IPL10 - CSK win for third time

The IPL10 finished with its regular share of twists and turns, and the Comeback Star Kings (CSK) won it for the third time.

Picture Courtesy - espnCricinfo website

Called the "Dad's Army", CSK had nine players who were 30+ and turned the disadvantage to a plus! One of the oldies came to the rescue in every match, taking the team past the winning post in every match (Dhoni, Bravo,Rayudu, Tahir and Watson).

In the final, it was a great effort by CSK to win the title easily. Let us use the R-B factor to see how the winners got through. A look at the individual numbers (R-B) gives us good insight. Watson tops the list here too. Du Plessis and Rayudu have negative R-B but their contributions in partnering Watson when he was struggling was invaluable. All the others who batted, have a healthy R-B value, adding to the overall run-rate & ensuring CSK won the match by lots to spare. Just imagine the case that Dhoni, Bravo & Jadeja did not have to bat at all - that much fuel was available for CSK in the tank!!

Now, let us see the charts of SRH.Kane Williamson, Carlos Brathwaite  & Yusuf Pathan were the ones who did well with a R-B rate of 40+. The rest of the batsmen were guilty of consuming too many balls to score their runs! If the others had gotten up their R-B rate higher, CSK might have ended up chasing a score more than 200. But, as I mentioned earlier, three big-hitters did not step on to the field at all - Hence, CSK might have still ended up winners!

What do you think might have changed in the IPL final, in hindsight?Please share your thoughts.

IPL8 - Mumbai Indians are the champions

Picture Courtesy: Cricinfo

Mumbai Indians were crowned the Champions of the eighth edition of IPL at Eden Gardens. The Mumbai team won the title for the second time after defeating CSK by 41 runs. The result was not in doubt after Mumbai had scored a 200+ batting first.

The R-B chart shows how well the Mumbai team had managed to keep their opponents at bay

CSK's strategies seemed to fail on the big day. MSD's decision to ask Mumbai to bat first was probably the first risky decision. Dwayne Smith's slow batting was instrumental in failure of the chase. The Mumbai batsmen, especially Lendl Simmons and Rohit Sharma, were unstoppable at first. This was continued by a final assault by Kieron Pollard and Ambati Rayudu. The end result proved too much for Chennai. 

IPL-8 - Match-43 - Penultimate over costs CSK

One over from Negi that was the penultimate one in Mumbai's chase turned to be CSK's bugbear.

IPL-8 - Match-39 - Rayudu helps Mumbai beat Delhi

Rayudu's blast meant that Mumbai could reach the target Delhi had put up.

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 - India bow out winless

On Twitter, Statistician Mohandas Menon posted the series where India finished winless since 2011 World Cup

• 2011 in Eng 
• 2013/14 in SA 
• 2013/14 in NZ 
• 2014/15 in Aus

They escaped a whitewash in the test series and another losing streak in the ODI series (thanks to rain) but that was no consolation to a team that has high hopes on retaining the next World Cup.

At Perth, the Indians started well. Their openers did a decent job to see off the dangerous Anderson and managed to score a 80+ partnership with both taking chances but surviving. Dhawan was back to something that resembled form. Rahane, after the initial jitters, settled down to anchor the innings. It was the failures again of Kohli, Raina that hampered India. The batting collapsed from 83-0 to 165-9 before Shami hit out to get 200 on the board.

The Indians seem to be experimenting with the batting positions and getting some answers. Stuart Binny has made Dhoni realize that he is a handy person to have in the lineup. Jadeja was rusty with bat and ball but Axar has proved that he is a good bowler to have in the middle overs. The batting depth is present on paper but that has to be translated to reality. With Ashwin in the squad, the team management must figure out what is the combination to play in the World Cup. What happens to Umesh and Bhuvi? Are they injured? Dhoni's answers in the press conference seems to suggest.

The Indian batsmen dont have a first (or even second) gear - they seem to bat only at the top gears or perish. This was the fashion few years ago when batsmen used to play defensive and rotate the strike over. But, the new generation tend to be aggressive in any situation - that is causing the problems to the Indian batsmen, like this game. No longer are they happy to score at 3-4 runs per over. They are looking at boundaries every over. This will not work - Kohli, Rahane, Rayudu, Jadeja should be told this. Rahane should have gone on and controlled the innings but could not.

The Indians fared better while bowling thanks to the pitch and an accurate bowling attack (except the comeback man Jadeja). Binny made use of the conditions to his favor and picked up wickets to put England  on the backfoot. But, the Indians could not restrict the winning team. Jadeja and some sloppy fielding (by selected fielders) meant that the Indians could not put enough pressure on the duo of Butler and Taylor. Overall, a tour that ended without a win. It can be termed as a success still if the next tour (with more or less the same players) contains few winning moments. Hopefully, the players remember and implement the lessons learnt.

England Tour 2014 ODIs - Time to experiment now

Win by six wickets with more than seven overs to spare. Wow! What a turnaround? If one looks at the last seven matches played by India in UK, they are on a roll (after incorporating the lessons learnt during the disastrous 2011 tour). The 3rd ODI was no different with the bowlers setting up a low target for the batsmen to chase down comfortably.

Even though the English openers started well, the part-time bowlers as well as the specialist spinners were able to put the brakes on the scoring by picking up wickets regularly. Rayudu provides MSD with yet another part-time option like Suresh Raina. On this day, he provided the breakthrough to the team by some smart bowling. England has been very fruitful to Rayudu right from his younger days - remember this match early in his career. Couple of ironies here - Rayudu was Raina's captain during the under-19 days while Rayudu's initial days in Ranji tournament went topsy-turvy when he had a spat with the son of current BCCI acting Chairman (Shivlal Yadav) - he still does not play for Hyderabad! Hopefully, those days are behind him and Rayudu should be ready to fire for his country.

Ashwin took three wickets - this should have given him the necessary encouragement for the future especially when his performance had taken a downward turn. His variations have taken a backseat (for the good) while his line and length have made a comeback to ensure the opposition was on the ropes continually. He and Jadeja will continue to form the backbone of the attack in the forthcoming ODIs - again, when there is a hint of turn, they become lethal. MSD loves this combination for just this aspect alone - he is able to put the right field to put pressure on the batsmen and choke them further. The opening bowlers are not able to dent the opposition so far - with two more matches, Dhoni will be trying to get this sorted. Just like the opening batsmen combination. Dhawan will be getting desperate every match - with Kohli getting some semblance of runs, Dhawan will face further introspection in the next match. Will he able to hit his way out?

Coming back to this series, the two wins have given India an unbeatable lead in the series - good opportunity for the Management to experiment with the squad. Sanju Samson (in place of MSD), Dhawal Kulkarni/Umesh Yadav (replacing Mohit Sharma), Karn Sharma (instead of Ravindra Jadeja) can be played in this match. This will help India identify options for the World Cup instead of focusing only on the current series.

England Tour 2014 - India starts its ODI sojourn...now what?

The Indian team for the ODI leg of its English tour was announced during the test series. Quite a few new faces, which in hindsight (after the test series), is a good idea so that fresh energy can be inducted into a squad that is feeling the effects of a long series.

The squad is as follows:
Openers - Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane (in case Dhawan's poor form continues). From the current thinking, I feel that Dhawan will be given the warm-up match (on 22nd against Middlesex) as well as first two ODI's to prove his form. If he continues to fail, Rahane will open the batting with Rohit. I feel that Rohit will get all the five matches, especially as he received only one opportunity in the test series. The openers will have their technique tested against the in-form English bowlers (even though Stuart Broad has been rested from this series). Rahane will get a chance to play in the opening position only, as there are other options in the middle.

Middle-order batsmen - Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Sanju Samson, MS Dhoni. Kohli will be the focus of all during this series, especially since this is a format he has excelled in recent times - an average of 50+ in ODI's and 45+ in England ODI's (though it has been helped by the matches during Champions Trophy) will be tested thoroughly. If he can regain some of his image that he lost during the test series, he will end the tour a relieved man. Raina will bring in the energy and fielding expertise into the squad that was missing in the last few matches (as well as bowling few key overs during the slog). It will be interesting to see Rayudu and Anderson against each other (for they are built of the same cloth!). Samson should get few chances to test him against high-quality bowlers but at the moment, the Indian team's motive is to win the series (which means that he might be on the reserves mostly).

Bits and pieces players (not exactly all-rounders) - Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Karn Sharma, Stuart Binny, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (on the basis of the just concluded test series). Bhuvi should be brought back (if required) only after the first three matches - he should be merely a tourist till then. That is the minimum the Indian team management can reward him with. Jadeja and Ashwin will start while Karn and Binny will be the back-up after the initial set of matches for poor form.

Pace bowlers - Mohammed Shami(29 ODIs), Mohit Sharma (8 ODIs), Umesh Yadav (31 ODIs), Dhawal Kulkarni. Inexperience is written all over this squad, especially the bowlers (even in ODI scenario). Shami seems to be struggling (based on reports) and hence he might not star in the lineup. Umesh Yadav and Mohit Sharma will be the likely duo who will open the bowling based on their exploits in recent days. Kulkarni can be a handful in these conditions but his pace will be almost the same as Bhuvi (35 ODIs). Umesh will provide the extra pace but will it be enough?

Based on the pitches and weather conditions (Bristol, Cardiff, Nottingham, Birmingham and Leeds will host the matches), the Indian team's performance will vary. Of course, Ravi Shastri's recent appointment will see the Indian team in a different light (hopefully better one). Dhoni will be back in his best form in a format that he relishes - revenge will definitely be on his mind but does he have the arsenal to attack as well as the mind to challenge? That will dictate the results of the ODI series.

IPL5 - KKR gets past CSK

KKR finally had their moments of glory in their fifth attempt. After several controversies, they had the trophy to cherish under a captain who led from the front. If reports are true, there will be a bus ride in Kolkata and the team will be honored by the Chief Minister of West Bengal! Manvinder Bisla deserves his moment in the sun, thanks to his blistering knock.

Let us look at all the teams and see how they fared overall:

1. Kolkata Knight Riders - Gautam Gambhir proved that his demotion from the post of vice-captain from the national team was so wrong. He put runs on the board consistently and ensured that there were winners from the rest of the team as well. Kallis was wonderful with his all-round abilities while Sunil Narine gave the mystery factor to the team. Best Indian player - Gautam Gambhir. Best Foreign player - Sunil Narine.
2. Chennai Super Kings -  Lucky was the word attached to the CSK team. In the knock-out stages, they showed that they had the skills to match as well. Without a singularly outstanding player in their team, CSK was able to reach the final and take the team to the last over. Simply hats off to the overall franchise for being able to be consistently successful. Best Indian player -  Suresh Raina. Best Foreign player - Faf Du Plessis.
3. Delhi Daredevils - A team that was so consistent in the league phases, Delhi failed in two attempts to reach the final! Call it choking or bad strategies but Sehwag's team had done all the right things in the initial phase.With all their international players (Kevin Pietersen, David Warner, Mahela Jayawardene) firing, Sehwag provided the Indian touch to ensure Delhi reached the final stages. Sehwag also nurtured the Indian fast bowlers Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron very well - a good sign for the national team. Best Indian player - Umesh Yadav. Best Foreign player - Morne Morkel.
4. Mumbai Indians - While Rohit Sharma shone in bits and pieces, Mumbai was also helped by timely knocks from Rayudu, Tendulkar and Pollard. The bowling was in the safe hands of Munaf and Malinga. Harbhajan led well though his individual form was not encouraging. Best Indian player -  Ambati Rayudu. Best Foreign player - Lasith Malinga.
5. Royal Challengers -  RCB was unfortunate to lose out on the knock-out stage because of their run-rate. Their dependence on Chris Gayle was worrying for the management while Murali's efforts on the field was exemplary as usual. Though Vinay Kumar and Zaheer Khan were among the wickets, they were not consistent enough to threaten the other teams. Best Indian player - Mayank Agarwal. Best Foreign player - Chris Gayle.
6. Kings XI Punjab - David Hussey captained the team mostly in the absence of Adam Gilchrist but the role Punjab played mainly was that of party-poopers. Spoiling RCB's chances to move to the next stage, Kings performed well in patches thanks to the efforts of Mandeep, Awana and Piyush Chawla. Best Indian player - Mandeep Singh. Best Foreign player - Azhar Mahmood.
7. Rajasthan Royals - Led ably by Rahul Dravid, Rajasthan lost steam after their good start. Ajinkya Rahane, Owais Shah and Shane Watson shone for the team but the bowling was their weak-spot. Siddharth Trivedi was their best bowler and he was ranked 18th on the wicket-taking list - proof enough that the team was lacking the firepower. If the team can introduce more star power to their bowling lineup, they can do much better than where they finally ended up. Best Indian player - Ajinkya Rahane. Best Foreign player - Owais Shah
8. Deccan Chargers - The only surprise from the Chargers was how they managed to avoid the wooden spoon this year. Thanks to Dale Steyn, the Chargers gave their opponents a lot to worry about but the batting was not consistent despite the efforts from Shikhar Dhawan and Cameron White (both appearing in the Top 10 list of top scorers). Best Indian player - Shikhar Dhawan. Best Foreign player - Dale Steyn.
9. Pune Warriors - Sourav Ganguly's team was erratic to start with and then went downhill in the latter part of the tournament, not knowing whether the captain was part of the team or not. Robin Uthappa and Steve Smith tried their best with the bat but their efforts were not enough. The bowling department lacked penetration which is reflected in the overall position of the top wicket-taker Ashish Nehra (25th)! Best Indian player - Robin Uthappa. Best Foreign player - Steve Smith.

If there was a team selected from the other eight teams to play against the winners Kolkata, this would be my list of sixteen players

1. Shikhar Dhawan
2. Chris Gayle
3. Ajinkya Rahane 
4. Suresh Raina (captain)
5. Mandeep Singh
6. Robin Uthappa
7. Azhar Mahmood
8. Steve Smith
9. Mayank Agarwal
10. Ambati Rayudu (wk)
11. Lasith Malinga
12. Dale Steyn 
13. Piyush Chawla
14. Parvinder Awana 
15. Umesh Yadav
16. Morne Morkel

What would be your list?

IPL4 - Best of the rest

The IPL4 is over and CSK defended their crown successfully. RCB were not good enough in the final but which team would have been? Let me come up with a team of eleven consisting of players from the other teams who

• have done well in the latest tournament
• have 4 overseas players (just like the tournament guidelines)
• have players who are not veterans or injured or rested

What did the team look like? See below

1. Chris Gayle - any doubts on this gentleman, even though his national selectors are not interested in him.
2. Paul Valthaty - stand-out performance in the IPL that helped Punjab defeat CSK
3. Jacques Kallis - the best all-rounder in today's age
4. Virat Kohli - I would make him the captain of this team as well
5. Shaun Marsh - The best opening batsman that Australia never chooses
6. Ambati Rayudu - Wicket-keeper for the team as well as last-over specialist (a la Javed Miandad)
7. Shikhar Dhawan - 400 runs in the tournament without anyone noticing it!
8. Iqbal Abdulla - Best performance by a youngster
9. Lasith Malinga - again, no more arguments
10. Rahul Sharma - A definite future Indian spinner maybe not in test matches to start but definitely in the shorter version.
11. Sreenath Aravind - Left-arm opening bowler in contrast to Malinga's pace.

What do you think of this team? Any thoughts? Will they beat CSK? 

IPL4 Match 49 - Rayudu keeps performing

Ambati Rayudu shone once again for Mumbai, this time in partnership with Rohit Sharma, to take his team to a score that was going to be more than enough. Considering the bowling arsenal that Mumbai Indians have, Delhi stumbled to 7-4 before the middle-order came to the party. Hopes and Venugopala Rao tried to revive but the damage was too much to restore.

IPL4 Match 40 - Tendulkar gets Mumbai back on track

Thanks to his half-century and partnership with Ambati Rayudu, Sachin Tendulkar helped Mumbai Indians put up a competitive score for Kings XI Punjab. Punjab could never get going and the worm started going higher. Because of Shaun Marsh, the Punjab team was still in the hunt but once he was dismissed, things were all over for Punjab.

IPL4 Week 2 - Malinga reigns supreme

Lasith Malinga was in the news the last week for having retired from test cricket. His reasoning was that his knee injury could not withstand the rigors of cricket where he had to bowl 15 overs or more in a day. In this context, the T20 format of four overs per bowler fits in ideally in his case. The fact that his ex-captains, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, supported his decision lends creditability to his decision. No one has been criticizing the decision like they do of others.

Not just off the field, Malinga continues to don the headlines on the ground as well. Look at his exploits for Mumbai Indians in 6 matches so far. 16 wickets at an average of 9 runs per wicket, economy rate hovering around 6 runs per over and more importantly a strike rate of a wicket every 9 balls approximately. This literally means that his average bowling figures this season have been 4 overs for 24 runs while taking at least 2 wickets. What a performer!

Similarly, on the batting front, Sachin Tendulkar has led the way (again, another Mumbaikar) with a strike-rate that is decent in T20 and a staggering average for this format. His performance dipped a bit, more due to the demise of his spiritual guru rather than any cricketing reason. Ably supported by Ambati Rayudu, SRT has dominated the batting most of the times. When he does not, the rival teams have to put up with Rohit Sharma and Andrew Symonds - imagine the plight of the bowling attacks! And we are not even talking about Pollard. This shows why Mumbai are the favorites to make it a successful season for Sachin - an IPL tournament win will be the icing on the cake for this season.

Shaun Marsh and David Warner are two Oz who must be wondering why they are not part of their national team more often. They are making statements regularly and this must be a good platform to showcase their form to the national selectors. Shane Warne, though, must be showing the same set of people what the current team is missing by his exploits. What a legend he has been!

Related articles

• Malinga retires from test cricket (cbc.ca)

IPL4 Week 1 Round-up

After a week of play, the IPL4 has shown that no team can be considered as favorites. Teams that were considered to be easy qualifiers (CSK and Mumbai Indians) have lost matches while entrants like Pune Warriors have notched up couple of wins already. But what is interesting to see is the march of young Indians who were not in the limelight so far. Two new teams meant that fourteen Indian players will get a chance to play against the best from around the world - this alone must be the single silver lining of adding more teams to the already crowded IPL.

The first match saw the rise of Anirudha Srikkanth - a player who has been under the influence of his father throughout his career. His innings saw CSK scrape through their first match at home but even he will admit that he has been overshadowed by an opponent he faced in CSK's second match - Paul Valthaty. Valthaty is now all over the papers as well as the television for his blistering knock to take his team past CSK. His tale has been an interesting one - playing the junior World Cup for India only to be sidelined by an eye injury and then make a comeback like this is nothing short of a fairy tale.

Bharat Chipli and Ambati Rayudu have been performing for their team in the opportunities received so far. Rayudu's innings against RCB got the praise of the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, who pulled him along to take the MoM award. Another junior World Cup player, Rayudu was lost to the world because of his ICL exploits but has been making a comeback of sorts through the IPL. Bharat, however, has not done much of note for his state team in the domestic tournament but has been regarded for quite a while as the one to watch out for. Manish Pandey might have overtook him in the popularity stakes but Bharat seems to have caught up with him.

On the bowling front, Iqbal Abdulla has been a revelation - consistently doing well for Mumbai state meant that he has been knocking on the selection doors. This performance will augur well for him in future assignments. Siddharth Trivedi has been steady for Rajasthan Royals - a role he has been doing consistently in the previous three editions also. Why he cannot make use of this and goto the next level is a surprise.    

Overall, it is heartening to see Indian talent shining through a number of international players - something to cheer about in this cricketainment show of BCCI.

Related articles

• IPL4 Match 8 - Mumbai thrash Bangalore (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• IPL4 Match 1 - CSK defeat KKR (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)