Equal series wins in limited overs in UK

The Indians were expected to easily win the two matches in Ireland, which they did easily. In England, they were facing a team that whitewashed Australia 5-0 in ODI series! The T20I series was first and the Indians pulled off a series win versus the hosts. Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur were tried out as new ball bowlers but the wrist spinners not only undid all their inexperience but also restricted the scoring and took important wickets at the right time.This did not stop India to lose their first ODI series under Kohli.

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India pulled back things with a win in the T20I series to make it level. All over to the test series. Again, the weather has been good, ball is not doing anything in the air, wickets are perfect for batting. If it continues, India will outbat the hosts for a 2-1 series win. Any change in the brittle weather will alter the result. Virat Kohli & Ajinkya Rahane are the two batsmen who have to lead from the front, scoring a couple of centuries if India has to do well!The Indian team, for the last two series has lost the one who has got his name on the Lords Board - Praveen Kumar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The loss of Bhuvi will be more than that of Bumrah. Umesh Yadav and Isant Sharma should take the burden of the seam bowlers while Ashwin and Jadeja will be back. How will Kuldeep fit in is a question mark.Pandya is the all-rounder and the Indians must be feeling very confident to start the test series after the limited overs series!

India win under 19 world cup,but

While the Indian senior team was dominating South Africa in the limited over series in South Africa, their Under-19 comrades outshone their opposition in the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand, Coached by the legendary Rahul Dravid, the team won the final convincingly to lift the Cup against the powerful Australians! Overall performane by the Indians dominated the headlines, especially the fast bowlers, middle-order batsmen and captain Prithvi Shaw!

Images from Cricinfo website

While this is great, what becomes important is how many of these players make it to the senior team - have a look at the team that won in 2008 - Virat Kohli, Jadeja, Manish Pandey have graduated nicely but not much is known about the other players. Hopefully, we should nurture this team properly and ensure we get maximum representations in the senior team soon!

Sri Lanka home tests - India win but not as expected

After the brownwash in Sri Lanka, when the tourists came to India, all expected a repeat of the scoreline, but it was not to be! India won the series 1-0 as they couldn't take three wickets more in the first and five in the final test. But, they were consistently superior in all departments!! The lasting memory from the test series was the Delhi smog, not the batting or bowling!

Bangla Home Tests - India beat Bangladesh as expected

India defeated Bangladesh in the first and only test of the series, as expected. The Indian spinners picked wickets but what was more pleasing was the pacers picking a handful.

The Aussies are next and India is on course for a great home season!

England Home ODIs - India win run-fest of a series

• 1st ODI - England scored 350 and lost as India overtook them
• 2nd ODI - England scored 350 and lost again as India scored 15 more!
• 3rd ODI - England scored 340+ and just about won as they scored 5 runs more.

Indian (and English bowlers) must have been glad that the series finished, such a run-fest it was.
India though was happy with Jadhav and Pandya's emergence as lower-order batsmen, resurgence of Dhoni and Yuvraj  in their old style just before the ICC  Champions Trophy starts.

Jadeja and Ashwin will not take part in the T20I series though I dont think the series result will change :)

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England Home Tests - Massive 4-0 win for Indians

No big score from Kohli, Pujara and neither a good bowling performance by Ashwin. Still, India won their fourth match of the series after conceding 477 in the first innings! Newbie Karun Nair and Ravindra Jadeja combined to knock the fight out of the Englishmen. The series verdict was unanimous - the English were thoroughly outplayed! Two Indian bowlers were No.1 and 2 in the ICC rankings, as the icing to the Indian cake! Bring on the Aussies!!

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England Home Tests - Three-nil lead for India

A great advertisement for test match cricket! India lost the toss and conceded 400 runs in the first innings. Yet, went on to win by an innings!

A masterful double century by the captain and 12 wicket haul by No.1 bowler in the world, supported by No.9 batting spinner ( scoring a century) triggered a comeback that saw the Indians win the test series with one test to go.

All eyes on 4-0 win though the English are still cribbing ( second nature?)

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England Home Tests - All-round performance by India to go up 2-0

A superb performance by the Indian team saw them take an unbeaten lead in the five-match test series.
England have been affected by the relative loss of form of captain Cook (compared to the previous tours), batting of the lower order not as good as the Indians while the Indians have shown great all-round performance to win this test. Replacement opener/keeper Parthiv Patel was great, giving the team management all reasons to smile!

Two more matches and I dont expect the English to win anything else, especially with new replacements.

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England Home Tests - Massive win for India to go ahead 1-0

India won the 2nd test match versus England by 246 runs!Virat Kohli contributed 248 runs in both innings of the match, but it was a team effort.

1. Chet Pujara scored a century in the first innings to shore up the Indian total
2. Ashwin's eight-wicket haul and impressive batting continued!
3. Jayant Yadav was a revelation with his all-round stints.
4. Shami took crucial wickets in both innings to complete the formalities.

Forget the stats, it was an impressive win by the Indian team. Onto Mohali, where the English will have one change in the batting and I expect India to go with three pacers!

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England Home tests - Interesting high-scoring draw to end first test

The first test saw scores of 500+ being scored and predictably ended in a draw. But, it was interesting too. No one expected the English spinners to collect so many wickets, though the Indians also bowled decently. All in all, it is a four test series remaining now. My prediction is 2-2.Can India go one better and win the series? Wait and watch this space!

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NZ Home Series - expected whitewash

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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 !

SAF 1st T20I - India lose depite putting up 200

The stats before the match started was surprising to me - India were leading the Proteans 6-2 in T20I matches. Wow! Really!! The long series started in Dharamsala and the pitch was more in favor of the South Africans rather than Indians - fair enough. The dew factor would have an effect but since the match started at 7PM local time, both teams would have an impact.

The Indian team batted first against a second-string South African bowling attack (Steyn and Morkel were rested due to the schedule mostly). While Rohit and Kohli smashed the bowling apart, the rest of the batting could not leverage further. The target was 200 which I thought was a tad lesser than what could have been, when Rohit was going great. India persisted with Rayudu (instead of Rahane) and though he didnt get many balls to face, I think he is not a T20I player. Time to look at options like Gurkeerat Singh Mann (who scored a double century in Ranji match) or Manish Pandey or even Sanju Samson. India needs a dasher if MSD is playing at No.4 - every team has one. Maxwell, Duminy, Morgan being examples of this genre.

India had a new left-arm new ball bowler after a long time - Sreenath Aravind. He, along with his new ball partner Bhuvneshwar Kumar, went for runs against the partnership of Amla and ABD. Ashwin, with his new-found confidence and ball-skills, pulled the team back with a run-out and dismissal of ABD. But JP Duminy bailed the team and brought them home.

The Indian team will come back on pitches that are more subcontinental than this one but it is important to learn the lessons from this match. The T20 bowling needs overhaul - Bhuvi is good with his yorkers while it was the first match for Aravind. Who is the other partner for Ashwin? Axar gave away the match with three consecutive sixes - is Harbhajan a better bowler in this format? If India wants to play Mishra in tests, better not to play him in the limited overs format. Who else then, after Ravindra Jadeja (who by the way is on his way to a ten-wicket haul in the first Ranji match)?

2015 World Cup - India ease past Bangladesh

The cricketing world had deemed India to be lucky as they drew Bangladesh in the quarter-finals of the 2015 World Cup. They had momentarily forgotten the fact that the Indian team was on a winning streak from last World Cup as well as the fact that they had taken 60 wickets in six matches this edition (with the same bowling lineup except a replacement in one match). The Indian team extended the streak by one more match at MCG by a convincing win over their neighbors.

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The openers started steadily, thanks to the profligacy of the opposition captain (Mortaza) who was off-color but did not take himself off the attack. The space given to the openers was good not only for Rohit to settle down but also have a steady run-rate going. Once Shakib and Rubel got together, the pressure started showing on the Indian batsmen. Three wickets fell in no time, more because of the pressure of non-scoring fast enough than the conditions. Rohit was determined to cash in on this opportunity as is his wont against competition below the top Six. 

Raina joined him to put a match-winning partnership for his side. The Indian team is more confident because of the experience in such situations, better skills as well as conditioning. The Bangla team is improving but a long way to go. Raina decided to give the charge from 36th over when the score was 155 for 3. India almost doubled the score at the end thanks to the exploits of Raina, Rohit and a cameo from Sir Jadeja. Dhoni had a rare failure but that did not stop the charge by much.

Even though Bangladesh had a better batting lineup compared to their bowling, the start was shaky. Umesh Yadav had been dominated by his compatriots in this tournament even though he had done a decent job as well (Did you know that he is on top of the list of catches in this tournament?). His speed as well as control was good enough for the Bangla batsmen. They were hurried and he led the way when Shami was hit in the beginning. The haul was poetic justice to the paceman who has come a long way in this tournament. Ashwin too did a great holding job bowling against Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib but was unlucky not to have any catches. 

Overall, the Indian pace bowlers picked wickets again by the generous use of short ball. Will they continue in same fashion in the semifinal? Probably not. Going by the first quarterfinal, it looks like a pitch of subcontinental type and the Indians will fancy their chances against whoever they play. All parts of the team (fielding, bowling and batting) did their job well - what more did MSD wish for? Dhoni himself caught a couple of great catches to round off the evening. Next is the semifinal at SCG. 

We definitely Wont Give It Back!

2015 World Cup - India thrash UAE to consolidate lead

Mismatch. That is what happened at Perth between India and UAE. The Indians were far better than their opposition and even with their lead bowler sitting out for minor injury, they ran their Asian counterparts ragged. Bhuvi had the right opportunity to come in to the team to test his fitness levels while Ashwin and Jadeja proved that on a pacy pitch, you can expect spinners to take wickets as well.

Image courtesy: Cricinfo site

Ashwin has been bowling well in this tournament and he carried his good form against a set of players who had no clue. It was a headache for you to either feel good for the Indian victory or feel for the minnows who have met the Indian team thrice in thirty years! Rohit Sharma scored a fifty to feel good about his form as well - he was the only one to have missed out so far in this tournament (among the top five batsmen).

The Indians finished a clinical victory to consolidate their top spot with a healthy Net Run Rate. They still have to face West Indies, Ireland and Zimbabwe. While all will give them a good run for their money (unlike today), West Indies must be hoping that Gayle comes to the picture to upset India's party. India will stay on at the same venue, with a break that will give them good time to erase their niggles, if any. 

2015 World Cup - India make it 6-0

India defeated Pakistan today, just like they did in 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003 and 2011 - a winning streak that actually totals TEN if you include the T20 World Cup as well. Incredible! From the looks of it, the Pakistan team does not seem to be able to absorb the pressure that comes with such a marquee clash. At the same time, the Indian team seems to ride on the pressure involved to put a spirited performance. The same team that seemed to behave like amateurs in the Tri-series matches were transformed into tigers.

Except the  overs 46-50 while batting (when they collapsed - contributing to a total that was 20-30 less than what looked possible), the Indian team dominated the entire match! The Indian fan must have been visibly impressed by the incredible win on this day. Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and Shikhar Dhawan were the ones to star with the bat - getting their act together against a bowling attack that was inexperienced but had the talent to trouble any team. Riding on the luck that supported them (dropped chances), the batting and running between the wickets climbed several notches higher than what was on display Down Under in last three months.

Picture Courtesy: Cricinfo Site

Virat Kohli was missing in action in the ODIs after a great test series - today, he was back in action. First with Dhawan and then with Raina, Kohli found his bearings and slowed down only near his century. Pity that he fell on completing the milestone. Raina was pure class - the shots he made and the placement of his strokes were on the spot. The opposition bowlers could not pitch the ball up to him at any time - he was just ruthless. The other aspect of Raina was his selflessness - milestones do not matter to Raina at all, only the team's objective matters. Witness his celebration when Kohli got to his century - amazing character. The only downside was the lack of form for MS Dhoni - though he hit one large six, he was a shadow of his old self. Time enough for him to get back to form still.

While the batting clicked, everyone was worried about the bowling composition. Will they come to the party as well? Starting with the ball that dismissed Younis Khan, Shami was like a man possessed. He was supported well by the others though Umesh was expensive at the beginning. Mohit provided good backup to ensure that the pressure was on the batsmen. Fielding was another area where the Indians scored higher than their opponents - the experience of fielding on the larger Australian grounds for the last few months had helped so much! The Pakistan team was always on the lookout for the big shots because of the tight fielding. One more noticeable aspect was Dhoni's willingness to attack - the slip catchers were usually missing in the previous matches - Dhoni is showing signs of aggression already. Ashwin was bowling as he should in a test match - looking for wickets and bowling outside the off (did Manager Arshad Ayub have a word with him?). Jadeja was solid but went for few runs (making up for the wickets). Umesh came back in his subsequent spell and looked much better - maybe it is a good idea to have him following Mohit Sharma in the next match.

All augurs well for the Indian team but they have to make this as a practice in most of the group matches to get an easier opponent in the quarterfinals. 

2015 World Cup - India's preparations so far

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

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

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

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

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

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

Australia Tour Tri-series - England crush India

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

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

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

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

WI 2014 ODIs - India seal the farcical ODI series

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

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

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

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

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

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

WI 2014 ODIs - India equalize series with amazing turnaround

It was indeed an amazing turnaround at Delhi. India were close to another loss in the ODI series despite putting a decent score on the board.

On the batting front, India would have been happy to see Kohli's return of form (of course he was helped by the demotion in the batting order to a certain extent - he didnt have to play the new ball much here). Suresh Raina sparkled like he has been doing recently - his recent consistency has been amazing. Here, he continued the scoring when Kohli was settling down at the crease. The foundation laid was good for MSD to launch the final assault (71 in the last 10 overs). Virat, on the other hand, scored the same number of runs as Raina but needed a higher number of deliveries to do so. One cannot say that he was back to his form but he did all the right things to stay at the wicket and score a fifty. Dhoni did what he usually does - rotate the strike to keep the scorecard ticking and then launching into the bowling at the death.

Those who knew the Kotla wicket were aware of the low bounce that the pitch would offer for the chasing team. Dhoni knew it and the Windies were aware of the same. A good start by their openers meant that the Indian bowlers were on the backfoot. Amit Mishra was taken to the cleaners in the first ODI but here he came back with a vengeance. Despite conceding four sixes of his bowling, Mishra gave 16 more runs in his full quota but importantly scalping the important wicket of Pollard and Ramdin. Two maidens to Marlon Samuels meant that the Windies were strangled and the asking run-rate was growing. This led to Dwayne Smith's dismissal and then the wickets tumbled one after the other (eight wickets fell for 45 runs in less than 11 overs). Shami and Jadeja then came into the match, claiming regular wickets to hasten the end.

One-all and three matches to play. India will be expected to win now with the Windies tasting defeat and still hurting from the pay-issues. Let us see what happens next.