Australian Tour 2014 Final Test - When draw was more enjoyable

The Indians lost 0-4 during their previous tour Down Under. This time it was 0-2 - a reflection of the progress that the team made over four years. The team transitioned on many counts during this tour. The old order moved into retirement while the new generation batsmen came after losing (if not disastrous) campaigns from New Zealand, South Africa and England. The team had come close to winning matches in the first two tours but on the last tour to England, they did win at Lords.

On this tour, there would be no wins but the two draws could be considered as morale boosters for a team that has now moved to a new captain as well during the series. The test team will no longer have a certain Mr. Dhoni. Virat Kohli seems to enjoy his captaincy considering that he has scored three centuries and a forty in his two tests as captain. Let us see how this run continues in the next series overseas.

The positives have been limited on the batting front from the Indian side - Vijay, Rahane and Kohli have been standout performers in all tests. Rahul did well in the Sydney test, showing signs of long-term promise. Shikhar Dhawan and Chet Pujara will be still in the scheme of the Indian cricket - part of a good set of batsmen for the next generation.

It is the bowling that will give the Indian management a big headache. Discipline was missing in all matches and it was very clear that the slow wickets would not help any of them. The fact that the opposition bowlers also struggled meant that the Indian bowlers were not far behind - if that was a consolation factor. Ishant Sharma did well to apply his learnings of many years but it shudders when you think that the others are in the same situation he was few years ago. Umesh Yadav looked full of promise during the last tour Down Under but he has not progressed much. Bhuvi could not do much in the last test due to injury but he needs support from the pitch and conditions to be effective. Can Aaron become more consistent is the question on everyone's lips?

Overall, the Indians lost the series but not disappointed their fans. A win would have been good but I think the next overseas series will be the one where India will start their winning streak.

CLT20 2014 Finals - CSK halt the KKR juggernaut

Thanks to Suresh Raina's blistering century, CSK chased down the target set by KKR who were themselves helped by Gambhir's return to form. Without Naraine, KKR were hampered badly in their bowling but that should not stop the praises for Raina's knock. The R-B chart has never  looked so evenly balanced for a 180+ score. Ever!

CLT20 2014 - CSK take revenge on Kings XI Punjab

CSK had their revenge (after being ousted in the IPL final this year) on Kings XI Punjab by thrashing them in their semifinal.

CLT20 2014 - KKR through to final

KKR continued their winning streak by chasing down a relatively easy target against Hobart Hurricanes at Hyderabad

CLT20 2014 - KKR make it 13 in a row

KKR have been on a roll - 13 is the latest count. Thanks to Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey, they reached the semifinals without any big worry.

CLT20 2014 - Kings XI continue their allround performance

Managing to clutch few wickets at the right time, Kings XI Punjab continued their roll. The world looks easy for the set of players who have been struggling in the initial six versions of the IPL seasons.

CLT20 2014 - Hurricanes put it across Tridents

Despite a low target, it was tough going for Hurricanes to chase down the target set by Tridents. The chart looks interesting!

CLT20 2014 - CSK go past Perth

CSK looked like they would find it difficult to go past 100 in their innings. But, thanks to MSD and Jadeja, they posted a total that was more than enough to win the match.

CLT20 2014 - Lions swim past the Dolphins

Lahore Lions went past the Dolphins making the group very interesting in terms of qualification for the semifinals.

CLT20 2014 - Kings blow away Northern Districts

Thanks to  Manan Vohra's century opening stand  with veteran Virender Sehwag, Kings XI Punjab posted a huge target for Northern Districts. In their chase, Districts could not reach even half the target. The chase was alive for the first five overs and then it was a break-away win for Kings!

CLT20 2014 - KKR go past Perth

Thanks to Suryakumar Yadav's heroics, KKR went past Perth in a chase that was close but spectacular. Even though the target was not great, the bowlers ensured that KKR went through a few heartbreaks before reaching the end.

CLT20 2014 - Hurricanes crush Northern Knights

Hurricane Hobarts defeated Northern Knights with a performance that saw the Hurricane bowlers blow away the chasing team in a hurry.

CLT20 2014 - SuperKings thrash Dolphins

Thanks to a blitzkrieg from Brendon McCullum and then Suresh Raina (followed by Ravindra Jadeja), CSK posted a huge target for Dolphins. Even though their opponents tried the best in the beginning, CSK were the runaway winners.

CLT20 2014 - KKR win again

Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa started off with a bang that ensured KKR crossed the line with ease (despite the hiccups in the middle).

CLT20 2014 - Hobart win with ease

Hobart chased down the target posed by Cape Cobras with ease!

CLT20 2014 - Kings continue their winning run

Kings XI Punjab made a great start at the CLT20 tournament with their second win, thanks to Miller and Axar Patel.

CLT20 2014 - Marsh sparkles

Mitchell Marsh was in the news recently after he hit Dale Steyn for three consecutive sixes. In this tournament, he did the same but with even more pressure when his team needed two sixes off last two balls of the match! Amazing talent!

CLT20 2014 - KXIP make a winning start

Maxwell and Miller were supposed to provide fireworks but the show was not just about them alone. Perera came to the party to ensure  KXIP made a winning start to their first tournament.

The R-B was always manageable and after 12th over, it never went above the ideal R-E line. Simple victory despite losing early wickets!

CLT20 2014 - CSK lose against KKR

Thanks to Ryan Ten Doeschate and Andre Russell, KKR managed to overcome a shaky start to defeat the powerful CSK team.

The R-B graph says a lot!

The chase was stuttering (where KKR lost four wickets) and till the 8th over, the difference keeps increasing! In the eleventh over, there is a big plunge in the chart followed by three overs of consolidation. Similarly, another plunge follows in the 16th over which meant  that the KKR could chase the target with an over to spare.

Indias 2014 tour to England starts

After a long break, back to blog just before the test series against England starts. 3 years after the disastrous tour where the Indian team lost 0-4, they are off to the venues where Duncan Fletcher's horrible overseas record as Indian coach started. The team composition is different and therefore the hope is that the performances will be different as well. The Indian team has shown substance and fighting spirit during the two overseas tours (NZ and SAF) and the Indian fan must be hoping that there will be more of the same. Only difference hopefully is that the performances will translate to victories.

The Indian team, despite encouraging signs, have not been able to win any test during their overseas sojourns. The team composition was announced in late May and there were few surprises. Let us revisit the same and see how they fare up

• Opening batsmen - M Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Gautam Gambhir. I dont see any changes from the last test even though Gambhir is an established batsman in the squad. The first two warm-up matches will give an indication of who will play and who will not. Anyway, the long tour (five tests) will give enough opportunities to all concerned in case of loss of form.
• Middle order - Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma. There is no replacement for the players who will all play in the test match. That is the biggest risk in the squad and how Dhoni will balance the risk in performance downsides will be seen. Will there be a SOS call to anyone else during the tour?
• All-rounders - Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Stuart Binny. One of the first two named would have been a guarantee before the Bangladesh tour. But, Binny's memorable performance (6-4 in the ODI's) will give MS Dhoni a pleasant headache. Binny as an allrounder who can bowl 10 overs of pace (+ swing and seam) will be ideal in England. Look out for Binny on this tour.
• Pace bowlers - Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ishwar Pandey, Ishant Sharma, Varun Aaron, Pankaj Singh. This was a surprise when the tour was announced. Zaheer Khan was dropped which makes Ishant the top bowler in this tour. He will retain his place in the eleven just for Dhoni's preference but if he does not pick up his performance, there are others in the wings. Shami and Bhuvi will be the other first-choice pacers while the backup squad is also quite interesting to look out for. One wonders if Umesh Yadav was unfortunate but the players picked can be handful on their day.
• Wicket-keepers - MS Dhoni, Wriddhiman Saha. Saha is most likely a tourist on the squad but will come in contention just in case any middle-order batsman flops continuously. Watch out for the aggressive MS Dhoni (as a batsman)!

There are two warm-up matches in the lead to the test series and these will give an insight into the selection policies that will be adopted by MSD. The matches will also give an indication to the skill and temperament of the players who will vie for the 2-3 positions that are vacant. 

My forecast - India will do well to draw the series but they will give a good fight to the young England side. The latter's experience with conditions will make them the favorites (even though the squad is relatively inexperienced at the highest level). What do you say?