India-Sri Lanka T20I - India win easily

The Indian team continued their domination over Sri Lanka by winning the one-off T20 international convincingly despite scoring their lowest against Sri Lanka in this format. The R-B chart shows that the Lankan team were in the hunt at the beginning (thanks to some violent hits by their openers) but because of the early fall of wickets, they were on the fast track to fall behind the expected run-rate. This again put pressure on the middle and lower order resulting in more wickets for the Indians.

The main protagonists from the ODI series from the Indian side were again on display - Virat Kohli who started off as though he had a plane to catch.

Irfan Pathan was in a hurry too - polishing off the first three wickets in his initial spell.

Kohli had good support from his supporting cast consisting of Rahane, Raina and Dhoni while Pathan was helped by Dinda and Kohli (this time with the ball!).

The fielding was good and the team was looking as though there was nothing wrong with it (as it usually appears when the team is winning). The absence of Zaheer and Sehwag meant that there were far more fitter and faster players on the ground but catches were dropped - an area of concern. Is the departure of the two veterans a possible sign that they will not appear for the shorter format any more? This might be good for the Indians in many ways.

The Indians will come back to the same environment next month for the T20 World Cup and hence this show will have made them happy. 

India - SriLanka series - India win 4-1

India won the series, very comfortably at the end, against Sri Lanka by 4-1 thanks to some consistent efforts by its players like Virat Kohli, Gautam Gambhir and Irfan Pathan.

Against the Lankans, if Gambhir doesnt get a big score, Kohli does. If Virat doesnt get going, Dhoni will surely come to the party. It was good to see the captain score in his earlier avatar of scoring runs very quickly with the help of some aggressive shots. Irfan Pathan has thrown his name into the selector's hat for possible options as an all-rounder. He holds the edge over the others like his brother Yusuf and Ravindra Jadeja because he bowls medium-pace (very effective outside the sub-continent). Thanks to Vinay Kumar's injury, Pathan walked into the squad but now he is the front-runner for the T20 World Cup. 

Dinda is no replacement for Praveen Kumar but he tried gamely. I would be surprised if he is persisted still. Rohit Sharma cannot blame the selectors or the management for not giving him enough options - he was chosen for all the five games and the skipper managed to rejig his lineup to give chances to both Rohit and Tiwary. After the series, it looks like Tiwary had the advantage going forward thanks to his exploits with the ball as well. Again, he has an advantage over the others since he bowls leg-spin (most of the part-timers like Sehwag, Raina, Rohit bowl off-spin).

Zaheer Khan played all the five matches which was quite surprising - will he maintain this run later in the season as well? Rahul Sharma and Ojha got couple of chances but could not cement their place ahead of Ashwin. The latter has gone down a rung, especially the levels he had reached after the World Cup. 

Overall, a good outing for the Indians to start the new season. Things will hopefully get better in the T20 World Cup as well as the test series against New Zealand.

First ODI - Rusty Indians beat weary Lankans

Thanks to their batsmen, the Indian team managed to keep the spirited chase of the Lankans. The tall score would always pose a stiff challenge to the Lankans but cheap runs given by the bowlers at the end to Sangakkara and Perera meant that the final score was healthier than what seemed likely at the end of 40 overs.

Virat Kohli and Sangakkara like these ties since they like to feast on the opposition bowlers and score big 100s - both have scored at least four centuries in Indo-Lankan competition. Today was no different. Kohli had support from Sehwag, Raina and Dhoni while Sanga was alone till Perera decided to cut loose.

 Though the Indians were coming from a long break, the batsmen seemed to be in good form against an attack that seemed to be tired coming after the Pakistan series. The late Indian surge was muted thanks to the relatively larger ground but a 300+score was going to be always difficult on Lankan soil. The Indian bowlers were better than their counterparts in the initial phase, containing the openers and claiming the important scalp of Dilshan.

Pathan, when he fires, brings a lot of value to the team with his shots in the middle and swing when he bowls. Zaheer seemed to be rusty but gave his bowlers good advice when required. Ashwin was miserly as well as picked up useful wickets whenever he came to bowl. Yadav impressed with his pace and could have had Sanga early but for Dhoni. His deficiency was mainly about giving cheap runs to batsmen when the writing was on the wall. But, he was able to keep Sanga quiet most of the time - a good sign.

 Overall, a good win for the Indians who will try to win 5-0 and reclaim the No.1 slot in ODI's.

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)

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)