NZ Home ODIs - NZ strike baack to level series

In Dhoni's hometown, Black Caps scored a total that was just beyond India's reach. Kohli, Dhoni left early, putting the onus on lower middle order. They tried their best, learning a lot in the process, but could not win the match. Dhoni asked for more patience, which is fair.

Image Courtesy: Cricinfo website

2015 World Cup - India are tested by West Indies

The Indian team wanted a stiffer test after their previous match against UAE. The West Indies team was well-relaxed before their match against India at Perth. Probably too well-relaxed, one thinks. The Indian team after the match had not tested their Bowling Plan B at all - what happens if one of their key bowlers get hit? How will Suresh Raina fare with the ball against well-set batsmen? No, not this day. They leave Australian shores after a long while for two matches in New Zealand but with their confidence sky-high.

The Indian captain had a good workout in the middle - he had to shepherd a chase that was not steep in terms of asking rate but could have been tricky with wickets lost. The top-order batsmen suffered a collapse but this is welcome in the early league matches rather than the vital knock-out ones. Also, the bouncy pitches are going to say good-bye to the tournament soon. It will be more of the MCG's and SCG's, if not the New Zealand turf for the Indian team next! 

Yes, couple of catches as well as half-chances were dropped. The complacency seems to be rearing its head but what the Indian team now needs is for their batsmen to flex their muscles after batting first - post a total of 350-400 in the next two matches and boost their Net Run Rate, even if it is not necessary. They have played very similar to the other group leader (New Zealand) so far. The bowling outshining the batsmen with one tricky low chase in the campaign - in fact, NZ had two (Australia and Scotland).

It might be worthwhile to give Shami and Ashwin a rest to try out Bhuvi and Axar for the next phases. Dhoni could skip one match to watch the team's performance but dont think this will happen.

2015 World Cup - India's preparations so far

The Indians finished their preparations for the World Cup with a loss in the final ODI at Perth as well as the teaser for their uniform they will display (on top of the MCG).

There are couple of warm-up matches scheduled before the tournament starts officially, against Australia (8th Feb) and Afghanistan (10th Feb) at Adelaide. These two matches will serve the purpose of testing out the four players who are in doubt for the tournament (fitness issues) - Rohit Sharma, Ishant Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar. There are doubts about Ishant but only MSD will know what is real. Mohit Sharma and Dhawal Kulkarni who went for the tri-series are still with the team as per the latest news.

So, where are we in terms of preparations? Let us go through the team and see the plans that the Indian team might have:

1. Shikhar Dhawan - definitely will play the warm-up matches and first two ODIs (Pakistan at Adelaide and South Africa at MCG). Based on his performance, his future will be decided. Dhawan did well at Perth against a decent England bowling attack - a knock that will give him confidence going into the tournament.
2. Rohit Sharma - he will play as the opener whenever he is fit. It will be good to give him a work-out in the warm-up matches but will be key to the current team's fortunes.
3. Ajinkya Rahane - Back-up opener but could also potentially come one-down in case of an early wicket. He is much more technically sound than Rayudu and hence he will be the backup for No.3 slot
4. Virat Kohli - Dhoni seems to like Kohli lower the order in case Jadeja (or Ashwin or Binny) does not play. But, on initial look, it is certain that Kohli will be at No.3 when there is a good partnership at the top. Will he be always at No.3? Probably not (especially when a wicket falls early)
5. Suresh Raina - Raina has done well in recent times though the Tri-series saw just one good knock from him. Raina can be ideal to play in the latter overs and statistics also point that Dhoni is a better bet ahead of Raina. Will Dhoni come in to stabilize the innings while Raina is held back to blast the attack?  
6. Dhoni - The captain has not shown glimpses of his usual form recently. Will be good for him to have a break before he comes back to his own. His impending baby will also clear his mind for good. 
7. Rayudu - If Dhawan has to be dropped, Rahane goes up the order and Rayudu comes in his place. Hence, he will not be in the starting lineup but will be expected to play as soon as he gets an opportunity. Tough luck for the lad!
8. Binny - Stuart Binny has been the biggest bright spot to emerge out of India's performance in the tri-series. It is a no-brainer for Binny to be in the playing eleven. This gives India the luxury of playing two seamers and two spinners with Binny/Raina to bowl the other ten. He can open the bowling and shore the batting.
9. Jadeja/Ashwin - Jadeja has been rusty and hence he will be the biggest beneficiary of the warm-up matches. If he can recover to his prime form, India will have one less headache. Ashwin has gone down in the pecking order, lower than Axar because of his lack  of wickets in the ODI version. Though he is a better batsman than Axar, his fielding is a cause of worry.
10. Axar Patel - Axar bowled well in the Tri-series, showing that his performance on sub-continental pitches was not a fluke. He is a handy player only if he can lift his batting skills
11. Mohd Shami - Easily the best pace bowler on view in the Tri-series, Shami has been enjoying the stint in the shorter version after a mixed test series. He will lead the attack in the absence of Ishant (due to injury) but his performance will reflect on India's fortunes with the ball.
12. Ishant/Bhuvi/Umesh - Bhuvi should partner Shami in the Adelaide match to make use of the new ball but if Ishant is present, he might get the nod. If the pitches are helpful to the faster bowlers, expect Bhuvi and Ishant to be both present. Umesh Yadav has not shown any semblance of form and he is an insurance for the squad at this time.

With this situation, India will go into each match with an open mind and flexible plans to counter any situation. With the cool Dhoni at the helm, let us wish the Indian team all the best!

Do have a look at the 50 ODI victories that redefined Indian cricket.

Australia Tour Tri-series - India bow out winless

On Twitter, Statistician Mohandas Menon posted the series where India finished winless since 2011 World Cup

• 2011 in Eng 
• 2013/14 in SA 
• 2013/14 in NZ 
• 2014/15 in Aus

They escaped a whitewash in the test series and another losing streak in the ODI series (thanks to rain) but that was no consolation to a team that has high hopes on retaining the next World Cup.

At Perth, the Indians started well. Their openers did a decent job to see off the dangerous Anderson and managed to score a 80+ partnership with both taking chances but surviving. Dhawan was back to something that resembled form. Rahane, after the initial jitters, settled down to anchor the innings. It was the failures again of Kohli, Raina that hampered India. The batting collapsed from 83-0 to 165-9 before Shami hit out to get 200 on the board.

The Indians seem to be experimenting with the batting positions and getting some answers. Stuart Binny has made Dhoni realize that he is a handy person to have in the lineup. Jadeja was rusty with bat and ball but Axar has proved that he is a good bowler to have in the middle overs. The batting depth is present on paper but that has to be translated to reality. With Ashwin in the squad, the team management must figure out what is the combination to play in the World Cup. What happens to Umesh and Bhuvi? Are they injured? Dhoni's answers in the press conference seems to suggest.

The Indian batsmen dont have a first (or even second) gear - they seem to bat only at the top gears or perish. This was the fashion few years ago when batsmen used to play defensive and rotate the strike over. But, the new generation tend to be aggressive in any situation - that is causing the problems to the Indian batsmen, like this game. No longer are they happy to score at 3-4 runs per over. They are looking at boundaries every over. This will not work - Kohli, Rahane, Rayudu, Jadeja should be told this. Rahane should have gone on and controlled the innings but could not.

The Indians fared better while bowling thanks to the pitch and an accurate bowling attack (except the comeback man Jadeja). Binny made use of the conditions to his favor and picked up wickets to put England  on the backfoot. But, the Indians could not restrict the winning team. Jadeja and some sloppy fielding (by selected fielders) meant that the Indians could not put enough pressure on the duo of Butler and Taylor. Overall, a tour that ended without a win. It can be termed as a success still if the next tour (with more or less the same players) contains few winning moments. Hopefully, the players remember and implement the lessons learnt.

Australia Tour Tri-series - England crush India

Binny came in for Ashwin and injured Rohit Sharma was replaced by Ambati Rayudu for the match against England at Brisbane. The Indians suffered a rare defeat against England on neutral venues - one of the worst defeats. But, Dhoni would say that the process is more important than the result. Here, the process seemed to be clear once again.

Dhoni is putting his boys through a tough test - putting his team in when he could have easily bowled after winning the toss on a helpful surface. Playing against the accurate English bowling on this surface is probably the best practice that he could get his team. Seeing the team performance, Dhoni must have got an idea of who is capable and who is not. I expect to see strategy changes for the World Cup based on this match.

Stuart Binny shone with the bat and then picked a wicket while opening the bowling. If one goes back to the last World Cup Down Under, the likes of Phil Simmons (probably same speed of Binny) did a great job opening the bowling. Binny and Bhuvi opening the bowling is going to be a good option if they can restrict the scoring with the new ball. Shami and Ishant then could bowl first change and make use of any reverse. With the spinners, Axar seems to have proved that he is as good as Jadeja and Ashwin but not in the similar mould while batting.

With two more matches in the tri-series and then maybe couple of warm-up matches, one should  foresee Dhoni tinker  with  more options even at the loss of few matches. Getting to know the strengths  and weaknesses is  probably the most important test now.

Australia Tour Tri-series - India lose to Australia in first match

The Indian team started their ODI series with a clear intention to finalize few remaining strategies for the forthcoming World Cup. Firstly, they wanted to figure out the key team member's form on Australian pitches and see how they would fare against the fearful Australian bowlers. Secondly, the team management wanted to check how the strategy of batting first (on winning the toss) would pan out. The think-tank would have also wanted to see how the fielding positions have to be planned out on large grounds with their bowling attack. Finally, they also wanted to see which combination would be the most ideal for the World Cup in different situations (opening, middle overs, death overs).

Hence, Dhoni elected to bat after winning the toss. Dhawan did not make use of the opportunity to open with Rohit by slashing at a wide ball from Starc within the first over. Rahane was sent in at No.3 giving him a similar feel of opening the batting. Rohit was going strong at one end despite not getting the strike as much as he would have liked to. Rahane got going with some good shots on both sides but got a bit too aggressive for his own liking. Kohli is not as effective batting first as he is when chasing a target -  today was no different.

Thanks to  Cricinfo for  this image

Kohli's wicket set the scenario for Rohit and Raina to set a partnership. Both did motor along nicely upping the scoring rate and preventing any further wicket loss. Till the batting PowerPlay when Raina holed out to  mid-on - the Indian team should plan well for this phase when they should bat normally and avoid any loss of wickets. Dhoni had to drop anchor because of Rohit's century first and then ensuring the loss of further wickets. But, he fell against the run of play followed by quick wickets at other end. All this led to a total that was probably 25-30 runs behind what was required. MSD has summed up his issue at the batting dead-end very nicely in his interview.

The Australian innings started off with both openers putting up a fifty stand before Yadav stuck. But, continuous partnerships for the second and third wickets meant that the asking rate was never a problem. India grabbed four quick wickets for 32 runs but it was too little too late. The bowlers were inconsistent but what was promising was the last 15 overs when the Indians defended with new resolve. Dhoni's message to the team during the last drinks break looked to have worked - the bowlers found the yorker-length while the fielders dived and caught everything. If only this was done earlier in the innings, the Indians might have been still able to squeak home.

All in all, a good start that could have been much better. Due to the absence of a tour game (removed because of Phil Hughes), the Indian team had to use this as a warm-up match. The next match should see the Indians stepping up a gear against the English team. The bowlers should be able to find the lengths that work in the  opening spell - Shami's injury concern might hamper the team.

Australian Tour 2014 3rd test - Kohli makes his name

Virat Kohli was just one of the new brigade before the 2014 Australian tour started. He had a bad series in England where he fared very badly. One of the positives of the hurriedly-organized Sri Lanka ODI series was the return of Kohli's form. But, would he succeed Down Under?

Today, the entire Australian team is baying for his blood. Commentators are talking about his game. The media goes gaga about him. His girlfriend as well as his rival fast bowler get kisses equally. Kohli does not get fazed with the attention his opponents give on the field (lip-service) and off-field (planning his downfall). In the first test of this series, he scored twin centuries proving that captaincy did not affect his game. Despite his failures in the second test, Kohli was the sought-after wicket for the Aussies. After the Melbourne test, his series aggregate was one less than half a thousand runs with one test to play. If Steven Smith is in a league of his own, Kohli is in a similar league.

Picture Courtesy - Cricinfo

The test was not all about Kohli for the Indians - Ajinkya Rahane played an equal role in both innings though he might have scored less with runs and attention from media and opponents. His role in dismantling Mitchell Johnson's aura in this match was equally effective. His pulls and hooks in this match were a treat to watch.

Another player who impressed everyone was Murali Vijay. He may not have scored a century here but he was calm and composed. Vijay was instrumental in getting a good start (even though not in terms of runs) that could be capitalized by Kohli and Rahane. He was unfortunate to get a bad decision in the second innings.

Vijay, Kohli and Rahane will form the fulcrum of the Indian batting in future. Pujara, with all his overseas failures, should be able to make the necessary adjustments to join them. This then will become the new vintage, as MSD called them recently. If only Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina and KL Rahul provide them adequate support, the Indian team will have a strong force to reckon with.

With the bowling, the Indian attack (should we call them so?) failed in the first innings to give away yet another 500+ score, As well as capitalizing on the top order weaknesses they could not penetrate the lower order. The bowling was much better on fourth day but the team could pick only nine wickets only. Overall, the bowlers were lacking in consistency - delivering a four-ball every over to release the pressure. Only Ishant and to an extent Ashwin were consistent throughout the match. It seemed like Dhoni missed the accuracy of Bhuvi throughout the match. How hard he must be wishing for an allrounder?

The batting this series has been a contrast - solid in the first innings while scoring 400+ in each test (the first time the Indian team has scored after the great 2003 series) but brittle in the second. They did score 300 in the first test while chasing a difficult target but the meltdown in second test cost them the match and the series. Here, the last day was difficult even though they had only 70 overs to survive (un-Australian decision to play the first session on fifth day) - MSD and Ashwin managed to play out 12 overs and thus get a draw for the first time in 13 tests (last drawn match was in Delhi, October 2008).

Next up is Sydney. The Indian team have an option to play two spinners - bring in Axar Patel in place of woeful Rahul and shore up their bowling to take 20 wickets. Anyway, the batting is being done by the top five players. The bowling will get more teeth and Axar's control might be the one weapon missing in Dhoni's armory. If Bhuvi is fit and available, he will be the person to replace Shami.

WI 2014 ODIs - India seal the farcical ODI series

Farcical - that is the word one can use to describe the Windies 2014 ODIs. One match was washed out while the teams won one match each convincingly. When the series was poised for an interesting finish in the last two matches (one in the picturesque Dharamsala), the tour was called off. Not before the team played the last ODI (threatened to do so?).

Look at the image below from Cricinfo at the toss - the entire team came out to support the captain.

Considering the easy-going nature of the Windies (proof is the CLT20 celebration video with Bravo), it must have been a great injustice meted out to the team that caused the pull-out. Anyway, the match went on and the Indians won.

The script seemed to be skewed towards the team that was determined to do well against a team that did not have their 100% mind on the field. On a pitch that had true bounce, the Indians scored at more than run-a-ball (except Rahane who however scored a good fifty-plus score). Kohli did not look anything like his best but managed to score his 20th century (fastest to do so, faster than Sachin Tendulkar).

The Indian bowling was good with the exception of Shami and Jadeja who were expensive. Both the bowlers deserve rest from the forthcoming Sri Lanka ODIs (the original favorites are back to fill the void caused by the Windies pull-out). Axar Patel was an interesting selection (ahead of the surprise weapon Kuldeep Sharma) but he put in a performance that would have impressed Dhoni and Shastri (the two men who matter in Indian cricket).

The end to a tour that did not matter to the forthcoming World Cup. The replacement series actually makes sense now - does the BCCI work in this manner only?