NZ Home ODIs - India seal series with crushing win

190 runs. That was the difference between the two teams in Vizag. Without major contributions with the bat by Virat Kohli or MS Dhoni. No Ashwin or Jadeja as well ( enjoying a rest in the midst of a hectic home season). Amit Mishra it was, who became the nemesis with his guile and turn. The Black Caps tried their best but chasing a difficult targat against the Indian spinners was beyond their reach. SIMPLE AS that. But, well tried Kane and team!

Image Courtesy: Cricinfo website

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

NZ Home ODIs - MSD, Kohli take India to 2-1 lead

Dhoni promoted himself to give the stability, using which Kohli roared past 150 to take India to 2-1 lead in the series.

Image Courtesy: Cricinfo website

NZ Home ODIs - NZ sneak past Indians to level the series

The Indian bowlers continued their good work to pull back the target but even that turned out to be tall by six runs for the Indian batting.

Kohli failed for once and MSD couldnt get going in a rare occurence. Hardik Pandya tried his best but that could only reduce the losing margin. NZ levelled the series but the Indians will be keen  to come back and win the series.

Image Courtesy: Cricinfo website

NZ Home ODIs - easy chase after bowlers trick

The bowlers restricted NZ to a target that was easily chased down. With Kohli's good form, it was just a formality. But, MSD should be happy with his bowlers trick to restrict the Black Caps in the morning.

NZ Home Series - expected whitewash

Image Courtesy:Cricinfo website

NZ Home Series - India win 500th test match easily...

India won their 500th test match easily against Black Caps, by 197 runs, thanks to a well-rounded team performance. Though the first innings score was below-par, the batsmen led by Murali Vijay and Chet Pujara put up a target for NZ that was way beyond their reach. The bowlers with the pitch helping Ashwin and Jadeja, produced unplayable deliveries to skittle out the NZ batsmen.

What  more did Kohli and Kumble want? Not a hamstring niggle to rule out KL Rahul or injury scare to Ashwin from next test at Kolkata !

NZ Home Series - Indian team selected

Image Courtesy: espncricinfo.com Website

After easily winning the overseas tour in West Indies, India come back home to host the Black Caps later this month. The Indian team was announced by the selection committee.The last day of the Duleep Trophy is still to be played as the squad was announced. Also, the India A team has to come back from Down Under - the selection could have been timed slightly better is the view. From the Duleep Trophy, what did we learn?

1. Cheteshwara Pujara has no rival in domestic cricket. But why is he given the second-hand treatment?Check what the coach thinks of him.
2. There is a big chasm of difference between Ashwin and his near competitor ( Pervez Rasool).
3. Similarly, Amit Mishra is not being pushed hard enough by Karn Sharma or Shreyas Gopal
4. Though there are options like Mayank Agarwal, Manish Pandey, Sanju Samson, the selectors wished to retain Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma based on potential and performances.
5. Anil Kumble will continue with Virat Kohli the same plan that MSD had successfully pursued at home soil earlier - look at the squad for an indication of the pitches we can see.But, how will Kohli as captain fare versus the master tactician MSD?Tough question and challenge!
6. 
   
7. 
   

T20 World Cup - upset win by NewZealand

Image Courtesy:espncricinfo.com

One of the favorites, India, had their unbeaten streak in recent days brought to a halt, by NewZealand in an upset win. The Indian bowlers did well to contain the BlackCaps  but the batsmen fell against the unfancied NZ spinners.The batsmen have to lift up their game before the next matches if India has to qualify for the next round.

NZ Test One - India lose 10th match without a win

The New Zealand team is not a great team but they had performers who came to the fore at the time the team wanted. This, in the final analysis, proved to be much better than the talented bunch of Indian players. The proof-point of this fact is the way the Indian team rallied back in the 3rd and 4th innings - other than Southee and Wagner, none of the bowlers were creating any trouble for the batsmen. Of course, the umpires were wrong in couple of dismissals but the Indians could have done better with their shot selection. Once settled, it was upto Kohli and Dhawan to take the team closer to victory.

The Indian bowlers reduced their opponents to 30-3 but for some reason tried to bounce out the opposition rather than focusing on a fuller length. Catching was also disastrous in the first innings - on this topic, credit should go to Ravindra Jadeja for his catching in the match. He must be given the benefit of wicket-taker than the bowler (Ishant Sharma, in particular, who was lucky to get nine wickets in the match). 

Who needs to pull up their socks then? Well, the Indian team on a whole, needs to pull up the socks and perform from the first session and sustain the pressure throughout the match to win. Pujara, Rahane and Vijay have to put more runs on the board while the others have to be consistent in both innings of the match. It was a rare double-failure from Pujara's end but we know that it was just a statistical anamoly - look out for him in the next match. Vijay played well but was unlucky in the second innings (just like Rahane). Rohit needs to do more than what he did in this match but signs of progress were visible.

On the bowling front, there is no scope for any changes other than an injury. Pandey could be considered in place of a regular batsman like Rahane but that means the batting becomes weaker than it is. If only they can bowl like they did in the second innings, glory days are just ahead. In terms of tactics, the Indian batting in the last innings was just spot-on - Jadeja and Dhoni put pressure on the bowlers and it almost paid off. This is the exact way Jadeja needs to play in test matches for there is no reason to hold back. Of course, Jaddu has to be more circumspect with his batting and not let adrenaline make him go astray.

Though the Indians lost their 10th test match (with one draw), the Indians are getting closer to the elusive overseas victory. 

Question for the ICC and other boards

1. Why shouldn't the 3rd umpire call back the batsman if he can see on the TV replays that the bowler had delivered a no-ball? Dhoni was not out if the on-field umpires had referred to the third-umpire. 
2. Why are the TV aids upto the Boards for implementation? Why not use it uniformly - here, I am not talking about the DRS but the other aids that are available. Each series has its own way of figuring out the disputes (whether its to determine the boundary (four or six) or to identify whether a catch has been taken properly). With the financial clout they have on hand, the Indian Board should take a lead here as well.

NZ ODI Series - Revisiting the Rotation Rate

New Zealand won the fourth ODI convincingly as the Indians were not able to set a target high enough. Let us look at the Rotation Rate (a concept that I explained long ago) for the series.


The results are clear enough. Why Williamson and Taylor are the best players from New Zealand team while Dhoni and Kohli are the best from India. Guptill, Rohit Sharma, Ryder, Dhawan, Rahane are clearly struggling (though the first two have scored runs) - obviously reasons why they are not good enough.

It is time the Indian batsmen started looking at rotation once again - this problem was an old one when sub-contintental teams used to focus on boundaries alone and not rotating the strike. In recent times, one thought that teams had started learning it but clearly the Indian team is way behind (with Ryder and Guptill as well).

NZ Series 1st ODI - India start on a losing note

Virat Kohli realized how much it can hurt in a losing chase when the Indian team lost their first ODI against the Black Caps at Napier yesterday. Other than Kohli's century and Dhoni's fighting knock, there was hardly anything going right for the batsmen. The bowlers did a decent job not to dish out a 300 total on grounds much smaller than what they had encountered recently (though one must say that the batting talent on display was also lesser compared to the South Africans).

What has been puzzling the Indian fans especially has been the Indian team composition and how Dhoni has been resisting the change to the lineup especially when it comes to players like Ashwin, Jadeja and Ishant Sharma. The three of them have become one-dimensional (other than Jadeja who fields/catches well) and that is not helping the team's cause. Ashwin can bat but his bowling has been dismal (one wicket for last 80 overs as Akash Chopra tweeted during the match). Ishant can bowl well in patches (meaning 4-5 ODIs) but neither can he move fast nor bat. And when he comes at 8 down in a lineup, NewZealand can relate to what is meant by India's tail. It is a lengthy one right now. Stuart Binny has to come into the mix now while India have to pick one of Ashwin and Jadeja to play the role of the spinner. Dhoni is worried about the over rates and that can be made quicker by replacing Ishant with either Aaron or Pandey (they will be eager to do well and hence faster to the crease).

The batsmen have to try once again - working on their pull and hook shots while also deciding on which balls to attempt. There is no need to try the ball pitched on the off-side of their body to hook/pull. Dhawan and Raina seem to be facing this conundrum and Duncan Fletcher would do well to help both out. It is better that Dhawan learns it fast as this will be a lengthy series (if one adds the test matches) and he is running out of time. Kohli did what he has been doing all over the world but failed at the end, suffering from lack of support. There is hardly anything wrong the Delhi lad is doing at the moment - he is on his way to join the elite club in ODI cricket.

Fielding and catching played a big role in the restriction of Indian batsmen - catches were dropped but some spectacular ones were caught (e.g. Rahane). The Indians were not far behind themselves but they should not be complacent with this factor.

The next match will be interesting to see the tactics of the Indian batsmen - obviously, lessons will be learnt and the short balls will be easily handled but how much impact will it have on the psyche of the batsmen? Let us wait and watch.

World Cup 2011 - SL favorites to repeat win over NZ

177-154 says Castrol Index in favor of Sri Lanka against New Zealand for the first semi-final in the 2011 World Cup. The advantage goes much more than what the numbers say. The teams have faced each other in the League stage and Sri Lanka won the match convincingly. The spinners have spun webs around the batsmen of Black Caps so much that the match result looks decided already.

Once again, Muralitharan is doubtful for tomorrow's match and with confidence on his other spinners, Sangakkara will probably not risk him tomorrow. Herath and Mendis, along with Dilshan, will more than a handful for the NZ batsmen. The team composition contained Malinga and Matthews as the only non-spinners against England - there is no reason why this strategy should change against New Zealand. The opening batsmen have showed that if they settle down, they can notch up large partnerships at the top. Their success has ensured that the fragile middle order is not exposed. Sangakkara and Jayawardene were not given any match practice in the last game - they must be itching to contribute heavily.

The only Protean who was happy when they choked once again was Alan Donald, currently bowling coach of New Zealand. He has teamed up very well with John Wright to bring NZ to the stage that they are in. NZ was the best planned team in the entire tournament, having visited the host countries in the last few months. Though the results were not favorable to them, the experience is handy in the World Cup. They have also gone with three spinners along with Southee and Oram. Ross Taylor, McCullum and Scott Styris will be expected to lead the front on the batting side - playing in a test-like mode before going into the T20-mode in the slog overs. If they can get going, the strength of the Lankans (spin) can become their enemy very soon.

The Lankans start as overwhelming favorites for the match but one cannot rule out the eternal braids-maid of World Cup. Over-confidence is one aspect the Lankans will do well to avoid.  

Related articles

• World Cup 2011 - Sri Lanka favorites vs England (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• World Cup 2011 - Will South Africa choke vs NZ in QF? (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

World Cup 2011 - Will South Africa choke vs NZ in QF?

Castrol Index says 190-154. A difference of 36 points between the two teams. South Africa's performance in this edition of the World Cup is clearly illustrated in the Index. They have steamrolled most of their opponents except against England when they succumbed to the pressures of the spinners. Similarly, India had a good chance to knock them over but the lower order pushed the score past the target.

It is very interesting statistic to know that in the last two editions of the World Cup, South Africa have lost to the Black Caps! Will history repeat itself? The only glimmer of hope for NZ is to take the blueprint of their win against the red-hot Pakistan team in the group stage. Ross Taylor played a wonderful knock to hit 100 runs in the last 5 overs to put up a total that was beyond the reach of the Pakistan team. But, that exactly is the problem with NZ - the dependence on Taylor and Brendon McCullum in the batting department. Vettori will make a comeback and strengthen the bowling but that is no match to the might of the Proteas.

Everything seems to be going well for South Africa so far except the blip against the English. The only obstacle that will stop them is not any team but their own history and mental toughness. Will they choke, as everyone in this tournament has been asking their captain repeatedly? Kallis has had a silent tournament by his own high standards. Imran Tahir will make a comeback after injury and mostly finish the match the same way Afridi did against West Indies. It is such a different image of the Proteas with so many spinners and one of them repeatedly opening the attack with Dale Steyn. AB and JP are solid in the middle-order while Amla is steady at the top of the order. Between them, they can set up or chase any target.

My prediction of the winner would be South Africa but Ross Taylor has the ability to prove everyone wrong on his day.

World Cup 2011 - The Spin Gambit

It has become a regular feature to watch some of the teams start with spin during this World Cup. If one notices closely, these are countries who do not have enough firepower with the new ball. Countries like New Zealand whose best bowler is Dan Vettori or West Indies with Suleiman Benn opened their bowling in their matches against Australia and South Africa respectively. The supporting attack is not good enough for either teams to take wickets or contain the runs scored. Thus, the team management decided to slow down the pace of the ball to increase their chances of taking wickets. Even a team like Bangladesh, which has three left-arm spinners, has refused to take the bait of adding more slow bowlers in their team - maybe that is why they struggled to put it across (153 - 138 in Castrol Index).

It came as a surprise then that the South African team also followed the same manner and started the bowling with Johan Botha. In fact, the team had three spinners in their team - a first for a team that prides on pace and speed. It was probably the lack of a good third bowler that made the Proteas think on the lines of having a three-prong spin attack. The Castrol Index of South Africa was 164 against 107 of West Indies - if only the team had a bowler like Ntini (in his prime) or Shaun Pollock, the difference would have been much more - such was the domination of the team. Morkel also does not benefit by the low bounce - a disadvantage for him especially since he thrives on the bounce his height can generate.

Australia has no such worries - their fast bowling trio of Lee, Tait and Mitch have been gunning past their opponents after the initial hiccups in the warm-up matches. Notice the domination in their match against the Kiwis (182 to 83 in Castrol Index) - Vettori had no answers to the might of the Oz even though his team was high on determination after the earthquake back home. The return of Bollinger will be a dampener though. Vettori might have had thoughts of early breakthroughs after seeing the Australian batsmen struggle against spin in the early matches but this one was different - there was no help to the trundlers on the Nagpur pitch negating the opening gambit.

Pakistan's attack looks balanced with bowlers like Shoaib, Razzaq and Umar Gul at the beginning, followed by Afridi and Ajmal. They have followed the traditional strategies teams have followed over years and that was good enough to result in a performance against the Kenyans that was dominating, to say the least (227-83).

Starting with spin might be good against teams that are relatively weak against spin but against the home teams  it is a recipe for disaster. Hence, the team management would do well to take the horses-for-courses approach in future matches.

Related articles

• World Cup 2011 - India thump Bangladesh (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

World Cup 2011 - India's chances

Though I had myself predicted that India have good chance of winning the World Cup, the fact is that there is no one whom one can proclaim as the overwhelming favorites to win the tournament.

Rob Steen talks about the home-advantage in the cricketing showcase and how it has been more a bane than a boon. Sachin Tendulkar and his last World Cup will have a fairy-tale finish if the Indians finish on the podium but there are a lot of hurdles before.

All of them will start from the Quarter-final match at Ahmedabad (ICC having confirmed that India will play at home) - who will be paired with the Indians is to be seen. As per ICC Rule-book, the quarter-finals will happen between A1 and B4, A2 and B3, A3 and B2, A4 and B1 (A(n) being the nth placed team in Group A and B(n) similarly from Group B).

Based on the group that India is, one can say safely that India will be either B1 or B2. This means facing A4 or A3. This can be either NewZealand or Pakistan. Will there be a repeat of the Bangalore Quarter-final in 1996 then? Interesting.

If India gets past this hurdle, it will move to Mohali where they will face most probably Sri Lanka or Australia (depending on who tops the group A).Once again, a repeat of 1996 meeting Sri Lanka in the semi-finals? Time to make amends then.

Whoever it meets, the Indian team needs to be on the top of its game to reach the finals. Once there, the crowd support in Mumbai is sure to pressurize and paralyze the opponent. 

Steen similarly talks about the winning run that Australia has been having so far. The last two teams that have defeated Australia in a World Cup are both in the same group this year. Let us hope that they dont upset the Oz in the earlier stages - the law of averages should catch up with the Australian team later in the tournament since the impact will be more in a knock-out scenario. Only then, the Indian team has a higher percentage of winning the tournament.

Yes, all this is being said from an Indian fan's perspective - Oz fans, apologies.  

Related articles

• World Cup 2011 - India thump Bangladesh (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

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!!!

Related articles

• NZ series - India finish the 2nd innings quickly (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

NZ series - India finish the 2nd innings quickly

India settled the match today very quickly, wrapping up the series in a convincing manner. They were helped by the umpires who had an off-day. The match never looked like ending on a different note, forget ending a day earlier. Rahul Dravid in this test match and Harbhajan Singh in the series have lead well in their roles, keeping the Indians at the top spot of the ICC Rankings.


MS Dhoni did the right strategy by starting the day with Pragyan Ojha. He struck early to put the Black Caps on the back foot. Wickets by Harbhajan and Suresh Raina meant that the NZ team was down to the lower-order batsmen before lunch. Token resistance by the tail was broken by Ishant Sharma. It helped the Indians that Ryder was suffering from calf injury (which has forced him to go back before the ODI series).

The poor NZ batting in the first innings, coupled with the bowling of Ishant Sharma was key for the Indians to make gains in this test very early. The return to form of Sreesanth and Ishant is good for the Indians before they embark on the South African tour. MS Dhoni's innings in this test should have given him a lot of confidence while his request for rest to be provided to Raina must be considered - Pujara is on the sidelines waiting for his chance.

Vettori must be happy with the performance of the team in the first two tests but this test match was beyond the capability of his team. The wicket in this match was a typical Indian wicket with turn and bounce. The form of McCullum must be a good sight for the captain while that of Ross Taylor must be giving him a headache. The reinforcements for the ODI matches will change the mood and set the tone for the new series. 

Related articles

• India select squads for NZ ODIs and SA series (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• NZ series - India manage to draw the 1st test (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• India clinch innings win over NZ (news.bbc.co.uk)

NZ series - Only rain can stop an Indian win

The Indian team made further progress today at Nagpur in slamming the door on the Black Caps, after a convincing display in the field.

Sachin Tendulkar, once again, gave his wicket to a debutant today. Does he try to inspire the newcomers by gifting his wicket away to them? Maybe this is his blessings to the youngsters in the cricketing world. Whatever it is, his early dismissal combined with a rare Laxman dismissal and a quick Raina exit put the Indians on the back-foot.

But, Rahul Dravid was not to be denied. Everyone in the recent past (including yours truly) has asked for his career to be brought to an early exit. "The Wall" did not think so. He was steady at the crease and ensured that with MS Dhoni, he would take the Indians to a large lead over NZ. Dhoni, playing his natural game, got to a near-century and kept the scorecard ticking. The selectors have agreed to his request for rest and this must have made him think freshly !!

New Zealand has, so far in this test match, won only half a session - the one where they took 3 quick wickets. Other than this, the 8.5 sessions have been won by the Indians. Looking forward, the NZ team should look at how the Indians did occupy the crease for 2 days in Napier and follow their example. But, the task is very huge - the ball is spinning and turning now. Only a rain can surely save the test series loss to NZ, not the batsmen.

Related articles

• NZ series - India make gains in the third test (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• NZ series - Harbhajan pulls India ahead in Hyderabad (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• NZ series - India manage to draw the 1st test (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• India select squads for NZ ODIs and SA series (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

India select squads for NZ ODIs and SA series

Surprise selection!!!

The Indian selectors named two squads yesterday - NewZealand ODIs in India and the South Africa test series overseas. Few surprises there but overall the team has familiar faces as the core. 

The squad for first two ODIs versus New Zealand is:

Gautam Gambhir (capt), M Vijay, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Saurabh Tiwary, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), R Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, R Vinay Kumar, Munaf Patel, Sreesanth, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja. 

The elevation to Gambhir is a recognition of his good work over the years and the confidence the team has on the opener despite his poor run this season. MS Dhoni's request to have a rest has been acknowledged by the selectors while that of Suresh Raina (through his captain) has not been entertained. Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra have been rested for the first 2 ODI matches of the series. Probably at some point of the series, one or two of them might still make a comeback. But, this was on expected lines. These players will also be the ones who might be sent earlier to South Africa.

Yusuf Pathan makes a comeback while Sreesanth is retained due to Nehra's absence. Ashwin gets couple of chances to prove his mettle again. Vinay Kumar seems to have given the impression to the selectors that he is fit for the ODIs more than the test matches. Jadeja continues his presence in the team but a good show by Yusuf will cement the latter's position for the next set of ODIs.

The squad for South Africa Tests has been announced as:

MS Dhoni (capt), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, Suresh Raina, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Sreesanth, M Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Wriddhiman Saha, Umesh Yadav, Jaidev Unadkat, Pragyan Ojha. 

Couple of surprise selections here - Umesh Yadav and Wriddhiman Saha - for the squad embarking on the tour to South Africa. The reserve opener slot goes to Vijay while the middle order reserve slot goes to Pujara. Saha, surprisingly, gets the selection ahead of Dinesh Karthik or Parthiv Patel - probably the regional politics having its say. Jaidev Unadkat has not done so well in the Ranji matches to warrant a selection to the tour ahead of Vinay Kumar and Mithun. Ojha is the reserve spinner on a tour where the expectation would be to play only 1 spinner in the playing eleven. Sreesanth, Ishant Sharma along with Zaheer Khan will form an impressive pace-bowling team in test matches, provided they get their heads straight. This will be one tour the Indians will fancy their chances to win more than one test match (like the last tour).

Related articles

• Yadav, Saha picked for South Africa Tests (espncricinfo.com)
• 2011 World Cup - who should be No.7? (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)