IPL10 - the awards go to...

After the completion of the IPL10 season, here are the awards we have chosen to award to the respective players. Have a look & feel free to comment!

1. Dad-Of-the-IPL - MS Dhoni. He was the captain of the Dads Army. Not only that,  if the videos were to be seen right after the final got over, Dhoni was seen playing with his daughter, leaving his team to relish the title win!
2. Bowler-Of-the-Tournament - All Leg-spinners. Indian or foreign, there were a large number of leg spinners in the tourney. Even Ashwin started off bowling leg-spin in many matches!
3. Catch-Of-the-Tournament - AB De Viliers Spiderman catch has to be it! Nothing other.
4. ABD-catch-of-the-tournament - Trent Boult came trumps with his catch to dismiss Virat Kohli!
5. Worst-team-of-the-tournament - RCB Back-room team, who picked the team that flops so badly despite containing the best two players in the world!Either the ex-players did well ( e.g. Gayle) or the players from the region did well (e.g. KL Rahul).But, not RCB. God knows if they will reach the last four in the next few years!
6. Jasprit-Bumrah-of-the-IPL - Basil Thampi, for his good showing and precise yorkers! He has to be given more chances to show his true mettle
7. Budding-keepers-of-the-IPL - Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Rishabh Pant shone in the IPL, giving themselves a chance to target the national slot. Dinesh Karthik, Parthiv Patel are still around while Naman Ojha was not to be seen!
8. Comeback-team-of-IPL - Punjab under Ashwin did well but could not go all the way!
9. Gentleman-of-IPL - Kane Williamson was a great guy leading SRH to the finals with his genteel nature & proactive captaincy. Too bad his team ran into Daddy's boys!
10. Power-hitter-of-IPL - Ambati Rayudu seemed to have developed new muscles this year to power his way through the opposition. Was it hyderabad Biriyani or Chennai Sambar? He only knows!
11. Confusion-in-IPL - Why Rohit Sharma did not open regularly was a question mark! Even when his team was not performing!
12. Irritating-opener-of-IPL - Sunil Narine for his terrific shows at the top of the order!
13. Youngsters-of-IPL - Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Prasidh Krishna, Shubnam Gill, Deepak Chahar impressed with their games & temperament. Worth looking for!
14. Flop-show-of-IPL - Glenn Maxwell, D'arcy Short - For all their hype, their performances were nothing to write about!
15. Openers-of-IPL - KL Rahul & Chris Gayle. Brought Punjab back from wild & cheer into Preity's eyes. Great chemistry in the combination!

Please note that this is is only for fun and not to be taken seriously. Do take it in the right spirit and share your thoughts please!!

South Africa T20Is - India finish series at the pinnacle

After the ODI series drubbing,the Proteas decided to rest most of their seniors and announced a new-look team. With nothing to lose, the Indians continued their momentum to win the T20I series 2-1 to finish a great series for themselves (especially after the revversal in tests). The Indians won two matches by comfortable margins(28 runs, 7 wickets). Like the one-days, there was just one loss, mainly due to the weather. The confidence was so high that the Indians rested their captain in one match and still won!

Bhuvneshwar Kumar's good performances throughout the series was remarkable for his consistency, irrespective of the format - he started with a five-wicket haul in the first match and ended as the joint highest wicket taker in the series!

Suresh Raina chipped in with fast-paced knocks that were not convincing - his skills and temperament though will be useful to the Indian team in days to come.

The Indians on the field were super, probably better than the home team in some cases! If they can continue this progress for few more years, it is difficult to stop them!
In MS Dhoni, Kohli has a great guide and friend on and off the field - he can only get better from here!

The emergence of Jasprit Bumrah as a dependable force in the limited overs format was another BIG takeaway for India!

Shikhar Dhawan shone in the limited over variety but could not translate the same to whites! But, he was a revelation in the T20I format!

All images from ESPN Cricinfo website

South Africa away ODIs - Comprehensive win for the Indians

"Hisaab 25 saal ka" screamed the promos on television. Right on cue, the Indian team won their first ODi series in South Africa in a very convincing fashion. 5-1 was the final result, which left everyone stunned and numb to an extent, even an ardent Indian fan like yours truly was shocked at what happened.

Batting first or second, the Indians won convincingly (6 wickets, 9 wickets, 124 runs, 73 runs, 8 wickets). Just the one blip thanks to a wet pitch and DLS rule helping the Proteans once, the Indians were on a roll!

The captain played a BIG role in the series win, no doubt. Getting to 35 tons in his career is no easy feat - only Sachin stands in front of him now!

He was supported with the bat by Shikhar Dhawan in most matches!

With the ball, it was the wrist-spinners who provided the key breakthroughs to dismantle the Protean lineup ( already depleted by injuries to AB De Viliers, Faf du Plessis). Injuries, inability to face the spinners on seemingly slower ( and lower) pitches were a critical sin from the South Africans. The focus seemed more on a long-term vision, rather than the series ahead - this backfired badly. They learnt a HUGE lesson in the process and lost the series in a manner that their fans might have felt depressed.

All pictures from ESPN Cricinfo website

Kuldeep Yadav, helped by MS Dhoni's guidance from behind the stumps, was critical. Both the spinners were awesome with their performance, barring that lone defeat on a rain-truncated Pink Day!



Finally, a century to seal the series convincingly, for the captain! His first ODI series win after his wedding was very sweet!!

South Africa away tests - Indian batsmen lose way to bring their team down

In the first test match against South Africa, India played after NO practice games, only for their bowlers to lift the nation's hopes with a great display of seam bowling. Reduced to 12-3, the Proteans managed to post a respectable 286. Till then, the two surprise picks in the playing eleven had done well. Firstly, Jasprit Bumrah, had given a good performance with the ball (picking the wicket of the great AB De Viliers) while Hardik Pandya chipped with that of Faf du Plessis. Even Ashwin picked up two to finish off a great display by Indian bowlers.

Image Courtesy - espncricinfo.com website

The batsmen started in the evening of the first day and conditions looked they were easier, in comparison. The weather conditions was bright on Day 2 but the Indian dressing room was gloomy - the wickets were falling regularly to the quartet. Rahane was dropped to accommodate Rohit Sharma, based on current form - this pick didn't go as per form (as did Dhawan's inclusion over KL Rahul). The Indians gave a lead of 77 runs.  Thanks to a near-hundred by Hardik Pandya, the lead was manageable! Pandya rode his luck to take India to a respectable situation.If only, the others had shown similar guts and determination!!

The second innings saw the Indian team score five more runs than their rivals but the lead conceded was more than enough to lose the test match!

The bowlers showed they could do well overseas but the batsmen couldnt match them - Only if the two shine, India has a chance in this series!!

IPL9 - then there was SRH

IMAGE cOURTESY: espncricinfo website

2015 World Cup - thoughts on first semifinal

Though I had backed New Zealand to win the match, I thought that South Africa were wronged in this crucial match. How?

1. Rain-rule. Though the match had a reserve day, overs were reduced when there was a rain delay. The rationale was that all efforts would be made to complete the match during the scheduled time. Why then do you have a reserve day, ICC? What might have happened if NZ had to face only 20 overs? The target would have been a par-score for a regular T20 match (we all know how D/L score for T20 is)
2. Revised target. Have a look at the typical run-rates of South Africa in this World Cup - what he says is that in the last five overs, South Africa typically score at 16 runs per over. That means 80 runs in 5 overs. Add 2 more overs at 10 runs per over. Now, add 100 runs to the score of 281 and you will know what would have been the score that South Africa might have achieved. This was very much possible as South Africa had AB De Viliers and JP Duminy at the crease and NZ had Corey Anderson to bowl 3-4 overs more. The mere numbers would have put high pressure on New Zealand. Definitely, they would have crumbled. But, it was not meant to be.

R/o #CWC15 46-50 ov SA 16.05 WI 14.13 NZ 13.45 Au 11.13 Eg 9.63 SL 9.08 In 8.52 Bn 8.43 ------ Zm 7.09 Pk 7.37 Ir 7.57 Sc 7.80 #BingPredicts
— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) March 23, 2015

Even though these two points were to the disadvantage of South Africa, they have themselves to blame for the following turning points:

The botched run-out attempt by AB De Viliers during the partnership of Anderson and Elliot. This could have made a difference. I feel that it was because the fielder was such a hyper-energetic personality like ABD, the runout could not happen. He reached the wicket faster than anyone would have - that pace made him trip over the stumps!

The missed catch of Elliot, thanks to JP Duminy crashing into his colleague. Very poor cricket indeed - definitely, JP must have seen that Behardien was in a good position to catch the ball but still JP bumped into him!

Of course, Steyn was injured in the final over and that also hampered his bowling. If I was a South African fan, I would point to many factors during the match. But, there have been none mentioned by their captain or the players. Definitely a great way to accept a close loss in sport, showing that there is much more than just cricket. Good stuff, South Africa!

All photos courtesy Cricinfo Site

2015 World Cup - end of League stage

The eight quarter-finalists have been identified after the lengthy league stages. Though not many surprises in the eight, the league stages did show up some teams in terms of their big-match temperament and endurance in the BIG tournaments. Ireland came close to qualification but fell at the last hurdle. Pakistan took the format as an advantage to become better and finalize their top-selections (non-choice Sarfraz was the MoM in their eventual match). Injuries have hampered all teams but by the time the matches start, everyone should be ready to fire.

How do you then identify the players who did well? Let us look at the bowlers and batsmen - not just the highest run-scorer but also players who performed on all parameters. What are the parameters?

1. In batting, the most important in this format is the strike rate and average. One more parameter that I feel critical is the Rotation-Rate. Check this link for my rationale for the Rotation Rate and how it works.
2. In bowling, the key parameters are Economy Rate, Strike Rate and Average. 

Using these, I have tried to list the players who have scored minimum of 250 runs and taken at least eight wickets. What do the results show?

Batting

1. No surprises to see Glen Maxwell at the top of this list. With a strike-rate close to 200 and rotation-rate more than 85%, he is the clear-cut favorite for the best batsman in this World Cup. He has not scored much because of limited opportunities (other players in the Aussie lineup are to blame). 
2. Sangakkara occupies second place because of the volume of runs at a decent strike rate and rotation rate
3. AB De Villiers and David Miller are the other players to note in terms of these aspects - no surprises there.
4. What should be of concern to the Indian team is Mushfiqur Rahim's presence quite high in this list. His strike rotation seems to be quite good (within the overall Top 10). 
5. On the other hand, Shikhar Dhawan seems to be inclined more on boundaries rather than rotation. 

Bowling

1. Mitchell Starc tops this list due to his wicket-haul as well as low economy rate - clearly the front-runner for the Best Bowler award
2. The Black Caps have four bowlers in the Top 15 while four Indians also appear in this list - main reason for their six victories. The other seven include two Proteas, one West Indian, one Scot, two Australians, one Pakistani.
3. No Bangladesh bowler in this list at all. Is it a show of batting for the Banglas where there is representation from Afghanistan, UAE and Zimbabwe too?
4. Sri Lanka has just one bowler in the top 15 - they must be keen for Herath to come back.

What are your thoughts on these numbers?

2015 World Cup - India thump South Africa at MCG

It took four matches for India to beat South Africa in World Cup. But, when it happened, it was a thumping win for the defending champions who must have felt that they were playing the match at Mumbai, not MCG.

Shikhar Dhawan could not score a run during the Australian Tri-Series but after two matches he is the top-scorer of the ongoing World Cup. What a difference the break after the tri-series has done? The support provided by his captain and team management, his own slight tinkering with his mind (more than technique) has helped Dhawan in the tournament. He seems to have a clear vision and is determined to do well in the company of the other top-order batsmen. While Kohli did not have the same success as the previous match, Rahane continued the great work once again.

Image Courtesy: Cricinfo site

Rahane is probably the most elegant slogger in the tournament - never for a moment does he seem to lose his composure while scoring runs at a rate greater than 120! Rahane is also the most technical of all batsmen in the top order who can not only withstand the pace and guile of opposition bowlers but also score runs briskly. Dhoni showed glimpses with his bat but could not continue as last match. The same problem as last match occurred again - the last five overs were not as productive as what the first 45 overs showed.

The Indian bowlers were disciplined but the fielders were keen to make a mark. What else can explain run-out's of AB De Viliers and David Miller. The bowlers tightened the screws with their wicket-to-wicket bowling but the fielders were also positioned well by the captain not to give any easy runs. The end result was that the South Africans were gasping for breath. The lineup that can drive fear into any bowling attack was not able to score even 200 while chasing. The world saw the current South Africa team in a different light. Were they real favorites for the tournament? The much-maligned Indian bowling had done extremely well to throttle the batting as well as take all ten wickets. Mohit and Shami along with Ashwin with their repeated strikes are wreaking havoc on opposition plans.

The Indians are the favorites to top the group, thanks to their performance in the first two matches. Will they sustain this level for the next seven (four matches at group stage and three at knock-out level)? Definitely possible.

SA series - can the weather help the batsmen bail India out?

First Double There was one way Kallis was going to feel edgy in this test match - that was once the thought struck him about his nearing double-century. The Indians sensed this and tightened the field refusing the singles. But, the Giant was not denied this time. He has missed the Double many times earlier but not now. This was the only time India was close to getting him dismissed. The problem for India was that he had added more than two hundred runs in the first session (extended by 30 minutes) at a rate of more than run-a-ball.

AB De Villiers showed exactly why he is the promising player in all formats of the game in today's world. His run-scoring was quick without taking any major risks. He made sure that Smith could execute his plans even earlier than he had planned for.

Once Kallis scored his double and De Villiers got out trying to increase the scoring rate further, Smith decided that he had enough runs in the bank to win the match. As soon as the Indians started batting in the second innings, appeared clouds on the horizon. Was it going to help the Indians draw the match or was it going to spice up the pitch like it did in the first innings?

Sehwag and Gambhir showed that there were no demons on the pitch, like the Proteas showed. The run-rate was healthy and the pace bowlers were not able to trouble the batsmen like the way they did in the first innings. It was good to see the way they had put the lead behind and notched up runs in quick time. But, Sehwag has shown a recent trend of getting out to a spinner after having settled down. It happened once again and South Africa were celebrating. The dismissal of Gambhir later in the day also ensured that there would be two relatively new batsmen at the crease in the morning.

Session-Dashboard has the South Africans leading the Indians by 6-2. Can the Indians win 4 sessions (of the remaining 6) in a row to equalize the match and go to the next test at 0-0? The weather has to help the batsmen in achieving this target. The forecast is for rains today and more tomorrow - will the Indians push the match till tomorrow?   

Related articles

• SA series - India on fast track to defeat (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• Kallis explains golf-shot celebration (espncricinfo.com)

SA Series - AB leads the way with his comments

AB De Villiers is regarded as many to be the danger-man for India to watch out for - not the only man in a team containing many stars. So, it was logical that the man in reckoning started his comments on the visiting Indian team:

There's been this feeling and stats show it, that their batters score bigger and they generally perform better at home -- which is normal. This will be a big test for them. There's always been the label that they struggle in South Africa

He goes all the way to even question the legitimacy of the Indian No.1 status in case they lose the series

If they don't have success here, there'll definitely be a question mark about their No. 1 ranking

 Speaking of the No.1 ranking, ex-captain of the English team, Michael Vaughan, thinks that the current English team can go all the way to the top and dethrone the Indians. Wishful thanking, Mike - the English have beaten the Aussies twice at home - what has happened after? Nothing much to show or tell outside. 

Back to South Africa - the hosts' coach says that they have plans for Sehwag - havent we heard this before? It is time someone told the coach that SA is one of the two countries against whom Viru has scored a triple. After his debut ton, Viru has not been in the greatest nick in South Africa but knowing him, he will be keen to get the record straight.

Sehwag's idol, Sachin Tendulkar, continues to be regarded by ex-cricketers as one of a kind. Viv Richards being the latest addition in the long list of players who rate him to be the best in the world. The TIME magazine has ranked his double hundred in ODI as one of the top 10 sporting moments in the world - the Master Blaster has the USA taking notice now.

Related articles

• SA series - Dravid and Rice to the fore (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• SA series - sound-bites have started already (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• SA series - right moves made by the Indian team (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• Smith, Amla in South Africa Test squad (thehimalayantimes.com)