NZ ODI Series - India lose comprehensively

India lost the ODI series against the Black Caps without winning a single match (but winning all the tosses). Captain MS Dhoni has been critical of his bowlers mainly - he mentioned that he was not sure of his bowlers for World Cup and so on. But this series was not just the failure of his bowlers; his batsmen failed big time as well and that is why Dhoni mentioned that they will get out of this phase.

Let us look at each ODI and check the performances of both teams in a span of five-over breaks. The number of times New Zealand team scored more than 30 runs in the 5-over span is much more than the Indian team. Now, if you blame the Indian bowlers for the times NZ have hit more than 30, should you not blame the batsmen for scoring lesser times? Why is MSD not looking at this aspect?

First ODI

Second ODI

Third ODI

Fourth ODI

Fifth ODI

Looking at these charts, dont you get a feeling that Dhoni has given preferential treatment towards the batsmen?
Agreed that Kohli and Dhoni did well in the series. Just like the bowlers, batsmen like Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane didnt do well in the chances that they received. Why continue with them then? Why continue with a veteran like Ishant Sharma still?

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.

End to a bizarre India Australian series

Bangalore was the venue of the frenzied end to what was a bizarre series between India and Australia. The Cricinfo has interesting statistics on the series. What is more interesting is the fact that no one can pinpoint the reason for the run-glut in this series. Few mentioned the four-fielder rule while others spoke about the smaller grounds and flat pitches. It cannot be the pitches since most of the subcontinental pitches are very similar in nature for quite a while now. The rule-change is not appropriate as the same rule applies to the ODI series in Abu Dhabi where sub-200 scores are defended easily! What else is happening?

I am not ruling out the above reasons but my contention is that these are not new or not applicable only from this series alone. It is much more than just these. The batsmen have gained extra arms and legs that have given them the power to dominate the opposition bowlers to such an extent that there is no place for hiding. Imagine the situation of Vinay Kumar in Bangalore (Local state captain conceded more than 100 runs in his 9 overs). If the T20 format showed that run-chases can be achieved on flat pitches even if they are in the realm of 8-9 runs per over, the ODI format is now evolving by stretching the same confidence over the duration of 50 overs!

No longer are teams worried about chasing 350 - they feel that if they can keep wickets in the initial overs scoring at a fair clip, they have a good chance in the later overs. If the equation for the last twenty overs mandate that a team needs to score 180 runs (with 8-9 wickets in hand), the situation is very much akin to that of a regular T20 match. To reach this position, the team has to score the similar number of runs (170) in 30 overs at a much more easy run-rate of 5.7 on a flat pitch. Isn't it easy now? I know that you must be thinking that it is easier said than done. But, teams seem to think that they can do it today.

It is the turn of the bowlers to innovate - what will they do now?

Eng-Ind series - Time for Post-mortem - Part II

Following up on the earlier post, I decided to look up the number of players blooded by India in the last four years who can potentially step up to the test arena (numbers looked up are from 2007 Jan)

• Shikhar Dhawan is the only other opener who has played in ODIs (apart from the usual suspects - Sehwag, Gambhir, Murali Vijay). He captained India in the recent Emerging Series tournament, performing decently. Though he was given ample chances in the Windies ODI, Dhawan did not justify his selection, often falling early to the quicks. Considering the record so far, it does not look like Dhawan's career will go anywhere until he shows a brilliant knock somewhere.
• In the middle-order department, again the familiar names of Yuvraj, Raina, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Badrinath appear. Those who have only played ODIs so far include Yusuf Pathan, Robin Uthappa, Ravinder Jadeja (can one call him as an all-rounder - not likely), Manoj Tiwary. Uthappa does not seem to be in the contention for any slot in the ODIs, forget test matches. Similarly, Jadeja has utilized all the opportunities he has given without cementing his place in the playing eleven - he is in a direct fight with Yusuf Pathan for the all-rounder slot (even though both of them are not present in the current squad chosen). Pathan has the potential to be a big game-changer for India and it might be a good gamble to bring him in the squad. Just imagine the impact he can make to the opposition if he gets his eye in. For a player who hit the Proteans for a century in their own backyard, he should be considered seriously.
• Ashwin is the only spinner who has not played test matches so far. Ex-players like Sanjay Manjrekar and Ajit Wadekar suggest that he should be tried out as soon as possible in the test arena, avoiding the (short-form specialist) label that everyone has in mind. Iqbal Abdulla did a good job in the Emerging Tournament - will he be given the next chance to make an impact? A spot in the tour-game against visiting West Indies will be worthwhile. Rahul Sharma and Bhargav Bhatt are the others to keep an eye on.
• The pace bowling department sees the usual names once again. The ones who have been given a chance in the ODIs are Asok Dinda, Sudeep Tyagi, Abhishek Nayyar, Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Manpreet Gony, Joginder Sharma, Pankaj Singh. A long list of bowlers on display where only Vinay Kumar is in the current squad. Vinay with his variations and ability to move the ball will help him in England ODIs. Yadav with his pace will be observed for a longer period just like Varun Aaron who has been selected as Ishant's replacement. Dinda played in Zimbabwe but could not make any impact with the ball. Nayyar was in the limelight as the Mumbai all-rounder but once again his performances did not match the hype. Will we see the younger bowlers like Tyagi, Gony and Pankaj Singh once again? Obviously they are not in the contention now but one never knows in the future how they will turn out to be.
• Naman Ojha is the only other wicket-keeper who has played for India in the ODIs. His exploits as an opener for Rajasthan Royals ensured that he was given an opportunity - obviously he has not exploited it to make a name for himself. 

Will the selectors try out any other youngster in the forthcoming series? Let us see.

World Cup 2011 - Comparing the experience of all teams

The World Cup comes once in four years and it is no wonder that all teams start planning for it years in advance. They try to ensure that by the time the event starts, they have players who have a good amount of experience and exposure in international cricket. How do the current teams stack up against each other, was one question that I had on my mind. Thanks to my friend Hari, I was able to get this data that compares teams participating in the World Cup.

If one looks at the runs scored as a percentage of the overall runs scored by test-playing teams, no surprises for guessing who turns up first. Similarly, the number of centuries and fifties scored by each of the teams as a percentage reveals the experience that the teams carry with them. The figures are bolstered by one man, Sachin Tendulkar, who has almost all the records in ODI cricket. 

Similarly, the bowling records tell their own tale. The Indians top the wickets column while the number of times bowlers have taken 5 wickets or 4 wickets in an innings is topped by Sri Lanka - no wonder when they have a certain Muttiah Muralitharan in their ranks. Pakistan is helped by Razzaq while Brett Lee brings in the experience for the Oz.



Thus, India and Sri Lanka have definitely an edge over the other teams not only with their experience of home pitches but also the amount of runs and wickets they have taken as a team. Will the results justify this? Let us wait and watch.

Related articles

• World Cup 2011 - Learnings from 87 and 96 (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• World Cup 2011 - Sachin Tendulkar's sixth sojourn (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• World Cup 2011 - Sound-bites from the Indian team (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

World Cup 2011 - Dhoni needs a warm-up

         Captain Cool
Kapil Dev in one of his interview mentioned that the toss could hurt the Indian team - there is so much truth in his statements given in the interview below:

Our strength is batting and I feel we should depend on that and have faith. Luck also plays a part...winning the toss in every match. It will be marginally difficult if we lose the toss and the rival team posts a huge total for us to chase a target of 300 or so. If we get to bat first and make 300 and odd runs, our bowlers could do the rest for us to win each match.

While Dhoni's overall record of win-loss is 78-48 (in all tests, ODIs, T20s), his toss record in the same set of matches is 68-74. Does he have a bad record with the toss? Overall, it does look so.

From the Science site, there is a reference to the toss of a coin and what impacts the result of a toss.

In the physics of coin tossing, the most important parameters are the coin's upward velocity and its rate of spin. When the spin rate is low, the coin acts like a thrown pizza. It's unlikely to turn over, even if it travels a long distance.

What this means that MS Dhoni needs some practice with not just the bat and gloves but also with the toss. This will definitely impact the matches that India play on surfaces that will act funny under lights. Since India are the hosts of the World Cup, he will be spinning the coins most often. Only in the first match against Bangladesh, he might be calling Sakib's toss. Hence, it is imperative that he practices the most in this area - for there is no backup here.

Another option is to ensure that Sehwag (designated vice-captain) is in good form with the toss and send him in place of himself.

Related articles

• World Cup 2011 - Dhoni has questions answered after SAF ODIs (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

The timing of the Batting PowerPlay

I dont think any of the international teams have conquered the PowerPlay situation in ODIs, especially the batting PowerPlay. The Bowling PowerPlay mostly is completed from the 10th to 15th over of any innings unless there is a batsman who is taking the bowling to sword. The batting version is the one that is very dicey most of the times. Let us take the latest India-South Africa ODI series as an example and see how the teams used this PowerPlay in each ODI, starting from the first one.

1. South Africa took the PP at Kingsmead in Overs 27.1 - 32.0 scoring 45 runs without losing any wicket. AB De Viliers and JP Duminy were at the crease and they used this effectively. In the Indian innings, Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina were repairing the innings after 5 wickets had fallen for less than a hundred - they tried to take a leaf out of the opposition and take the PP during the overs 29.1 - 34.0. Alas, three wickets were lost for  23 runs that quickly brought the Indian tail to the fore. The Indian response was as well as done by the end of this phase.
2. At the Wanderers, India were going good, placed at 169-4 when they took the PP at Overs 41.1 - 46.0. One thought that this was a good time chosen by MSD. Once again, the team lost 4 wickets for 14 runs and the tail was exposed. But in the second innings of the match, the Proteas would go one up on the Indians by taking a PP when one was not required. The team was coasting to a win in a canter when Greame Smith opted to finish the match early. He took the PP in Overs 31.1 - 36.0 losing 3 wickets for 20 runs. This time it was the tail of South Africa that was targeted by the Indians successfully. 
3.  At Capetown, India took advantage of the PP taken by the Proteas. They took 4 wickets for 25 runs during the Overs 44.1 - 49.0. Once again, from a healthy situation of 200 for 4 they were all out in the last over for 220. In reply, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan were forced with no other option but take the PP during Overs 42.1 - 47.0. 27 runs scored for the wicket of Zaheer meant that the target was reduced to less than a dozen once finished.
4. South Africa regained their PowerPlay touch at Port Elizabeth. Their batsmen were ready for the final assault and took the PP during the last 5 overs of the innings - 45 runs for 1 wicket was the final figures from the PowerPlay. Because of rains and reduction in overs, the Indians could not take their 3rd PowerPlay when their turn came.
5.  At Centurion, the Proteas batted first again. Rains once again reduced the PowerPlay to 4 overs only - taken during Overs 41.1 - 44.0 - not much use, they scored 20 runs losing 1 wicket. The Indians took their PowerPlay when Yusuf Pathan was in his full flight - Overs 34.1 - 38.0. He utilized the first over, smashing Tsotsobe all over the ground but was dismissed the very next over. A total of 34 runs were scored for the loss of Pathan.

Why do batting teams falter during their turn of the PowerPlay? Is there increased expectations on the batsman to score runs at a rate of 10 per over? Looks like that is definitely the planning of most teams. They feel that if they can take the PowerPlay when batsmen are settled at the crease and wickets to follow, they can maximize the overs then and the final 10 overs also. Thus, they tend to throw caution to the wind and take risks. This tends to backfire mostly with the bowling team taking crucial breakthroughs. 

Another strategy is to take it after 34 overs when the mandatory ball-change happens. The ball is harder and the batsmen can take advantage of the five overs. It is just not the timing of these five overs that is breaking everyones head but the strategy to adopt is crucial. This is the trend in all ODI series so far. 

I feel that the bowling team is at an advantage during this phase. Mostly, these days, field placings are defensive with fielders standing outside the 30-yard circle saving the singles. The batsmen can easily milk the bowling by taking singles and twos. This PowerPlay forces the captain to field players inside the circle and put pressure on the batsmen. Singles are no longer easy and batsmen are forced to take more risks.

Whoever has the right strategy in place by the time the World Cup starts, they will be the ones to benefit the most. What do you think is the right strategy to adopt?

Related articles

• World Cup 2011 - Dhoni has questions answered after SAF ODIs (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

World Cup 2011 - Will India better 2007 performance?

India had a disastrous World Cup in 2007 - they were dumped out of the tournament after the first stage where they lost to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, defeating only Bermuda in the competition. Will they repeat the performance in 2011 or will they go all the way? Let us see their possible journey for the first stage:

• First match of the competition stars India and Bangladesh in Mirpur - the one match that India will play outside their country. This was the team that defeated India in their last World Cup match and a grudge-match is on offer. The Indians will be eager to put their best foot forward in this match and it will be a good match to ease in the four players (Sehwag, Gambhir, Tendulkar, Praveen Kumar) who had been rested in the previous series in South Africa. India have lost just one game in the 12 matches played in Bangladesh against the hosts - they should ensure that this number doesnt double after the first match in Mirpur!!
• After the relatively easy opposition, India face up the new No.1 contenders in test cricket after their resounding Ashes win - England. The English team is high on spirits after their record win against the Oz but they have come down few notches after the reverses in the ODIs. Their bowlers who are typically their strength in other venues, tend to lose their sting in India. India have won 11 of their last 12 matches against England at home - 21 wins out of a total of 34 matches played between the two in India shows who the favorite is.
• After England, it is the turn of the minnows. Ireland are next on the menu for the Indians in Bengaluru. The Indians have played just one match against the Irish team and won the only one. No points for guessing who will win.
• Netherlands come up next at the Kotla for India. Again, one match played and won for the Indians. A relatively easy match for the hosts.
• India face their strongest opponent at this stage of the tournament - South Africa. 13 wins out of 22 matches in India means that the Indians will fancy themselves to win against the Proteas. The recent ODI series has given the Indians an idea of the strategy that they can adopt successfully in the World Cup. In the only match played in Nagpur between the two teams (where the WC match will be held), India were defeated by 10 runs despite scoring 310. Sachin and Kirsten played for opposite sides then but now will team up to play against Gary's home team. 
• West Indies is the last team to play against India in the first stage of the tournament. The Caribbeans have a favorable record against the Indians at home, thanks to the previous great teams of the Windies. Even in the 2000s, the record looks even between the teams (6 wins and same number of losses)

Four matches against test-playing nations in the first stage - two tough ones (South Africa and England) and two relatively easier ones (Bangladesh and West Indies) - mean that the Indians have a good chance to top the Board in their Group after all matches are played. The chart below shows the performance of the teams in India's group (in all World Cups so far and in the 2010 year) - this can be a bit misleading since some teams have played weaker teams last year and hence their record looks flattering.

A similar chart for Group A shows a similar trend.

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Greatest ODI Match of All-time

Along with the earlier mentioned competition of selecting the Greatest ODI team of All-time, there is another competition from ICC to select the greatest ODI match of all-time.

The World Cup finals of 1975, 1983 are included while the Australasia Cup final (when Miandad won by hitting the six of the final ball) is also present. Other matches include the one when Gibbs dropped the World Cup (South Africa vs Australia tied match) as well as the high-scoring game when South Africa chased down a 400+ total vs Australia. Bangladesh's upset win over Australia in England has a mention.

From my view-point (Biased you might think), it is the 1983 World Cup final that is the best match of all-time for various reasons:
a) West Indies was the ruling team in the 1980s till the World Cup and their performance in ODIs was good to make them the favorites to win the third successive Cup.
b) India had not won anything in note in the first 2 World Cups and were not expected to anything worth-while.
c) India defeated the West Indies after scoring a low score of 183 - defending it with great vigor. No one would have predicted the Indian victory after the first innings was completed.
d) It was a neutral venue thereby not having any home advantage to the Indians. It can be argued that even for the Windies it was a netural one (but they had more supporters on the ground)

Do you agree with my choice? What is your favorite ODI match?

Related articles

• Greatest ODI Team of All-time (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

Greatest ODI Team of All-time

ICC has started a competition to select the greatest ODI players and teams of all-time, to mark the 40th anniversary of One-Day International (ODI) cricket.

Unfortunately, they have already given different categories in which readers have to select the players (My choices are also mentioned below with my rationale):

two openers - Matthew Hayden (A destructive top order player with an average of 43.80, he has been responsible for the starts Australia have received in ODIs), Sachin Tendulkar (Legend of the game)

three middle order players - Michael Bevan (The third highest batting average of all time, 53.58 in 232 matches, and arguably the greatest 'finisher' the game has ever seen. In this line-up, he can afford to play the big shots as well as shore the batting if there is a collapse), Aravinda de Silva (9,248 ODI runs helped Sri Lanka win the World Cup - a devastating player on his day on all grounds), Viv Richards (The most exciting batsman of all time - the one that inspired many a player to take up the sport. Will be the captain of this team as well)

an all-rounder - Ian Botham (One of the best all-rounders in the World whose batting in test matches resembled the ODI variety. Could swing the ball both ways)

a wicket-keeper - Adam Gilchrist (A strike-rate of 96.94, and a winner of three consecutive World Cup medals - In this line-up can open the batting or come lower down the order)

three fast bowlers - Wasim Akram (One of two players to have taken more than 500 ODI wickets - what a bowler he was!!), Allan Donald(Selected him for the sheer speed and dominant force he was in international cricket), Glenn McGrath (Another great who could bowl all day on line and length. Can restrict the scoring if the opponents have put up a good score)

a spinner - Shane Warne (The best spinner of all-time. Selected for his ability to take wickets)

It would have been good to have asked readers to select 2 teams so that the viewers could have identified more players from the pool selected. I have selected players from as many countries as possible so that a good representation can be made.

To play this champion team, I propose this team that is also in the list provided by ICC:
Sourav Ganguly, Gordon Greenidge, Brian Lara, Ricky Ponting(c), Jacques Kallis, MS Dhoni, Michael Holding, Waqar Younis, Dennis Lillee, Saqlain Mushtaq.

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)
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Pointers from the Indian selectors and Ranji matches

Image via Wikipedia
Two pointers from news incidents that happened today:

•  The new contracts were given by the BCCI - Yuvraj Singh being the surprise movement in the list of contracts. Suresh Raina replaced him while Virat Kohli, Murali Vijay and Pragyan Ojha have moved up to Grade B. Rohit Sharma has been demoted to C. RP Singh and Munaf Patel, who were previously in Grade B, have not been offered contracts. This definitely shows the thinking of the Management involved in the selection. Raina has made good progress in test cricket while cementing his place as a dependable player in ODIs. Yuvraj has fallen out of contention in test matches and his ODI form has been nothing great to write about.
• Similarly, the Ranji matches has thrown up performances from fringe players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yusuf Pathan, Vinay Kumar, Robin Uthappa has increased our hopes that the bench strength remains as a good pipeline for the national teams. Let us hope they continue this performance and reach greater heights.

Yuvraj Singh has the matches till the ODI series against the "Black Caps" starts, where he will play at least 5 matches. This should give him good practice period to get back to his groove.

India, meanwhile, start their 2nd test against NewZealand tomorrow at Hyderabad. Rain could play a major role in this test match, which should see the Indians win if the match is played in full-time. VVS Laxman is playing his first test at home - hope he makes a century in front of his friends and family.

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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)
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ICC's new move on international cricket - what could have been?

The ICC has completely redrawn the landscape of international cricket few days back - a test championship among many things.

The Future Tours Programme (FTP) will now comprise a Test league running over four years with the top four teams at the end of each period qualifying for a play-off event. The first play-off is scheduled for 2013, the same year England are due to host the Ashes, and Lord's is the favoured venue for the final.

Four years seems to be a long period for the test league - let us consider a scenario of the current Indian test team - they are No.1 and might continue for the next 2 years but in the last 2 years of the league, due to the retirements of the legends, the performance of the team might deteriorate drastically. But, because of their initial performances, they will still qualify for the play-off event. A league cycle of 2 years would be of the right time to give a proper perspective to the League. To do this, I would suggest having a 2-tier system that contains 5 teams each. The top-5 will be part of the 1st tier and play between each other, home and away. Each test series should be a minimum of 3 tests (Ashes usually will have 5 and India-Australia typically has 4) with the UDRS system a mandatory use in the tests. Each team will play the other 4 teams in 2 series in the 2 year cycle - a total of 8 series with a probability of 24 to 30 test matches. This can be easily achieved in 2 years considering that a test series (of 3 matches) can be conducted in 4-5 weeks. This will also reduce the probability of multiple series between same countries repeatedly (like India and Sri Lanka recently).

A one-day cricket league - mirroring the existing team rankings - will also be part of the FTP, starting in April 2011 and running over four years to culminate in the crowning of the first ODI league champion in April 2014. The league will run separately from the World Cup, the ICC's flagship event, which has been reduced to 10 teams for the 2015 tournament. 

Why will it run separately from the World Cup? Why is this league required is not known? Already there is a growing criticism around the world about the validity of ODI matches - is this one way that ICC wanted to give more importance to ODIs? Can the ICC not take more power in their hands and ban all tri-series tournaments like the ones played by India and Sri Lanka (who else). Why these tournaments are conducted is also not known (of course the monetary reasons are visible clearly).

The World Twenty20 event will be expanded to 16 teams from the 2012 tournament, due to be staged in Sri Lanka. The success of smaller nations like Netherlands and Afghanistan in Twenty20 cricket prompted the expansion of the tournament, which will continue to have the women's event played alongside it

This is probably a good decision to promote cricket in many countries but care needs to be taken to ensure that there is not a surfeit of these T20 matches. Of course, one has to plan a window of the domestic tournaments like IPL and Champion League matches.


Overall, some good decisions but a lot confusing ones.What is your take on the announcement from ICC?

Related articles

• ICC approves Test championship (cricinfo.com)

Bench strength - did anyone say?

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The No.2 team in ODI cricket was supposed to be so strong that everyone considered them the team in form and expected them to have a strong bench as well. Earlier, everyone (including me) used to think that the average Ranji team (Mumbai or Tamil Nadu) would easily beat a Zimbabwe team in ODI. No longer.

All myths have been broken, thanks to a spirited effort from the Zimbabwe team, determined to prove their mark.

The first match of the Tri-series saw a team that was woeful in running between the wickets, nervous in their stroke-play, tentative in bowling and average overall. Whether the young guns were interested to make their mark is a question. The Indian cap was given to them a bit sooner and hence, one feels that they did not want it so much as the others. Suresh Raina did not have the Power Presence of a MSD and his limited bowling options did not offer him any respite.

Among the bowlers, only Vinay Kumar showed some glimpses of his talent, thanks to his slower ball (that got Coventry). The others are not in the same league as the other also-rans (Sreesanth, Irfan Pathan, RP Singh). Of course, it is not to say that they should not be given a chance - but, quite evidently the debutants did not grab the chances. Rohit Sharma and to an extent, Ravinder Jadeja did well in the batting department while Amit Mishra shone in the bowling.

The Indian team would do well to settle their nerves (if any) for the next match since they are against the much more powerful Lankans in the next match. Of course, there will be no complacency (for they are the underdogs now). There needs to be more determination in the batting and desperation on the field. Bowling will remain the weak link, that can be worked around by electing to chase.

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• IPL3's contribution towards World T20 (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• World T20 Cup squad for India (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• India leave for another tri-series (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)

India leave for another tri-series

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India, led by new captain Suresh Raina, leave for another tri-series (for a change, it is a ODI tournament & of course, with a new-look side). This is a great opportunity for the Indian team to prove that their domestic (including IPL) performances were not a flash in the pan. Raina, of course, has given the right statements about being excited about his new role.

The youngsters in the team are raring to go and prove their wares in the international arena. The new bowlers included in the team are Pankaj Singh, Ashok Dinda and offspinner R Ashwin. Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar are the others who form the pace quartet - both also young guns, who will be making their debut. The captain expects that the seamers will play a leading role in the series - hope to see the prediction coming true. Wicketkeeper Naman Ojha plays the role of reserve, one that the main keeper Dinesh Karthik plays regularly.

Sri Lanka has taken a cue from the Indian team and announced a new-look side. Hence, the tournament itself  takes a B-team look. The expectations from the Indian team are not great but of course, any result other than a tournament win will result in heads rolling. So, it is a good situation for Suresh Raina to go with an open mind.

The fielding can be expected to be better than the recent performances we have seen. The bowling will be a completely inexperienced team while the batsmen have a good sense of international cricket.

Here is wishing the team all the best for the series and hope that there are few young turks (for a long-term perspective) identified from this series.

New Year Wishes

Wish all of you a happy New Year – hope you have the best of luck in the coming new year of the decade.

Happy Reading and I promise to bring you much more interesting opinions of mine in the coming year.

Compilation of my posts in the year 2009 is as follows:

India's tour of NewZealand -
The Indian team won their ODI series against the Black Caps and came within striking
distance of the ODI Pinnacle. The Indians flexed
their muscles in the ODI series and won it comfortably, looking forward to the test series. The first test was also won  in a similar manner by the Indians and there were expectations that the remaining tests would be won with such ease. It was not to be, alas.

IPL2 - The IPL was shifted to South Africa thanks to the elections in India. Though it was a challenege, it opened up new avenues for BCCI. I decided to come up with a new way to track run-chases in T20 matches and use it for reference in the IPL2 tournament.The IPL2 was good preparation for the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup and witnessed quite a few innovations from the teams. After 37 matches, the IPL2 was placed in an interesting situation. One saw the commercialization of the IPL concept to the maximum by Lalit Modi, who wanted to maximize it further. The D-day arrived at IPL2 with teams who were placed at the bottom in the previous edition. The correct team won the tournament which came to an end, bringing a lull to the viewers around the world. There was one constant winner between the 2 editions of IPL other than Lalit Modi, of course.

T20 World Cup - The World Cup post IPL2 seemed to be a logical extension of the T20 matches and the Indianteam was expected to be the team to beat. The World Cup had a good start to the tournament with unexpected winners. After the league matches, the Super 8s was the next stage. India lost their first match at Super8 and eventually tumbled out.

Champions Trophy - The ICC Champions Trophy was held at South Africa. The stage was interesting
at the Group Phase with India expected to meet Pakistan. The Indians lost the match and lost out on qualification from the Group Phase. The Indian's performance was in stark contrast to their otherwise good results in the year.

Champions League - Champions League (First Edition) finally started in India with a bang. JP Duminy
showed how a perfectT20 chase could be orchestrated. Somerset then held their nerves and won a topsy-turvy match. Delhi Daredevils crushed the team from Sri Lanka in their contest. The Eliminator
was finally seen at the Champions League - an exciting way to identify a winner in a tied cricket match. Deccan Chargers was shut out of the tournament by T&T thanks to the dare-devilry batting.

India-Australia ODI Series - Amidst news of the ODI format losing ground against the T20, the Indians took on the visiting Australians. This series revived the ODI format with some interesting matches between the two sides. MS Dhoni and Yuvraj helped the Indians lead the series 2-1 but the Indians could not win at Hyderabad even though the maestro Tendulkar played a heroic innings. The Aussies then won the remaining match and thereby the series.

India-Srilanka Series - The Indian team announced for the SriLanka series had few surprises. The First Test at Motera saw Dravid and Dhoni revive India after the Lankans held an upper hand. Sri Lanka was solid in their reply and raced ahead on the 3rd day. The Indians started their fight-back for survival on the fourth day, bringing a tame end to the match with all things even. The Second test at Kanpur started
well from an Indian perspective and remained that way on Day 2 as well. The Indians gained further lead on the third day making it a formality on the fourth day. The third test at Mumbai started with honours even. Until Sehwag started his innings. The Indians pressed further on the 3rd day making it difficult for the Lankans to avoid a defeat on the 4th day. They did avoid defeat but not on the final day.

The focus moved from Test Matches to the T20 vesion. Sri Lanka thrashed the Indians at Nagpur while Yuvraj, on his birthday, evened the series at Mohali.

The ODI series was anticipated after the shard T20 series. The series started with a high-scoring win for India at Rajkot making the Cuttack ODI interesting.Sri Lanka chased down a huge total to even the series. The Indians pulled ahead at Cuttack to lead the series, going to Kolkata. Would it be another loss for India to even the series was the question? Gambhir and Kohli won the match and series for India, making the last match redundant.

Sachin Tendulkar completed 20 years of International Cricket. This was one of the occasions to celebrate in the year 2009. Among the batsmen who have scored more than 9000 runs, SRT was at
the peak. His progress in test matches was remarkable.

Miscellaneous Posts - The Indian contracts for the year 2009-10 was released with few surprises. Sehwag almost scored his third 300, showcasing his evolution as a Great batsman. Sehwag, Dilshan and similarly Gayle have shown a new facet of test openers in modern cricket. His exploits made India reach the ICC No.1 ranking for test matches, making others wonder at the achievement. India's focus on test matches needed refinement, as it seemed that the focus was on ODIs and T20s. 3 batsmen (Dilshan, Gambhir and MS Dhoni) made a difference to their respective team's fortunes in the India-SriLanka series. Meanwhile, Australia played the series against West Indies at home - there were no surprises who won.

As the decade came to an end, it was time to relook at the top Indian victories in test matches and ODIs.

Top Indian victories of the Decade - ODIs

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After the post on the best test wins in 2000, this focuses on the best ODI wins for India.

• NatWest Series Final - 2002 at Lords - Kaif and Yuvraj take India through. 
• ICC Champions Trophy - 2000 at Nairobi - Yuvraj and Zaheer announce themselves at the international arena  
• Victories in Australia CB Series - 1st and 2nd final 
• World Cup 2003 win over Pakistan
• Winning 317 in England by Uthappa with the tail
  
• Uthappa and the tail again against at Australia
  
• Pakistan in India ODI Series - 2nd ODI at Vizag - MSD scoring 148 in India's victory
  
• Sehwag and Yuvraj show against Sri Lanka
  
• Beating South Africa at a neutral venue - 2007
  
• A small but tough target to scale at Sri Lanka - 2008
  
• Srinath and Nehra win it for India (by their batting) - a lottery of a match in 2003
  
• First match in Pakistan after a long time - 2004
  
• Sehwag's first as an opener - 2002 - Master-stroke by Ganguly
  
• Decimating England at Rajkot - 2008
  
• India v Sri Lanka  at Rajkot (2009) - Scaling and then defending a total of 414 against Sri Lanka
  
• India V New Zealand at Christchurch (2009) - 400 almost and still not sure of a win.

What do you feel as the best ODI win for India?