??


His actions are just "chettathanam" (to put it in his own mothertongue Malayalam - "uncouth behaviour unbecoming of an educated person"). Perhaps he should learn to bowl properly, to walk the walk before he talks the talk. I believe what he does with all the opposing team players he gets out is he goes up to them, hurls a few abuses and says "Yeah, yeah, give it to me!! Slap me if you can!". Most likely, it was just that Bhajji obliged last season (Moral of the Story: If you want something hard enough, you'll get it ;-) ). Someone, please slap him again. Do the IPL a service, just give him a tight slap, let's all see the real crybaby he is.




Hayden, meanwhile, kept his cool throughout the brief "encounter". Later he did comment on the face-off between the two. "Yeah, I think he is a particularly over-rated bowler. And so he was a great target for us to go at. He always loses his cool under pressure and I think it was a good example of that (in the match)," he said. Hayden, however, refused to reveal what words Sreesanth had hurled at him. "You don't want to know. It's just so meaningless. Mate ... I am a Test veteran and a One-Day International veteran, I have got nothing to answer to him that's for certain," said Hayden. Well said and completely true.

The Fake IPL Player on his blog has rightly referred to Sreesanth as Appam Ch*tiya. I suppose someone will oblige our pacer from Kerala with his just desserts - a tight one across the face - if he doesn't mend his overtly aggressive ways soon.

Till then, let us all watch in awe as Mathew Hayden walks down the crease to smash the ball out of the ground. All Hail Hayden!