IPL4 Match 30 - RCB squeeze past Delhi

Virat Kohli kick-started a potentially tough chase for RCB against Delhi Daredevils but he did not finish the match for his team. That task was left to Daniel Vettori and Syed Mohammed. After the fall of wickets, the run-chase became difficult as the worm shows below but RCB held its nerve to reach the target.

NZ ODIs - India strike first in a match of second-strings

NewZealand decided to make the ODI interesting by resting their two stars - Dan Vettori and Brendon McCullum - against an Indian team that had already rested five mainstream players. The Indian team lost the toss once again and it was a good chance for the Black Caps to take quick wickets.

The opening pair from India was quite good and even though they may not have scored a big one, managed to get a good start for the hosts. Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh capitalized on this and scored at a good pace. Virat has had a good start to his international career so far - taking care of all the opportunities that he has received thanks to injuries or India's rotation policy. An investment for the future, for sure - how he will fit into the playing eleven when the regulars are back is a good headache for the selectors.

Yuvraj has slipped in his own high fielding standards but seems to be making up for it by his bowling. He picked up useful wickets and looks like he will play this role frequently for India in the World Cup. Yusuf Pathan got a chance once again and thanks to missed catches, scored a brisk 29 - his bowling was not so good however. What impressed me most in this match was the bowling of the off-spinner Ashwin. The ball he bowled to Ross Taylor was one that displayed his temperament while being punished by the batsmen. Bowling a similar ball with the same flight and line, he foxed Taylor with the one that moved away. His captain was so confident about his bowling that most of the overs bowled during the Power-Play was done by Ashwin - again a player for the near future.

The Kiwis lacked the firepower in the bowling first and then the batting collapsed after the dismissal of Taylor. This is close to the team that lose to Bangladesh recently and not more is expected in this series as well. The bowlers struck regularly to bring the innings to the lower order. The token resistance from Mills was expected while the catches taken by Munaf Patel was surprising to watch!!!

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NZ series - Harbhajan pulls India ahead in Hyderabad

WikipediaIndia managed to lose the initiative gained due to Sehwag's start yesterday, thanks to tight bowling and taut fielding by the Black Caps. The Indians were held under pressure most of the day, resulting in the fall of regular wickets. In fact, the first session after tea offered the rewards to the NZ team but Harbhajan had other ideas.

The off-spinner is in the richest form of his life (with the bat) and more importantly, he is cashing on the windfall. He even rotated the strike like a top-order batsman and put together with Sreesanth, a 50+ partnership for the last wicket. Who knows - if he continues his form tomorrow, he will have another century to his credit tomorrow.

Before his innings, the Indians had made progress thanks to the innings of VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid in the morning. Sachin Tendulkar, again feeling the pressures of nearing his 50th ton, falling early to Vettori (thanks to a great reflex catch by Ross Taylor). The scoring rate was low but Rahul and VVS had no other escape routes. They ground the bowling to an extent that the latter batsmen could capitalise later in the day. Everyone at the ground expected VVS to score a century on his home ground but he was beaten for pace.

Raina and MS Dhoni could not continue with the run-scoring because of the fielding/bowling. Dhoni's batting has slipped a little even though his batting in ODIs has not been affected. He needs to play his shots and forget the fact that it is a test match format he is playing. That might help him in the future.

Vettori has to be credited for his perseverance and hard-work throughout the day. His captaincy was on cards but the limited bowling resources meant that he had to face a long day on the field. The fielding led by Brendon Mccullum was top-notch - the wicket-keeper joining AB De Viliers, Dinesh Karthick as the group of  ex-keepers who are the best fielders in their teams. 



India gained an advantage over the NZ team mainly in the last session - the Indians clearly having a one session advantage thanks to Harbhajan's heroics. 

Related articles

• Harbhajan powers India into lead (news.bbc.co.uk)
• Sehwag, Gambhir put India on track (thehindu.com)

NZ series - India manage to draw the 1st test

Image via WikipediaThe first test must have shaken the complacency off the Indian team, especially after what they faced in the second innings of the match. Harbhajan Singh must only hope now that he will contribute more with the ball rather than the bat, as he did in this match - only then, he can continue to be called the First Spinner in the country. From Pragyan Ojha's contribution with the ball, the left armer must be counted as the best spinner in the country right now. And, Ramachandran Ashwin is not far behind.


What can we talk about VVS Laxman now? He must definitely rank above Sachin Tendulkar in 2nd innings of test matches - is there any further doubts remaining? VVS has many more years to go with his bat and only his back-pain (that keeps recurring often) can prevent him from greater heights. When there is a challenge, there can be only this man who will put his hand up in the 2nd innings of the test match. What a player!!!





NewZealand have not only accomplished one of their dreams (of drawing 1 test match) but managed to shake the Indian line-up. They will have to be more prepared in the next test as the giant has now woken up. The next test will see all the players giving their best once again.

Will the BlackCaps be a walk-over?

Image by Getty Images
Mark Greatbatch has ridiculed his team publicly about their performance in the recently-concluded Bangladesh series. He has set the expectations so low that whatever the team does in the forthcoming series will be a bonus. It is now expected that the Indians will whitewash the Kiwis in the 3-test series. In fact, the coach is not looking at a win at all - they would consider a draw (2 of them, as Greatbatch mentioned) to be a 'moral win'. But, the question on one's mind is whether Greatbatch is qualified enough to coach the team? Why not change to Stephen Fleming, who has proved himself on the IPL scene?

With this public lashing, what will be the morale of the team? How will it affect the team spirit before they reach the Indian soil? In fact, if one looks at the history of NZ test cricket, there is hardly a series where they have played with their full-strength team. They have been the under-dogs in every series, which has suited them just fine. After the recent series debacle, the Kiwis will be raring to go. They will be looking to catch the Indians by surprise. There is news that McCullum might bat higher in the lineup to shore the batting which seems to be the weakest in the eleven - whether this will help them remains to be seen.

The Indians must ensure that they are not complacent in the test series for that is when the NZ team can be most dangerous. If they play as well as they did against the Oz, the whitewash result is a foregone conclusion. My take will be a 2-0 win for India - maybe rain will prevent the whitewash in one of the test matches. Let us wait and watch. What is your prediction?

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• NZ coach Greatbatch lashes out at players for bad performance (topinews.com)
• Fleming signs with Chennai for three more years (3news.co.nz)
• McCullum likely to bat in top order (cricinfo.com)
• Williamson, Bennett in Test squad (cricinfo.com)