The timing of the Batting PowerPlay

I dont think any of the international teams have conquered the PowerPlay situation in ODIs, especially the batting PowerPlay. The Bowling PowerPlay mostly is completed from the 10th to 15th over of any innings unless there is a batsman who is taking the bowling to sword. The batting version is the one that is very dicey most of the times. Let us take the latest India-South Africa ODI series as an example and see how the teams used this PowerPlay in each ODI, starting from the first one.

1. South Africa took the PP at Kingsmead in Overs 27.1 - 32.0 scoring 45 runs without losing any wicket. AB De Viliers and JP Duminy were at the crease and they used this effectively. In the Indian innings, Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina were repairing the innings after 5 wickets had fallen for less than a hundred - they tried to take a leaf out of the opposition and take the PP during the overs 29.1 - 34.0. Alas, three wickets were lost for  23 runs that quickly brought the Indian tail to the fore. The Indian response was as well as done by the end of this phase.
2. At the Wanderers, India were going good, placed at 169-4 when they took the PP at Overs 41.1 - 46.0. One thought that this was a good time chosen by MSD. Once again, the team lost 4 wickets for 14 runs and the tail was exposed. But in the second innings of the match, the Proteas would go one up on the Indians by taking a PP when one was not required. The team was coasting to a win in a canter when Greame Smith opted to finish the match early. He took the PP in Overs 31.1 - 36.0 losing 3 wickets for 20 runs. This time it was the tail of South Africa that was targeted by the Indians successfully. 
3.  At Capetown, India took advantage of the PP taken by the Proteas. They took 4 wickets for 25 runs during the Overs 44.1 - 49.0. Once again, from a healthy situation of 200 for 4 they were all out in the last over for 220. In reply, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan were forced with no other option but take the PP during Overs 42.1 - 47.0. 27 runs scored for the wicket of Zaheer meant that the target was reduced to less than a dozen once finished.
4. South Africa regained their PowerPlay touch at Port Elizabeth. Their batsmen were ready for the final assault and took the PP during the last 5 overs of the innings - 45 runs for 1 wicket was the final figures from the PowerPlay. Because of rains and reduction in overs, the Indians could not take their 3rd PowerPlay when their turn came.
5.  At Centurion, the Proteas batted first again. Rains once again reduced the PowerPlay to 4 overs only - taken during Overs 41.1 - 44.0 - not much use, they scored 20 runs losing 1 wicket. The Indians took their PowerPlay when Yusuf Pathan was in his full flight - Overs 34.1 - 38.0. He utilized the first over, smashing Tsotsobe all over the ground but was dismissed the very next over. A total of 34 runs were scored for the loss of Pathan.

Why do batting teams falter during their turn of the PowerPlay? Is there increased expectations on the batsman to score runs at a rate of 10 per over? Looks like that is definitely the planning of most teams. They feel that if they can take the PowerPlay when batsmen are settled at the crease and wickets to follow, they can maximize the overs then and the final 10 overs also. Thus, they tend to throw caution to the wind and take risks. This tends to backfire mostly with the bowling team taking crucial breakthroughs. 

Another strategy is to take it after 34 overs when the mandatory ball-change happens. The ball is harder and the batsmen can take advantage of the five overs. It is just not the timing of these five overs that is breaking everyones head but the strategy to adopt is crucial. This is the trend in all ODI series so far. 

I feel that the bowling team is at an advantage during this phase. Mostly, these days, field placings are defensive with fielders standing outside the 30-yard circle saving the singles. The batsmen can easily milk the bowling by taking singles and twos. This PowerPlay forces the captain to field players inside the circle and put pressure on the batsmen. Singles are no longer easy and batsmen are forced to take more risks.

Whoever has the right strategy in place by the time the World Cup starts, they will be the ones to benefit the most. What do you think is the right strategy to adopt?

Related articles

• World Cup 2011 - Dhoni has questions answered after SAF ODIs (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

World Cup 2011 - Pressure is key for Indians

The prediction game has started from many ex-players on the teams who are favorites to win the World Cup 2011:

• Duncan Fletcher mentions India, England and South Africa as the favorites
• Bishen Bedi adds Australia to the list of India, England and South Africa to watch out for 
• Brian Lara has the same predictions as Bishen Bedi
• Kapil Dev thinks India, Sri Lanka, England have a good chance
• Peter Kirsten also considers India, Sri Lanka and England other than Australia as favorites
• Viv Richards thinks India is a favorite for the home win
• Arjuna Ranatunga favors his team Sri Lanka only.
• Imran Khan also considers India as the favorites
• Geoff Boycott - India, England and Sri Lanka are his contenders

No wonder, the Indian team members must ensure that they dont feel the pressure of these players as well as the billion followers within and outside the country. This is where Paddy Upton and his team will come in handy - they will have to keep the Indian team free from all such pressures.

Yusuf Pathan thus has his thoughts about pressure on the right direction. Sourav Ganguly suggests that the team should free their mind and then everything else will fall in place.

Related articles

• World Cup 2011 - Sachin Tendulkar's sixth sojourn (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• World Cup 2011 - Will India better 2007 performance? (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

World Cup 2011 - Will India better 2007 performance?

India had a disastrous World Cup in 2007 - they were dumped out of the tournament after the first stage where they lost to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, defeating only Bermuda in the competition. Will they repeat the performance in 2011 or will they go all the way? Let us see their possible journey for the first stage:

• First match of the competition stars India and Bangladesh in Mirpur - the one match that India will play outside their country. This was the team that defeated India in their last World Cup match and a grudge-match is on offer. The Indians will be eager to put their best foot forward in this match and it will be a good match to ease in the four players (Sehwag, Gambhir, Tendulkar, Praveen Kumar) who had been rested in the previous series in South Africa. India have lost just one game in the 12 matches played in Bangladesh against the hosts - they should ensure that this number doesnt double after the first match in Mirpur!!
• After the relatively easy opposition, India face up the new No.1 contenders in test cricket after their resounding Ashes win - England. The English team is high on spirits after their record win against the Oz but they have come down few notches after the reverses in the ODIs. Their bowlers who are typically their strength in other venues, tend to lose their sting in India. India have won 11 of their last 12 matches against England at home - 21 wins out of a total of 34 matches played between the two in India shows who the favorite is.
• After England, it is the turn of the minnows. Ireland are next on the menu for the Indians in Bengaluru. The Indians have played just one match against the Irish team and won the only one. No points for guessing who will win.
• Netherlands come up next at the Kotla for India. Again, one match played and won for the Indians. A relatively easy match for the hosts.
• India face their strongest opponent at this stage of the tournament - South Africa. 13 wins out of 22 matches in India means that the Indians will fancy themselves to win against the Proteas. The recent ODI series has given the Indians an idea of the strategy that they can adopt successfully in the World Cup. In the only match played in Nagpur between the two teams (where the WC match will be held), India were defeated by 10 runs despite scoring 310. Sachin and Kirsten played for opposite sides then but now will team up to play against Gary's home team. 
• West Indies is the last team to play against India in the first stage of the tournament. The Caribbeans have a favorable record against the Indians at home, thanks to the previous great teams of the Windies. Even in the 2000s, the record looks even between the teams (6 wins and same number of losses)

Four matches against test-playing nations in the first stage - two tough ones (South Africa and England) and two relatively easier ones (Bangladesh and West Indies) - mean that the Indians have a good chance to top the Board in their Group after all matches are played. The chart below shows the performance of the teams in India's group (in all World Cups so far and in the 2010 year) - this can be a bit misleading since some teams have played weaker teams last year and hence their record looks flattering.

A similar chart for Group A shows a similar trend.

Related articles

• World Cup 2011 - Sachin Tendulkar's sixth sojourn (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

Rotation Rate is as important as Strike Rate

Rotation Rate - What is rotation rate? Just like strike-rate determines the runs scored by a batsman in 100 balls, Rotation-rate is one which we will try to determine the rate a batsman scores runs (other than boundaries) in an innings.

Hence, I tried taking the latest India-South Africa series as an example. The runs scored in the series are showed here. Thanks to Cricinfo, information about the number of fours and sixes are mentioned as well. The process followed is given below:

• Count the runs scored in boundaries and deduct them from the total runs scored - this will give the runs scored in 1's, 2's and 3's (& maybe 5's).
• Deduct the number of boundaries scored (number of fours + number of sixes) from the number of balls faced by a batsman - this will give the balls faced by the batsman where he has ntot scored a boundary
• Dividing the runs scored (other than by boundary hits) by the balls faced (when a boundary was not hit) gives the rotation rate
• The last column shows the difference between the Strike Rate and Rotation Rate

Quite interesting revelations here

• Yusuf Pathan has the highest difference between the two rates. Not surprising given that he scores many runs in boundary hits
• JP Duminy and MS Dhoni have similar rates - again knowing their game, it is another evidence to show they are well-equipped in the ODI format
• Amla also scores many boundaries and thus his difference is high as well

This is one factor that the Indians need to take care - along with the boundaries, they will have to rotate the strike and keep the score-card moving. This will make good totals great and increase their chances of winning.

Do let me know your thoughts on this - do you think this is a good stat to look at?

World Cup 2011 - Sachin Tendulkar's sixth sojourn

Sachin Tendulkar has had mixed experiences at the Cricket World Cup so far in the previous five editions. The emotions have varied from one range to the other - in summary,

• 1992 World Cup - Excitement at appearing in the first World Cup as a promising youngster only to come down to earth after a not-so-great performance by the team.
• 1996 World Cup - Realized what the  Pressure of playing a World Cup at home would feel like. This time, it will be his second at home and he will be all the more wiser. He should be able to transfer the learnings of this Cup to the youngsters in the team so that they can avoid the same traps. 
• 1999 World Cup - Emotional venture at the Cup. His performance was impacted by his father's death, though he did well after travelling back to England.   
• 2003 World Cup - Individual delight at being the highest run-getter once again, contributing to the team's mission to the final of the Cup. That India faltered at the final hurdle was more heart-breaking than the previous instances.
• 2007 World Cup - Disastrous mission overall. Neither the team nor the players enjoyed the stint.

This edition, it looks like he will play it for the final time most likely. He will play it as one of the senior-most players across all the teams. The pressure on him will be less as the Indian team has many match-winners in their lineup. Still, the burden on one single man will still be enormous. 

Will he be lucky this time?  What is your view? Will he be able to combine his individual brilliances and his team's mission to be on top on the 2nd of April?

World Cup 2011 - Dhoni has questions answered after SAF ODIs

Confident of lower-order 
Yusuf Pathan tried his best but that was not supported well by his colleagues other than Zaheer Khan. India was probably not as hungry as South Africa for the series win. But, MS Dhoni had a different take on it - he was positive as ever and sought to see the silver lining from the loss:

The biggest positive out of this game is that when we go into the World Cup, we will know that in the last 10 overs we can chase anything if we have wickets in hand. That lesson is more important than just the loss of the game.

That is the confidence Dhoni has got from his lower-order batsmen, going to the ICC World Cup. Without four of first-choice players, the Indian team did well to get to the final game with a good choice of winning a rare series in South Africa. They managed to ask various questions to the young Protean team but in the bargain answered couple of their questions as well (even though some more questions popped up!)

The Indian eleven for the World Cup games will read this:
Sehwag, Tendulkar, Gambhir, Dhoni, Yusuf Pathan, P1, P2, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, P3.

P1 and P2 will be two of Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina. Yuvraj has been performing well with the ball (more than the bat, in fact) while Kohli is in great form and is a definite asset on sub-continent conditions (especially when chasing a big score). Suresh Raina is also good on the same conditions and can bowl during the slog overs but his form is not great of late. Who will be dropped from this trio, remains to be seen.

The batting order also seems to be an issue of concern - Dhoni is the No.1 batsman in the ODIs but he comes down very low in the lineup - he tried to come up in the last ODI against SAF but couldnt contribute much. If Kohli plays, he should be at No.4 - if not, Dhoni should play at that slot. Yuvraj and Pathan should round off the No. 6 and 7 slots for they are capable of tearing up the bowling in the slog overs. Kirsten and Dhoni should also look at the option of sending them as pinch-hitters to make use of the batting PowerPlays.

P3 will be either Piyush Chawla in the beginning of the tournament (or Ashwin in the latter stages as a surprise selection to out-smart the opponents) if the pitch or opposition is made for an extra spinner. Similarly, if the need for a third pace bowler arises, Munaf Patel will make a comeback to the squad. Ashish Nehra's bad series will see him being the fourth-choice bowler in the World Cup. Selecting Patel and Nehra in the same eleven not only depletes the fielding, the batting strength also goes down a notch. Praveen has shown that he can be depended upon by being a safe bet with the bat.   

Related articles

• Fitness aside, India's World Cup squad almost set (espncricinfo.com)
• Indian Cricket Team World Cup 2011.Statistics. (ramanan50.wordpress.com)
• South Africa win series despite defiant Yusuf Pathan century for India (guardian.co.uk)

Disaster at 2007 World Cup

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India had a golden period around the 2003 World Cup when even in test matches they played to their potential. The loss in the final rankled the team but they put it behind them and continued to go places. John Wright relinquished the position of coach, triggering off a manhunt around the world for the next coach. Greg Chappell was selected after a series of meetings.

Very soon, the Indian team (especially the Senior players) got into a conflict with the Coach about his style of working. The lowest level was reached during the 2007 World Cup when the Indians lost two of the three matches that they played. The only win came against lowly Bermuda when they raked up a huge score of 400+   

Greg Chappell hinted to Sachin and the other senior players that he should retire from the game and give way to youngsters (though he has publicly stated that Ricky Ponting should continue playing for Australia - conflicting suggestions for similar players!!). Sachin Tendulkar was dropped down the order, which didnt go well with him. Despite having three players who had more than 10,000 runs in ODI's, the Indians faltered in their batting displays against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.Greg Chappell lost his position while Rahul Dravid continued as the Indian captain.

Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid are no longer part of the Indian setup though Dravid still continues in test matches.      

See these posts for more details -

• India at the Warm-up matches
• India vs Bangladesh
• India vs Bermuda
• India vs Sri Lanka
• Summary
• World Cup aftermath

Related articles

• Best World Cup so far for Tendulkar - 2003 (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• English World Cup for Sachin in 1999 (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

Best World Cup so far for Tendulkar - 2003

After the disastrous World Cup campaign in 1999, the Indian team structure was overhauled completely thanks to the match-fixing scandal that erupted. A professional structure was brought in, with an international coach selected (John Wright being the first of the many illustrious ones).

Sachin Tendulkar was made the captain on the tour Down Under but he was, as he admitted later, affected by the match-fixing scandal. Sourav Ganguly became captain almost by default then and led the team astutely. He supported a set of players like Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh who flourished under the captaincy of Dada.

Sachin, Rahul and Sourav had supporting actors in Yuvraj, Kaif and Sehwag in the lineup. Dinesh Mongia was the other batsmen in the order who could bowl a few overs as well. The team management impressed upon Rahul Dravid the advantages of him keeping wickets so that they could play an extra batsman. Only twelve players were played by India in the entire tournament that saw Sachin score more than 650 runs and emerge as the highest scorer. Harbhajan was prefered over Anil Kumble as the main spinner in most of the matches - a arguable decision by the skipper.

There were many moments to remember from the Indian team throughout the tournament:

• Sachin's attack against Pakistan - the first impression everyone has about this innings is the square cut of Shoaib Akhtar over point for a six. The Indians were chasing a score of 270+ and everyone expected the Indians to come hard, especially the opening pair of Sehwag and Sachin. Sehwag was kept quiet for sometime but Sachin started the onslaught (he was sleepless the previous night as he admitted) that was blistering. The asking run-rate came down quickly and the Indian victory became a formality. What a match it was, for all the Indian fans - unforgettable!
• Sourav's centuries against minnows - Ganguly scored three centuries in this World Cup, all against the minnows (Namibia and Kenya). Though they cannot be considered as great ones, they were timely ones that helped India reach the finals.
• Off-field issues after the first few matches - India lost the match against Australia by a large margin while just struggling to get past Holland. This triggered uproar within India - effigies were burnt and houses targeted. This acted like a wake-up call for the Indians for the performance picked up dramatically and the Indians won 7 consecutive matches to storm the finals.
• Ashish Nehra's bowling against England - One of the seven wins included the win against England when Ashish Nehra turned a sensational spell to dismiss six English batsmen, mostly being caught behind the wickets and slip catches.
• Dismal bowling in the finals against Australia - The first over saw an over-excited Zaheer Khan mouthing abuses to the Oz opening batsmen. This made the pair more determined to tear the bowling apart. The result was an overwhelming total of 359 for the Australians - 125 more than what the Indians could achieve.

The top two batsmen in the tournament were Sachin and Sourav but they couldnt get going in the finals. But, this must have given Sachin Tendulkar more delight than any of the earlier World Cups. He scored well in almost all important matches in the tournament which got the Indian cause moving. He claimed the Man of the Tournament award from another legend, Gary Sobers, but he would also agree that winning the Cup would have been a more happier moment for him than the individual rewards. The Indian team had made great strides to reach the finals in this version but they succumbed to the best team in the Decade then. The tournament also saw the crux of the Indian batting performing to their potential.

Javagal Srinath was recalled from retirement by the captain to guide and mentor the fellow fast bowlers. The trio of Srinath, Zaheer and Nehra captured 16, 18 and 15 wickets respectively - complementing the batting prowess - check this link for the performance against the Kiwis. Srinath retired gracefully after the Cup and remains active in the local Karnataka cricket, mentoring youngsters.

Mohammed Kaif was the fittest player in the entire Indian team for a long time - proven by tests that tested his strength, endurance and fitness. He played a critical role with his fielding and down-the-order batting - combining to form critical partnerships that would take India past the winning post many a time. He would then fade away by performances that dropped over a period of time. He still plays domestic cricket in India (hoping for a recall) but he will be the first to agree that his time has moved on.

Next is 2007 World Cup in West Indies.

India Vs Pakistan


Sachin on the same match


Ian Chappell speaks about Ricky Ponting vs India in the final

Related articles

• First Home World Cup for Sachin - 1996 World Cup (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• English World Cup for Sachin in 1999 (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• What the 2011 World Cup means to Sachin Tendulkar - 1992 World Cup (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

English World Cup for Sachin in 1999

The Indian team went to the 1999 World Cup in England in a positive frame of mind. 16 years after the World Cup win under Kapil Dev, one thought that the same location will inspire the Indians to give their best and bring back the Cup. Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly at the top were giving Sachin Tendulkar enough reasons to think that this would be the year the Indian team will click - look at the partnerships that were forged by the trio during 1999.

But, Sachin would have never dreamt of what happened during the initial stages of the tournament. His father, whom he has admired all his life and still does so, passed away in Mumbai. Tendulkar has credited his father for all the good he has acquired in his life and this loss was shattering.

Anil Kumble couldnt get the same returns as he found in the 1996 World Cup while Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad could not be consistent enough in all the matches. The loss against Zimbabwe would upset the team's morale before the Super Sixes stage where they would further lose to Australia and New Zealand.

Moments to remember from an Indian perspective

• The inexplicable batting by Sourav Ganguly in the first match against South Africa. Though he had made a decent score, he did not kick on to score more aggressively at the end of the innings in pursuit of his individual century. He failed to do both - get his century as well as getting a winning score. Only 5 wickets were lost by the Indians but the score of 253 was overtaken by the Proteas with 16 balls to spare.
• The fall against Zimbabwe - Sachin had to make a dash to India to attend to the final rites of his dad. In his absence, the Indians lost in a collapse against the determined bowling of the minnow nations. This would be one of the worst defeats for an Indian team in the World Cup until 2007. The match was also critical as it cost the Indian team two points for the next stage.
• Sachin back against Kenya - After completing the rituals, Tendulkar played the next match against Kenya - what an emotional moment it was, when the Master scored his century in the company of Rahul Dravid. Though the opposition was not strong, it showed the true character of the champion.
• Carnage against Sri Lanka - The match against Sri Lanka in Taunton witnessed one of the cleanest six-hitting by an Indian - Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid blasted the lankan attack on a relatively smaller ground to post a total of 373. All the bowlers, including Mutthiah Muralitharan, were mauled badly.
• Win against Pakistan - India kept up the traidition of defeating their arch-rivals in the World Cup by defeating them by 47 runs. Dravid and Venkatesh Prasad were the stars of the match, taking the initiative away from the Pakistan team.

Sachin was determined to continue playing the World Cup despite his personal loss but a lean patch from him after the Kenya match contributed in its own way to the decline of the Indian performance in the Super Sixes. They joined Zimbabwe as the other team to be knocked out of the Super Sixes stage. Yet another disastrous performance by the Indian team at the World Cup, providing very few moments of delight for Indian fans.

It would be the last World Cups for players like Ajay Jadeja, Mohammed Azharuddin, Nayan Mongia, Robin Singh. Jadeja played well to support the trio of Sourav, Sachin and Rahul but could not make the difference good enough to make the semi-finals. He was also involved in match-fixing charges but later was cleared of any wrong-doings and is now a television analyst.

Azharuddin has won the local elections and become the Member of Indian Parliament, again after clearing himself of fixing claims. Robin Singh picked up a five-wicket haul against Sri Lanka in the league stage and played for some more time before the selectors started thinking he was old to be in the playing eleven (even though he was among the fittest in the entire country). He became the fielding coach for the Indian national team before getting associated with IPL as a coach.

Nayan Mongia retired in 2004 after being dropped from the team after dissent and allegations of match-fixing. Incredible to see three players in this team accused of match-fixing!! Debashis Mohanty and Sadagopan Ramesh also played their only World Cup with few good performances in this Cup.

Next is 2003 World Cup in South Africa

Sachin vs Kenya


Ganguly & Dravid against SL


India vs Pakistan in 1999 World Cup

Related articles

• First Home World Cup for Sachin - 1996 World Cup (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• What the 2011 World Cup means to Sachin Tendulkar - 1992 World Cup (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

First Home World Cup for Sachin - 1996 World Cup

After the disappointment of the 1992 World Cup, Sachin went back to India and started accummulating runs at will. Centuries started flowing in tests - another gem was produced by the young Master in Johannesburg later in the same year. England, West Indies, Sri Lanka were not spared in test matches that were played in subsequent years. The Master had started showing the skills that he would be known for, around the cricketing world. Centuries in the ODI's however, had not started until 1994 when India met Australia in Colombo. Sachin's love-story against the Aussie bowling has been documented well over the years and this was the first century the Legend hit against them in ODIs. There would be many more to come in later years.

Almost 15 years back to the same day (18-Feb-1996), Sachin Tendulkar started India's campaign in the 1996 World Cup against Kenya by scoring what else, a century against the minnows. Another century against Sri Lanka followed but in a losing cause. India were one of the favorites to win the World Cup in their backyard but Sri Lanka defeated them in the semi-finals before going on to win the Cup against Australia. Only Sachin Tendulkar was consistent in the matches that India played, managing 50 or more in all but two of his matches. He ended the tournament as the leading run-scorer but that was not enough to take the team to the Cup. Anil Kumble became the highest wicket-taker of the tournament but again he was the lone consistent Ranger in the team.

Some memorable instances that are still fresh in memory include:

• Sachin's batting against Australia - India faced a grim target against the Aussies in Mumbai but as long as Sachin was at the crease, things seemed under control. The Aussies had almost given up home and turned to the part-timer Mark Waugh. Off a wide ball, Sachin was stumped in the nineties. The Indian innings went downhill from thereon and fell short of the target required.
• Sachin's batting against Sri Lanka - Similarly, in the first match that India played against Sri Lanka in this World Cup, Sachin helped the team put up an imposing total of 271 runs. Sri Lanka's tactics of having Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana flay the bowling meant that the chase was reduced to a formality very soon.
• Manoj Prabhakar reduced to bowling off-spin in the same match - Manoj Prabhakar was one of the great opening bowlers for India prior to Srinath's arrival in test cricket. He could swing the ball prodigiously and won many a match with his all-round abilities. He would open the batting and bowling for India in many test matches and ODIs. During this match, he was massacred by "Jaya and Kalu" in the first three overs. He bowled his last over as an off-spinner! Manoj Prabhakar turned out to be a whistle-blower later for the match-fixing charges in India. Later, he made a comeback to domestic cricket as a coach for Delhi Ranji team.
• The memorable match in Bangalore when Jadeja smashed Waqar and Venky bowled Aamir Sohail - Who could forget this match? India and Pakistan playing a World Cup quarterfinal in Bangalore. Morning of the match saw Wasim Akram pull out because of a shoulder injury. The Indians made good progress with the bat but during the slog overs, Ajay Jadeja smashed Waqar Younis for 40 runs in the latters 2 overs. The Pakistan batsmen started the chase bravely thanks to the openers but Venkatesh Prasad dismissed Aamir Sohail to put the brakes. Sohail had been hitting Prasad all over the ground and gesturing at Prasad which made the Indian pacer react angrily on the dismissal.
• The chaotic scenes that ended the semi-final match in Calcutta with Kambli in tears. India had got through to the semis after a tough match against Pakistan while Sri Lanka were fortunate that because of the non-participation of some countries, they faced a relatively weaker England team. The openers had created all the news in the initial stages but in this match, both of them were out in the first over itself. Aravinda de Silva then took over the control of the match and ensured that the target for the Indian team was steep. Sachin once again started the chase in right earnest and till he was at the crease, there was hope even though Azhar had made his gaffe after winning the toss (remember Gooch's 333 at Lords). The match was force-closed with the crowd becoming unruly after the Indian collapse. Vinod Kambli was the last Indian player to be seen on the television sets, crying at the possibility of not being able to play another World Cup in his life!

Navjot Sidhu scored two fifties in this tournament, against West Indies and Pakistan in the quarter-finals. He did not play in all the matches and could have made a bigger impact. His failure in the semi-final would have rankled him for long time. He took up television commentary and politics after his retirement, well-known for his witty comments.

Sanjay Manjrekar bowed out of the World Cups after a performance that included just one half-century in the ill-fated chase against Australia. He has moved on to become a cricket commentator on Television as well as expert analyst on websites like Cricinfo.

Salil Ankola made his test debut in the same match as Sachin Tendulkar but could not make much impact on the international scene like his co-debutant. Even in this World Cup, he bowled only five overs in the only match he played. He became an actor and performed different roles in television soaps.

Venkatapathy Raju did well in the matches he played in this World Cup, taking wickets at vital intervals of the match. After retirement he took up the reins of Hyderabad cricket and was part of the selection committee also.

Another World Cup had gone and Sachin's dream of winning the World Cup remained still a dream even after playing at home.

Next post is the 1999 World Cup in England.

Stumped off a wide by Mark Waugh


Sachin's performance at 1996 World Cup

Related articles

• Tendulkar in India's World Cup 15 (news.bbc.co.uk)
• What the 2011 World Cup means to Sachin Tendulkar - 1992 World Cup (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• English World Cup for Sachin in 1999 (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

SA ODIs - India go ahead in the series

Yusuf in full flow
Yusuf Pathan and Suresh Raina are suspect against short-pitched bowling. They are playing the ODI series against South Africa, who have the deadliest opening bowling attack in the World, on their backyard. They are easy meat!!

At 93-5 last evening, this must have been the thought that entered Greame Smith's mind. The duo survived and how! A 75-run partnership at better than run-a-ball, taking the target required down to 53. True, luck was with them and there were some catches dropped by the Proteas but the youngsters rode their luck and turned the tide.

This win will give the Indians, especially Pathan and Raina, a world of confidence. This victory, coming as it did, against the mighty bowling attack on a pitch that played few tricks must give the Indian team a huge boost going into the World Cup. They exactly did the opposite of what the South Africans did during the second ODI - keep their cool. Harbhajan and Zaheer and later Nehra gritted it out, huffed, puffed, missed and eventually scored runs in every way they could. Dhoni must have been really happy that without his contribution, the team could get past the winning score.

The South Africans showed many weakness areas in this ODI again - the ability to keep their cool seems to have gone out of the nature of the South African cricketers. The absence of Kallis shows the true nature of the team and their dependency. Once Amla and Smith get out, they are vulnerable. This loss will truly hurt their psyche more than anything - how they recover from these two losses remains to be seen. They lost two consecutive matches at home back in 2006 against the Aussies though they won the series. The last series they lost was in 2009 against England (2 matches were abandoned). Will the Indians be lucky this series?    

Related articles

• SA ODIs - India level the series with luck (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• Yusuf blasts India ahead (skysports.com)
• SA ODIs - India are 0-1 down (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

What the 2011 World Cup means to Sachin Tendulkar - 1992 World Cup

Sachin Tendulkar has gone back to India early from South Africa, because of a hamstring injury. Even though it might not be as serious as the one that is troubling Michael Hussey of Australia, the legend wants to ensure that he takes ample rest to keep himself fit for the six weeks during the World Cup. There is no doubt that Sachin will recover in time - he will even play matches on crutches, if it comes to that! This will be his last chance to play in a World Cup and a fitting farewell for him will be a resounding victory for his home team in his backyard,  Mumbai. What a dream run that will be?

Sachin will join Javed Miandad as the only player to play six World Cups in its history so far. There are many who have played five but no one else has lasted long enough to enjoy one more. Sachin, in fact, must consider himself unfortunate that he had to wait for three long years after his debut to play in a World Cup (1992). But for this wait, he might have beaten Miandad's record also - what a record of longevity that would have been! Let us go through each edition that Sachin has played along with players who have gone on to occupy higher positions in other areas. This post will be about the first World Cup that Sachin played - 1992.

Sachin played the 1992 World Cup under Azharuddin in the Australasian Continent right after the disastrous test series. Sachin had shown enough glimpses of his talent to the world in the series - remember the century scored on the fast Perth pitch against the mighty Aussie attack. The morale of the team was low - they didnt have the self-belief that they could make a difference, forget win the tournament. There was rain in the air that contributed to shortened matches and the famous D/L method came into use at various games. Azhar, Sachin with the bat and Prabhakar with the ball were the consistent performers in this Cup that the Indians would love to forget.

What one can remember from this World Cup were very few nuggets, not all positive ones from an Indian perspective:

• India-Australia match that ended with a 1-run win for the hosts. Javagal Srinath and Venkatapathy Raju were the batsmen at the crease facing Tom Moody while David Boon was keeping wickets. Srinath thought that he had hit a six when in fact it was a catch to the outfield. The catch was missed but the batsman was run-out resulting in a win for the Oz. The India-Australia match in the previous World Cup (1987) was also a close encounter with Maninder Singh and Steve Waugh involved.
• Ajay Jadeja's catch in the outfield to dismiss Allan Border in the same match. This was one of the highlight of the Indian fielding throughout the World Cup. This catch can be recollected by all Indian fans even to this day. Jadeja had clearly made a mark as an outstanding fielder in the Indian team.
• Kiran More and Javed Miandad getting into an argument in the Indo-Pak match. More was known for his excessive appealing. When you have him keep wickets close to the combustible Miandad, there were bound to be fireworks. Miandad imitated More in a manner only he can. Watch the video below for more details!
• Sachin's fifty against arch-rivals Pakistan and his partnership with Kapil Dev. After a slow start, the Indian innings came to life from a cameo by the Young Master, who came together with the veteran all-rounder to restore some respectability to the Indian score.
• Kapil Dev promoted to open the batting in one of the matches! Due to the frequent rain interruptions, the Indians went to the extent of changing the batting order and requested Kapil Dev to partner Srikkanth in one of the match. The experiment did not last long however.

The team had Praveen Amre (from the same school of Sachin Tendulkar) who started with a bang - century overseas against South Africa on his debut in a situation that called for action from heros. Amre later faded away from the scene and eventually became the coach of the Mumbai cricket team.

Another player from the same school played in this World Cup (as well as the 1996 one) but his exploits were more off the field than on it. Vinod Kambli had famously stated that he took the staircase to success when Sachin took the elevator. He is part of the list of players who have a test average of more than fifty. His troubles against the short ball were well-documented and he was targeted by bowlers all around the world. Of late, there were reports that he had opened a Sports Academy in Mumbai. He tried to contest in the local elections but lost badly.

This was also the last World Cups for Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri and Krishnamachari Srikkanth who were all part of the 1983 winning team. Kapil would go on to be the coach of the Indian cricket team before associated with the now-defunct ICL. Shastri got in and continued to be involved with commentary on television and later the IPL bandwagon. Srikkanth is currently the Chief Selector of the Indian cricket team as well as the Brand Ambassador for CSK in the IPL.

Kiran More also bid good-bye to this stage after his antics with Javed Miandad during the high-voltage match. He became the Chairman of the Selection Committee in 2002 before joining the rebel ICL league. Subroto Banerjee was another then-youngster who played in his only World Cup - he made his test debut in the same match that Shane Warne did but his name rings very few bells.

This performance must have brought a lot of discontent to the young Sachin Tendulkar and he must have sworn vengeance on all the bowlers in the subsequent World Cups. From the dismal performance put up by the Indian team, things were going to go in one direction only, up.

Next post is on 1996 World Cup in the Sub-continent.

Javed Miandad and Kiran More

Related articles

• Injured Tendulkar named in India's cricket World Cup squad (cnn.com)
• Tendulkar chosen for India's World Cup squad despite injury (independent.co.uk)
• English World Cup for Sachin in 1999 (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• Best World Cup so far for Tendulkar - 2003 (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

SA ODIs - India level the series with luck

India equalized the ODI series with a show of determination and luck. Thanks to the Man-of-Match Munaf Patel  and the fielding efforts, the Indian team squeaked through the narrowest margin.

There were quite a few things that became more evident if they were not clear earlier

• The absence of Kallis in the South African playing eleven creates a gaping hole as well as increases pressure on Greame Smith. Picture his reluctance to leave the crease when he was dismissed. It was as though he knew that South Africa will fall into disarray very soon.
• The Batting Power-Play is still a mystery to all teams. Last night, the Indians were 14-4 whereas South Africa were marginally better (20-3). Most often than not, this plays into the bowling side when the batsmen try more than required to hit the big shots. One was again wondering why Greame Smith chose to take it when there were 19 overs and an asking rate of around 3 runs per over. Strange!
• Pressure and South Africa will continue to be mentioned in the same sentence for some more time. They cannot shed the tag of chokers completely, it looks by their current performances. How else can you explain such a collapse of wickets, leading to the eventual loss. MSD was not complaining however.
• The Indian part-time bowlers (Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina) are good enough, if not better, than most spinners of other teams. Together, they have bowled 26 overs in the 2 ODIs and taken four wickets for 125 runs. Botha, in comparison, has given away 81 runs in 17 overs while taking the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar last evening. This should give an idea to the team management for the upcoming World Cup. They should do well to emulate the Sri Lankans of 1996 by packing the squad with part-time bowlers to support Harbhajan Singh.
• MS Dhoni has not lost his magic touch - he won the toss yesterday and the match eventually. But more than that, his field placements were on the dot. A slip was present forever when Harbhajan was bowling and he brought in Yusuf Pathan in the last over to the position where the next catch came.   
• Sachin Tendulkar is supposed to travel back because of a hamstring scare. This will put more pressure on the Indian batting lineup but one feels that South Africa will still miss Kallis more than the Indians missing Tendulkar. Yusuf Pathan will come into the squad, moving Rohit Sharma higher the batting order.

The Indian team for World Cup will be selected on Monday, before the third ODI starts. How the selection will have an impact on the Indian team remains to be seen. MSD has suggested resting his pace bowlers - Zaheer Khan most likely. Sreesanth will make a return to the ODIs at his expense but how the Proteas make the mental adjustment remains to be seen.

Related articles

• SA ODIs - India are 0-1 down (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

World Cup 2011 - Indian squad selection on Jan 17th

The final Indian team  for the 2011 World Cup will be picked by the selection committee on January 17. 15 players will be picked which means an equal 15 will have to be dropped from this list.


The 30 probables selected were as follows:

• Openers - Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, M Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane. Dhawan and Rahane have played no part in the on-going series while Vijay is playing just because Sehwag and Gambhir are injured. The three will probably be the first set to be removed from the list. Sehwag will not be able to bowl his off-breaks because of the shoulder injury while Sachin has started bowling again (though only in test matches).
• Middle-order - Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Saurabh Tiwary, Cheteshwar Pujara. Jadeja was given enough chances in the recent past but the youngster has not been able to make a mark for himself. Saurabh Tiwary promised but did not get enough chances to prove his mettle. Pujara is more a test batsmen who would be expected to play a Dravid-like role latter in his career. Other than Virat, everyone can bowl 5-6 overs in an ODI and fill in the fifth bowlers slot. 3 of the 5 players will play eventually in any match and that will be dependent on the opposition and pitch where the match will be played.
• Wicket-keepers - MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Parthiv Patel, Wriddhiman Saha. None of the reserve wicket-keepers have done anything of note to be selected. Since the matches will be held in the sub-continent, getting a replacement will be easy as well. Parthiv Patel will be on call if anything untoward happens to MSD.
• Pace bowlers - Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar, Munaf Patel, Sreesanth, Ishant Sharma, Vinay Kumar. This is one of the trickiest choices that the selectors have to make. MS Dhoni and Gary Kirsten will probably give the last opinion on the one that will be selected. Ishant and Vinay Kumar have moved out of the reckoning but whom will the selectors drop from the other five bowlers? Zaheer, Ashish and Praveen Kumar are the ones who will be definitely present. Whether the selectors choose the accuracy of Munaf or the wicket-taking ability of Sreesanth is to be seen? The on-going series will give a clue to the selection - so far, it has been Munaf in the forefront.
• Spinners - Harbhajan Singh, R Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Amit Mishra, Piyush Chawla. Though one might wonder what wrong did Pragyan Ojha do, it is more likely the great job that Ashwin has been doing in T20s and ODIs which will clinch the second spinner slot for him. With quite a few part-time spinners in the squad, dont think there will be more than two spinners selected in the team.

All these selections will change if the players who have been injured (Sehwag, Gambhir, Praveen Kumar) continue to be unavailable during the World Cup also. I am confused with the last slot that remains to be selected - as mentioned above, Munaf is most likely going to get the nod to play his second World Cup.

Do you agree with this team? What do you expect from the selectors?

Related articles

• 2011 World Cup - India announce their 30 member squad (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• SA ODIs - Indian team announced for final ODI series before WC2011 (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• Rahane, Pujara in World Cup preliminary squad (espncricinfo.com)

SA ODIs - India are 0-1 down

India lost the first ODI against South Africa in Durban last evening. Lost is probably a mild word - they were thumped by the hosts by a margin of 135 runs. MS Dhoni thought that the target was gettable if the visitors had not lost early wickets. But, let us be fair to ourselves - didnt we not expect the pitch to help the bowlers under lights? South African pitches, like the ones in Sri Lanka, tend to support the bowlers in the second innings of the day-night matches. More reason for MS Dhoni to win the toss - after he won one in the final test match, he reverted back to his old habits of losing the toss.

Hashim Amla seemed to be in top gear - I am sure all of you will agree that there is a bit of VVS in Amla's batting. His stroke-making is silken and it was clear that he had made the necessary changes to his game to excel in ODIs also. Laxman himself had done similar alterations to his game when he was scoring all those ODI centuries against Australia. But, India managed to grab wickets early and reduced the scoring rate by a fraction. JP Duminy and AB DeViliers are clearly the future of South African cricket - they gave a joint performance on how to recover the situation by clever running and rotation of the strikes. Another aspect that was refreshing was the clear thinking, especially with respect to the Batting Power-Play. This is one area where teams have seldom been succcessful in ODIs. By taking it when the two batsmen at crease were settled and run-rate had started picking up again, the South Africans reaped high dividends. 45 runs in 5 overs helped to a great extent and in hindsight, made up for the latter overs.

The Indians came back by the display of their part-time bowlers who were brought on more out of desperation. The Indians would do well to drop Nehra or Patel for the next match and bring on Ashwin. This decision will help in not only putting the brakes on the Proteas but also figure out how the two off-spinners (with different qualities) will play together. The WC2011 will be played on Indian pitches and it is important that Bhajji strikes up a good partnership with Ashwin quickly. On the other hand, South Africa by their display showed how they can be choked by spin - a worrying aspect before the WC starts.

The batting resembled the test team in the first test match - found out against two quality fast bowlers and two adept backup seamers. Murali Vijay tries to change his batting style in ODIs and his over-aggression acts against him mostly - he must learn to be patient in the first few overs, see off the new ball and then take calculated risks. The Legend who was returning back to ODIs after a long time had a rare failure, which meant that the youngsters were exposed to the new ball. One positive spin that I will try to put here is that it is good for youngsters like Kohli, Raina, Rohit Sharma and even Dhoni to face this bowling under difficult conditions - this experience will definitely pay off in the long run for the young batsmen.

Kohli repeated his act of scoring high in chasing situations while Raina tried to hit his way out. Even though the Indians had seven batsmen, the run-rate proved too high to scale. The Indians were able to make good use of Botha's overs but that was not enough. Going forward, the Indian team should try to reshuffle the batting so that the experienced batsmen come higher up the order. Dhoni, for example, should come at No.4 and try to keep one end going. Similarly, Yuvraj and Raina should go down the order and come in at a situation when runs are needed - 6 and 7 being the right places. Maybe, the next match. the Indians will try making Kohli open the batting so that Yusuf Pathan can be brought in.

Not a good start by the Indians last evening - will they equalize in the Bull Ring on Saturday?