England Home T20s - India win 2-1

Another series for him - not one with youngsters like Kedar but with veterans like Raina, Yuvraj, Dhoni winding the clock back - vintage performance that one can go miles to see. Bumrah, Nehra and Chahal shared the spoils with the ball to complete a 2-1 of the T20 series, reflecting the closeness of the teams.

IPL9 - then there was SRH

IMAGE cOURTESY: espncricinfo website

IPL-8 - Match-20 - CSK ease past RCB

Ashish Nehra's continued impressive performance with the ball meant that CSK eased past RCB.

Eng-Ind series - Time for Post-mortem

The series is over. India have been white-washed by the English team convincingly, 4-0 being the verdict. There was no doubt who was the stronger team and the No.1 ranking at the end of the series was apt for the winners.

The jury is out. Ex-players are out with their comments and suggestions on how to improve Indian cricket but one thing is common among all the commentators - they are like the Indian industrialists who do not want to support Anna Hazare in the Anti-Corruption Drive. For fear of being an outcast in the eyes of BCCI and thereby losing their potential income, they do not blame IPL as one of the reasons for the Indian loss.

No longer the No.1

Sanjay Manjrekar in Cricinfo states that India needs a few urgent repairs. Manjrekar talks about pace bowlers first and then spinners.

Stating that India needs to look beyond Zaheer Khan, Sanjay lists the likely bowlers who can lead India's new-ball attack - Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma - while being disappointed with two other bowlers - Sreesanth, Munaf Patel. From the period Javagal Srinath retired from the international scene, India has played quite a few number of pacemen.
Let us look at the ones who are still in the hunt:

• Irfan Pathan - played 29 test matches for India. Has a hat-trick to his name but lost his prodigious swing somewhere. Everyone criticized him for losing his pace which never was his strength. Injury further sidelined him, making it difficult for getting a look-in to the pace attack. Definitely should be in the plans for the future of Indian cricket. A fully-fit and in-form Irfan would have been a handful for the English attack with his swing and batting skills. 
• RP Singh - Eric Simons mentioned that he was selected over Munaf Patel because of his ability to swing. Neither swing was on offer nor pace was visible during his spell in the final test match. After having lost pace (more than 10kmph compared to the earlier English series in 2007), RP did not look like making any impact on the batsmen in any way. 
• Balaji and Ashish Nehra played test matches for India last in 2005. Injuries crippled them to cut short their promising careers. Though Nehra made a comeback to ODIs and has performed creditably, he has not been looked (by the selectors) as a possible candidate for tests (even though he was keen on coming back to the test arena). Balaji made a comeback two seasons ago in the IPL bowling at slower pace.
• VRV Singh, Jaidev Unadkat were given chances on the tour to South Africa but they never capitalized on the opportunities. While VRV has fallen away, Wasim Akram has spoken very highly of Unadkat and one might see him make a comeback (provided he can add muscle to his slight frame). Abhimanyu Mithun on the Sri Lankan tour (in the absence of the leading bowlers), however, performed better than expected. But, he has not been seen once again in Indian colors. Will the selectors revert back to him for the Australian tour?

Similarly, in the spin bowling department, Manjrekar feels that Ashwin should be given a chance in the home series against West Indies. Who else have played for India in the same time-frame as above?

• Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha are the ones who have been given the maximum number of chances after Kumble and in the absence of Harbhajan Singh. But, as Mishra showed in the recent series, on wickets that do not support spin, these bowlers do not make any impact on the bowlers. Pragyan Ojha should continue his previous assignment that was agreed with Surrey and gain experience on the county circuit. This will keep him in good stead for the future.
• Piyush Chawla and Romesh Powar are the other spinners who have played a couple of test matches for India. Though Chawla made a surprise comeback to the 2011 World Cup and has age on his side, he is not thought to be in the same frame as the other spinners. If he can be a bit faster in the air, Chawla can still help India in the long run. Powar continues to ply his wares in the Ranji tournament with average success.
• Murali Karthik is the other bowler who has performed well whenever given a chance (which is mostly in a crisis situation). But, the selectors seem to consider him as over-the-hill even though he plays with success on the county circuit.

Sanjay finishes the article by suggesting that VVS Laxman does not have much time to play for India. Just a few test matches ago, the entire sub-continent was singing praises for VVS but look at the reactions now. There are obviously no other players who are good enough to take his role, yet. Who are the other middle-order batsmen whom the selectors have given a chance so far?

• Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina have been given enough chances to prove themselves. Both have showed that they cannot translate their potential shown in the shorter format to the longer arena. How longer will they continue to get chances their way? Should the selectors not look elsewhere now? Probably yes.
• Cheteshwara Pujara, Virat Kohli and Badrinath have been given a few tests to show their prowess. Virat and Badri have shown that they have technical weaknesses against the short ball (Badrinath would have felt unlucky to have started his test career against the searing pace of Steyn). Pujara did well against Australia at home but in the series against Proteans, did not make a big contribution.  
• Rohit Sharma is the other name suggested by Anil Kumble in his comments after the debacle but these players should earn their spot in the playing eleven rather than being selected purely for youth sake.

In the opening department, Sehwag and Gambhir have been playing well but as this series once again showed, injuries and illnesses need to be planned in a proactive manner. 

• Aakash Chopra and Sanjay Bangar had performed the role of opener very creditably on the tours to Australia and England. Though they still play domestic cricket, they are not on the short-list of selectors any more. Aakash would have been the ideal opener to replace Sehwag on the recent tour, even though it was a short-term option.
• Murali Vijay, Abhinav Mukund hail from the state of Tamil Nadu. They have done well in few of the opportunities given to them so far but it is injustice to them that they have not been given the exposure to challenging pitches overseas on 'A' tours. Will the BCCI make the necessary changes to groom these players?

Ravi Shastri, the IPL veteran, remarked in his column - It's time for Indian cricket to identify players who are specifically suited to the different formats of the game. A way has to be found to encourage those cricketers who want to give Test cricket priority. There ought to be superior remuneration or compensation. How do you suggest this will happen, Ravi? Especially when the BCCI is filling its coffers with IPL as well as CLT20 tournaments, how can young cricketers get encouraged by the longer version? Is BCCI planning to start a new tournament on similar lines? Or are they going to increase the prices of central contract? What is your detailed proposal to achieve this, Mr. Shastri?

Pataudi, who gave away the trophy (named after his father) to England at Oval, predicted the next action that one can expect from the BCCI very correctly - The BCCI is not going to show a great deal of vision. Cricket will continue [in India] the way it is, but I sincerely hope that some sense does come in.

Related articles

• Eng-Ind series - When India had a chance (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• Eng-Ind - MSD needs a break (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

World Cup 2011 - A team effort surely

We are the Champions of the World - Courtesy Castrol Cricket Site

The Indian team has been partying hard from the night of April 2nd - once MS Dhoni hit the winning six. All the team members played in a minimum of two matches in the tournament - no one was Valson-ed (for all the young bloggers, Sunil Valson was the lone player in the 1983 tournament who did not play a single match). A look at the statistics page reveals the contribution done but some of them go beyond just statistics. Let us look at their key moments in the tournament.

• MS Dhoni. The captain led from the front, especially in the finals. He had his share of misses and hits with his decisions but as one could see, created the luck that got his team the World Cup.
• Virender Sehwag. He hit such a high in the first match against Bangladesh that everything else paled in comparison. That his 175 came just after he announced his intention to play 50 overs was more than coincidental.
• Sachin Tendulkar. Two centuries that took his tally to 99. A Man-of-Match in the semifinals against Pakistan that he would have not wanted. He would have given all of it away for the medal he received at the end of the tournament - Winner!!
• Gautam Gambhir - the final brought the best of a fighter who had made small contributions in most of the matches. He is one vital cog in Dhoni's future team that will continue his dream. 
• Yuvraj Singh. Even though he did everything right (only a perfect yorker could stop his run-flow), his innings against Australia was the high-point in this tournament. 
• Virat Kohli. Like Sehwag, he scored a century in the first match of the tournament and failed to match it. Virat, though, contributed several runs by his agile fielding skills.
• Suresh Raina. The fittest player in the Indian team, Raina played a critical knock against Pakistan in the final overs that helped in putting a decent score on the board. His contribution to the win against Australia was equally critical, if one can look over his fielding at all.
• Yusuf Pathan. Another player of the future, who could not get a look-in because of Kohli & Raina's better fielding skills. He played a good cameo against Ireland that hastened the victory much earlier than what one anticipated it to be.
• Harbhajan Singh. The wickets of Umar Akmal & Shahid Afridi would have to be the highlight of his bowling throughout the tournament. These two strikes were worth their weight in gold, catapulting the Pakistan team to defeat.
• Piyush Chawla. He was given the confidence by his skipper and partly repaid it. He kept his composure and dismissed Shezad after being stuck by sixes. He was hampered by lack of international match practice, which showed.
• Ravichandran Ashwin. There was a lot of crowd support for this lad that added to the pressure of Dhoni during press conference. He showed that he could be a good addition to the team with his diverse skills. His dismissal of Shane Watson against Australia started the slide.
• Zaheer Khan. What can one say about this bowler? He was on a mission to prove that his performance in 2003 final was an aberration. His spell against England to revive the match was stuff that dreams are made of.
• Munaf Patel. Often criticized for his uni-dimensional skills, Munaf delivered with the ball more often than not. His dismissal of Razzaq in the semis was well thought-out and executed to the point. Everyone is aware how dangerous the allrounder can be on his day - the slower leg-cutter of Munaf put an end to his aspirations. 
• Ashish Nehra. Another uni-dimensional bowler who delivered on a pitch that was helping the slower bowlers more. His spell in the slog overs during the Pakistan match was superb.
• Sreesanth. What can one say about this bowler? A gamble that was picked in the first and last match of the tournament - Sreesanth was the only one who did not contribute much - no wickets in the two matches. Economy rate of 8+. No catches taken in the tournament at all. Anyway, everything is forgotten, Sree. You were probably the lucky charm for MSD - one of the common links between the 2 World Cup victories under Dhoni.

World Cup 2011 - The D-day is here tomorrow

The D-day after 6 weeks of matches in the 2011 World Cup is tomorrow and everyone is excited about it in India and Sri Lanka. Will it be a repeat of Lords 1983 or Johannesburg 2003 for India? Will it be Lahore 1996 or Bridgetown 2007 for Sri Lanka?

The excitement might not match that of India-Pakistan or India-Australia but the Indians should be careful of not letting their preparation down for this finale. The spirit also would have been much more aggressive in the quarters and semis but in the final, it will be a different ball-game in the final. Therein lies the major problem for both sides, more so for the Indians.

The two teams have played each other so much that they know their opposition by heart. The teams have players who used to play together for last 3 years in IPL - sample this:

• Delhi Daredevils had Sehwag, Gambhir, Dilshan, Ashish Nehra
• Kings XI Punjab had Yuvraj, Piyush Chawla, Sangakkara, Jayawardene, Sreesanth
• Mumbai Indians had Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, Lasith Malinga, Zaheer Khan
• Chennai SuperKings had MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ashwin, Muralitharan 

With the camaraderie they shared in the dressing room, it is highly unlikely that tempers will rise tomorrow. The public will however like the teams to be charged up to give their best show on the field. Pakistan seemed to be edgy on the field in the semis but Sri Lanka will arrive well-prepared. 

The matches played in Mumbai earlier in the tournament were high-scoring matches but Jayawardene feels that the pitch looked different. Here is an interesting article talking about the curator and how he feels if Sachin spends 30 minutes at the crease, he will score a century.

Ashish Nehra and Angelo Matthews have been ruled out of the final match because of injuries sustained in the semis. Randiv has been called up to replace Matthews even though Perera and Kulasekara were available - does it show the thinking on the Lankan side about the pitch? India, though, are still unsure about Nehra's replacement, as per Dhoni's conference. MSD feels that his team is peaking at the right time and will treat the match as another one, not as a final. This tactic worked in the earlier Knock-out matches and he is sure that it will work again. 

Kapil Dev cautioned the public that Dhoni should not be judged by this final alone but I am sure he will be happy if Dhoni joins his club as a Cup-winning captain. His pedigree so far has been good - captain of winning T20 World Cup team, winner of IPL and Champions League and captain of No.1 test team. Tomorrow, if the team plays as well as it can, the ODI World Cup will join the list. 

Sangakkara though put a spin by saying that he thought that the Indians deserved to be called as the favorites. Is it just mind game at action or any other strategy from the Lankan camp?

There are many mini-battles in the final game where each one will try to outdo the other:

• Openers - SRT and Sehwag vs Dilshan and Tharanga. The Lankan pair have scored more and frequently but tomorrow iwll be a different ball game. Tharanga has not done well against India - can he repeat his heroics earlier in the Cup?
• Pace - Malinga vs Zaheer Khan. The strike bowlers with the new ball on both sides have been phenomenal. Both have played in earlier Cup finals and have experienced failure. This is the time they step up to make the extra step.
• Spin - Harbhajan vs Muralitharan. Murali, on one leg, will be better than any other spinner from Sri Lanka. But, the Indians are those who have picked him better than the others. Harbhajan comes to the final with the confidence of bowling well against Pakistan. Having got Afridi out must have delighted him no end, for his figures have been destroyed many a time by the Pak Pathan.

Of course, this is not to belittle the others like Jayawardene, Sangakkara or Yuvraj Singh but these battles will decide the course the match more than any others.

My prediction - India wins the match but Sachin does not score a century. He will definitely take this at the end of the game, even if he fails with the bat. Castrol Index puts the Lankans ahead - 172-155. Do you agree - I dont think so.

Related articles

• World Cup 2011 - Sri Lanka stands before 83 repeat - Part I (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

World Cup 2011 - Sound-bites from the Indian team

The Indian team has been making their voices heard at different events across the nation. Interesting to see their mindset as well as their approach before the tournament has started:

• MS Dhoni has been seen at various events as he is the Captain Cool as well as the most expensive brand in Indian television today. He says he is ready for the UDRS, having done the homework - something that the Indian team has hated from the first time they used it in Sri Lanka.
• Viru Sehwag is back from Munich after his treatment there. As usual, he is not worried by the injuries to some players as well as the dip in form - he feels India is primed to win the World Cup.
• Sachin Tendulkar - The Maestro believes that India's rise to the No.1 ranking in tests has given him confidence of doing well in this World Cup.
• Gautam Gambhir - Disappointed after being dropped for the last World Cup, Gambhir feels that India can Win it. Simple, right?
• Yuvraj Singh - Though he had thought about quitting last year, he is ready to give anything for the World Cup and would like to win it for Sachin.
• Yusuf Pathan - Yusuf feels good that there are many people are backing the team. He is also confident of winning the Cup for Sachin.
• Suresh Raina - Proclaiming Kirsten as the best thing for India after Sachin, Raina feels that it is an absolute honor to be playing for India at the World Cup. 
• Virat Kohli - he is ready to sit out in the matches, which is expected after the players make their return to the squad.
• Harbhajan Singh - Bhajji has declared that India is ready for the challenge and asserts that the 1983 win will inspire the team.
• Piyush Chawla - Piyush feels that spinners will play a major role in this World Cup while feeling that playing at home will be advantage for the Indians
• Ashish Nehra - Nehra feels that fast bowlers will play a critical role, trying to restrict the scores to less than 300.
• Munaf Patel - the Ikhar Express is confident of doing well in the World Cup by focusing on line and length in place of speed.
• Praveen Kumar - calls his captain the 'Obama of cricket' before flying to England for his tennis elbow treatment.
• R Ashwin - Praising his captain for giving him plenty of freedom, Ashwin is very excited that the World Cup is happening in India.
• Zaheer Khan seems to be away from all action so far. Is everything alright with the bowling spearhead, on whom lot of hopes rest from the Indian team?

Lots of confidence and the determination to win the Cup for Sachin seems to be the common theme among the Indian players. Hope they continue in the same manner through the tournament also.

Related articles

• World Cup 2011 - Yusuf and India's trick (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• World Cup 2011 - How will teams innovate? (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• World Cup 2011 - Sachin Tendulkar's sixth sojourn (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• World Cup 2011 - Dhoni has questions answered after SAF ODIs (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• World Cup 2011 - Big-hitters to watch (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

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)

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)

NZ ODIs - Indian replacements announced

Back for the NZ ODIs

The Indian selectors have named replacements for some of the players in the first two ODIs

• Sreesanth being replaced by Zaheer Khan
• Rohit Sharma replaces Suresh Raina
• Parthiv Patel taking over the wicket-keeping gloves from Wriddhiman Saha
• Praveen Kumar coming in place of Vinay Kumar

While Sreesanth and Raina will take rest before they proceed to the South African tour, Saha and Vinay Kumar will go back to their state squads for playing the Ranji matches.

In place of Zaheer, the selectors should have given a chance to Umesh Yadav (selected for the tour to SA). The Indian spearhead would have spent some more time on the sidelines rejuvenating himself before the difficult tour.  Similarly, Vinay Kumar must feel unlucky to have been left out without getting any chance in the ODI series.

Dinesh Karthick is overlooked once again while Parthiv Patel gets a chance at international level after a very long time. The Indian batting is a bit weak in this ODI series - Ashish Nehra coming at No.7 is an indication of the lower order strength. Parthiv will add weight to the batting hopefully while not diluting the wicket-keeping duties.

The three matches gives the selectors ideal situation to check the bench strength of the Indian team - will the players take up the opportunity and grab their chances? Let us see.

Related articles

• India select squads for NZ ODIs and SA series (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• Praveen Kumar to miss first ODI against NZ (espncricinfo.com)
• Pointers from the Indian selectors and Ranji matches (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

2011 World Cup - who should be No.7?

MS Dhoni mentioned recently that there are a few spots for grabs - one point is quite interesting to hear

We don't have a world-class all-rounder, which means that place is also up for grabs. Also, one more big-hitting batsman who can fit down the order

Let us face it - we dont have any "world-class all-rounder" in our bench - Irfan Pathan is the only allrounder in India, who comes close. But, he is not in the spotlight for any teams in the country.

The first 6 slots are taken care by Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni. No. 7 slot is up for grabs - who do we have? Yusuf Pathan and Ravinder Jadeja have been given many opportunities to showcase the talent but haven't delivered for some time now.


What is the other option? Why should India look for a batsman only (who can bowl part-time)?

Why not a bowler who can bat decently? On current form, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar and Ashish Nehra qualify for the bowling spots. There is one slot which needs a suitable player.


Let us look at the options for part-time bowlers first

• Yuvraj Singh - average of 40+ and economy-rate of 5+
• Suresh Raina - average of 54+ and RPO of 5.4+
• Sehwag - average of 40+ and RPO of 5.2+

These are the 3 bowlers who usually bowl part-time in ODIs - all with an average of 40+ and economy rate of 5+. This means that if they bowl 10 overs in an innings, they will leak 50+ runs in the match at a minimum. On their lucky day, they might get 1 wicket max.

Compare it with a bowler who can restrict the runs given to 45+ in a match - a saving of 10 runs easily. If he can contribute with the bat for more than 10 runs consistently, the result is the same. If he is a good bowler, he can definitely get more wickets than the part-time bowler. Wickets, as we all know, are much better in ODI matches than runs conceded. Thus, the case for a bowling all-rounder gets strengthened. I am trying to assume that the fielding skills are same here.

So, why are we still looking for the batting all-rounder? Can we not include 5 bowlers in the playing eleven? Ramachandran Ashwin is one player who can be looked into - let us hope he gets enough chances in the run-up to the World Cup and proves his potential.

Related articles

• India's Top 30 players for the 2011 World Cup (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• Irfan still the best No. 7 for India (cricketnext.in.com)
• Tendulkar rested for tri-series (cricinfo.com)

India's Top 30 players for the 2011 World Cup

Image via WikipediaHarsha Bhogle has written about the No.7 slot for the Indian team - very valid point about the absence of a proper allrounder (preferably a pace-bowling one) at No.7.
To get an idea of the strategy that might be on the mind of the team management, one has to look at the players who have represented the country at the ODI level in the last year or two - more specifically the list of players who have represented from 1st January 2009 till this year's Independence Day (full list is available here).

Very interesting stats in fact can be seen from this list - one can come up with the long-list of 30 players who will be selected for the World Cup - who are they?

1. Openers - Tendulkar, Sehwag, Gambhir, Dinesh Karthick (reserve wicket-keeper), M Vijay
2. Middle-order - Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli, Ravinder Jadeja, Yusuf Pathan, Rohit Sharma,
3. Pace bowlers - Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar, Sreesanth, Mithun, RP Singh, A Dinda, Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan, Vinay Kumar, Abhishek Nayar, Jayadev Unadkat
4. Spinners - Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Amit Mishra, R Ashwin, Piyush Chawla
5. Captain and Wicket-keeper - MS Dhoni

It looks like there is not much one can do from now onwards till the World Cup for any new player to be added to the team now.

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T20 World Cup - India crash out

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So, it had to happen. The Indian team, after its clean slate in the Group stage (just like the previous edition), went blank in the Super Eights. Not a game won, even against the so-called minnows (West Indies) in international cricket. How did the Indians win the inaugural version of T20 World Cup then? Million-dollar question. Probably the low expectations helped the Indians then, as the regulars at that time (SRT, Dravid, Ganguly) were rested. Maybe, it is time to do a similar exercise now.

A player like Joginder Sharma (who is nowhere on the horizon) who is nowhere on the horizon bowled the last over of the tournament without nerves and had the presence of mind to capture the wicket of Misbah-ul-Haq. Compare this with the last over bowled by an experienced bowler like Ashish Nehra to the Lankans. The burden of expectations are surely playing on the minds of the cricketers. Add to it, the loss of form of players like Yuvraj and Gambhir; the absence of stars like Sehwag and Sachin; the inabilities of Jadeja and Pathan - you have the complete picture.

Of course, the immediate pointers from everyone involved will be the IPL and its related schedule, late nights, travel, etc. Even though, it is partially true, that alone was probably not the critical reason of failure. Everyone will conveniently forget the technique challenge that all the batsmen (with the exception of MS Dhoni) faced throughout the Super 8s. The fact that the next T20 World Cup is in Sri Lanka and ODI World Cup is also in the sub-continent means that this issue will not haunt the Indian think-tank for the next 1-2 years.

MSD and Gary Kirsten have faced this setback after the highs of the Test team performances. They are experienced enough to plan on the next steps required. The Board is planning on a two-test series (yet again) against the Aussies in India - that might be the next international cricket that the full-strength team will play. If the Indians can get some serious practice against the short-balls, it will do a whole world of good. The players can still try for short stints at the English county circuit - whether the Board will approve it is another concern.

Very interesting to read today that the BCCI will do a review on the performance of the T20 squad. There was similar one done after the previous version - what were the action-items at the end of the review is anyone's guess. Similarly, the fact that the 'Seniors' have been rested for the forthcoming tri-series clearly shows the priorities of the BCCI. None of these players (barring Ravindra Jadeja who tried to play with Don Modi) were rested in any of the IPL matches but come international engagements, there is a break imposed on the players. Maybe the BCCI did not get their usual 'cut' from the organisers of this tournament.

Where does India go from here? The team has not played to its potential in the last 3 ICC tournaments (2 T20 World Cups and ICC Champions Trophy) and the next tournament sees a second-string team under a stand-by captain against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. The major worry will be the next set of batsmen who will replace the Fab Four in test matches. Their technique needs to be tested in various conditions and the best way to do it is to test them on the 'A' tours. While it is a good sign to see the re-initiation of the 'A' tour concept, the squad selected is mostly a third-string team. It would have been good if the team selected for the tri-series had gone on the England tour but BCCI does not care for the long-term growth for the Indian team anyway, does it.

The focus now is on how to catch hold of the golden egg-laying IPL, out of the hold of Lalit Modi. Everything else can wait.

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India's chances at the 2010 T20 World Cup

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The Indian team won the inaugural tournament but could not do well in the next version. How they will do this year seems to be seen. Whether they will be able to recover from their hectic IPL experience, will determine more than anything else.

The pitches will help the spinners and batsmen will feel more at home than in any other T20 World Cups so far.

Without playing any warm-up matches, the Indians are practicing the first few days in the islands. This might be a good tactic to go, after the IPL journey.

Openers

India are missing Sehwag here but never mind, Vijay comes into the squad thanks to his wonderful run in IPL3. Gambhir and Vijay are going to be key to provide starts to the Indian team.

Middle order

What can you say about a middle-order that has Suresh Raina (MoM of IPL3 finals), MS Dhoni among a host of other all-rounders. Dinesh Karthick will play if MSD has injury problems.

All-rounders

There are a number of batsmen who can be classified as all-rounders because of their ability to bowl spin - Yuvraj Singh (remember six sixes), Ravinder Jadeja (best Indian bowler in last T20 World Cup), Yusuf Pathan (the Baroda Marauder), Rohit Sharma (the best technical batsmen from the Gen-X). 3 of them will play and it might be mostly the first three.

Spinners

Harbhajan Singh will play a lead role in the team in the spinning department while Piyush Chawla will get a chance only if Bhajji gets injured. Because of his inconsistency, Bhajji is still considered as a spinner, not an all-rounder.

Fast bowlers

Zaheer Khan can be easily named as the most canny bowler in international cricket, if not the fastest. He will lead the pack with Ashish Nehra. The Kumars, Praveen and Vinay, will provide variety with their right-arm medium-pace - only one of them will play in the eleven. All the bowlers can pack a punch with their bat (which even if it is for a few balls, will matter in this version of the game).

Looking at the composition, the Indian team looks quite strong (on paper at least). Bowlers who can bat and batsmen who can bowl give the team a good look. Of course, if it goes to the Super Eights, that itself is a step up after the last year's performance.

Let us raise our hopes and hope that MSD brings back the T20 World Cup this year, to go with his IPL trophy. All the best, India.

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Call-up arrives for Vinay Kumar

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There were few surprises in the Indian T20 World Cup squad announced by Srikkanth & Co. today.

As expected in my earlier post, the team members have been picked as per their latest form and performance.

Virat Kohli was a surprise omission for me but Rohit Sharma's bowling did the trick for him.

Piyush Chawla was another surprise (selection) - looks like the selectors wanted to try him after they given a number of chances to Ojha & Mishra.

Vinay Kumar gets a call-up which was reinforced by his performance in the IPL3.

There is still a chance that Ashish Nehra might not be fit for the World Cup - the selectors should try to blood someone like Tyagi instead of going back to Ishant or Sreesanth.

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Sri Lanka win the Idea Cup

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Sri Lanka won the Idea Cup by 5 wickets thanks to the Indian's all-round average performance in the final match, both in batting and bowling. 5 batsmen got out in the first 10 overs itself - meaning that there was no ammunition left in the tank for the final overs. The target was going to be difficult to defend, as has been the case in this tournament.

The Indians have a major problem in ODIs - not only do they know how to bowl in the death overs but they have not planned on the PowerPlay overs. The bowling looks so ordinary that even an asking run-rate of 10 seems reachable. Multiple bowlers have been tried - Zaheer, Nehra, Sreesanth - but of no avail. The spinners did their job but that was not enough - Harbhajan has to pick up wickets rather than focus on restricting the runs allowed. Ravinder Jadeja has shown potential just like Virat Kohli - how they proceed from here will be interesting to watch.

What the Indians need is more matches with the youngsters tried out in critical situations so that they gain the expertise. There is no point in trying out the same team, especially against similar competition. Sri Lanka showed the way by playing their junior players and winning the Idea Cup - the approach was destined for glory which was what the final result.

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Sachin's India surge ahead in the series - Cuttack ODI

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Dilshan and Tharanga seemed like they wanted to get the Indian score in the first ODI - that was the way they shot off the blocks. The Indian bowling was also wayward initially but the introduction of Ashish Nehra reduced the runs and the dismissal of Dilshan brought sanity back to the match. Probably, the Sri Lankans had a look at the history of the ground and decided that attack was the best way to approach the pitch - not that it was helping the bowlers so dramatically.

So far in the ODI series, the first 3 batsmen had got to good starts and made major contributions to the Sri Lankan totals. Here, once Sangakkara went at 165 (in the 23rd over) and Tharanga at 169 (25th over), the innings went downhill. Wickets kept falling regularly and Sri Lanka was all out by 45th over. 74 runs for 9 wickets in 21 overs is obviously a very bad example of planning your innings. Sangakkara needs to think about these aspects in the next game. Till the 23rd over, the Lankans were enjoying their stay at the wicket and scoring merrily at more than 7 runs per over. But, they did not get a final run-rate of even 5!!!

Once the ball got old, the Indian bowlers came back well. In fact, Ashish Nehra was the first one to pull back (by a bit) the scoring rate after the hectic start. Sehwag could have introduced Ravindra Jadeja earlier into the attack, in his place. Nothing will justify the praise that one can heap on Jadeja. The kid has been bowling superbly and today's performance was the cream. On recent records, one can safely say that he is India's No.1 bowler and not Harbhajan. The latter also bowled well today and kept the pressure. Ishant, Zaheer came back strongly in their second spells to restrict the Lankan innings.

Sehwag showed that captaincy did not affect his batting in any way - he came out blazing with shots on either side of the wicket. Sachin Tendulkar gave good support in the beginning and settled down to accumulate runs on one end. He was helped by cameos from Gambhir and Yuvraj. Sehwag sent in Dinesh Karthik at three down in place of Raina as Karthik is more a steady batsman than the others. The runs started coming for India in singles and the odd four helped the cause also. Sachin came close to his century but could not get it eventually!!!

The Lankan bowlers could not penetrate the Indian batting in the same way as the Indian spinners did. Muralitharan was badly missed here - his presence could have definitely made an impact. His combination with Mendis could have caused many a headache but it was not to be. Malinga was coming back from an injury and could not make a big impact.

Sangakkara has a problem on hand, with four of his mainline players suffering from injuries - how he makes use of the remaining team members optimally in the next ODI will determine whether they stay alive in the series or not.

Interesting battle on cards at Cuttack

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India start their match against third ODI against Sri Lanka at Cuttack without their captain MS Dhoni. Yuvraj Singh is expected to take his position while Dinesh Karthik will come in place of Virat Kohli (who will consider himself unlucky to be dropped after scoring a 50). The bowling needs a change - maybe rest Ashish Nehra and give a chance to the promising Sudeep Tyagi. Virender Sehwag will be the cynosure of all eyes as he will lead the side for the next 2 ODIs.

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, will miss Angelo Matthews in both departments (especially after his heroics in the last match). Sanath Jayasuriya will probably make a comeback to the playing eleven. The batting wears a good look, especially the first three batsmen who are in top form. The middle-order wobbled a bit after the fall of the initial wickets. That might cause a problem in case the top 3 have an off-day. Malinga coming into the match will prove to be handful for the Indians.

Without MSD, Sri Lanka are the favorites to go up 2-1 in the series.

India's ODI tryst with Sri Lanka begins

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The Indian team starts its ODI series against Sri Lanka after the successful test series and evenly-contested T20 series. The Indians must feel confident about winning the series, considering the difference between the two teams in the ICC Rankings.

The return of Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan will strengthen the team, adding great experience to the team. More than the batting, the Indian team needs the return of the bowlers to increase their chances. Yuvraj Singh might be missing from the team, which is a definite negative.

The batting order looks settled with Sehwag, Tendulkar, Gambhir, Raina (if Yuvraj is not in the eleven), MS Dhoni at the top. Ravindra Jadeja, Praveen Kumar and Harbhajan Singh form the allrounders who can contribute to both the departments. Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra will be the opening bowlers for the Indian team. There is space for one more batsman or allrounder in the team and one wonders who will be the lucky one (Virat Kohli seems to be the front-runner).

The batting of Sri Lanka seems to be in a strong shape also - Jayasuriya, Dilshan followed by Sangakkara and Jayawardene and Kapugedera was good enough to touch 200 in both the T20 matches. The Sri Lankan team seems to miss the services of a good spinner (there was just one over by a spinner in the last T20). Mendis seems to be off form while it is not known how much Murali has recovered. Malinga also might miss the match, which will put the pressure squarely on the Lankans.

All in all, a good series in the reckoning - the Indians are my favorites to win convincingly.

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