Asia Cup - Bronze for India

If it was an Olympic games, India would have won the bronze medal but alas! It is the Asia Cup and only the winner matters. India is not even in contention for the Cup and that is a fact for the last two editions, not just this one alone.

Once Dhoni pulled out of the competition due to a side strain (no one minded it as he needed good rest before the IPL, sorry the World T20). It was a good chance for all of us to look at Virat Kohli as captain. No one was surprised that the team's performance continued on similar vein despite the change in captaincy.  Of course, the captain can do wonders if his team can also put in the relevant efforts, right?

The Indian team did good in bits and parts but that was not enough against the efficient Lankans or the maverick Pakis. Even with the last wicket standing, India dropped the catch in the Sri Lanka match. Afridi showed that one cannot write him off - not sure if he himself knew what would be the result of the two sixes he hit finally.

One good point for India was that of Amit Mishra. How many times Amit has to prove himself? He showed that he had the tools to make anyone dance to his tune. With couple of hat-tricks to his name in IPL, he must be hoping to be in the playing eleven for the World T20. Definitely, it is a chance for Ashwin to be rested for the shortest version and give chances to Amit.

The fast bowlers continued to bowl and get thrashed - there were signs that the yorkers were coming back into fashion and it was good to see Bhuvi get it consistently right. Shami has to be rested so that he can regain his consistency and accuracy for the English tour.

Raina and Yuvraj will be back for the World T20 and so will Mohit Sharma and Varun Aaron. How many players will actually play in one match of the 15 selected? My guess will be 12 - three will be just by-standers (Binny, Mohit and Varun). Lets hope India gets a bronze in the T20 atleast.

Forget the 15-year jinx, look at the 28-year one

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 The Indians broke one jinx that was prevalent for 15 years now - Asia Cup victory - it is time for them to look forward to the 28-year jinx next year. The World Cup victory (last in 1983).

The Indians have achieved great success against Sri Lanka, in Sri Lankan soil. No wonder, it was against their favorite opponent on their best overseas venue (of late), that their jinx was broken. In the process, they defeated their arch-rivals Pakistan in the league stage as well.

Though they missed Sehwag (once again due to injury), Dinesh Karthik ensured that the Indians won the final by scoring a decent total on this ground first. The seam & swing bowlers made sure that the advantage provided by the toss win was not lost - they wrapped the game quite early with their early wickets. Ashish Nehra has done well in the Isles and he proved it once again.

The positives for the team - Rohit Sharma continued his good form from Zimbabwe. MS Dhoni had good hits at the crease and regained the No.1 spot. Dinesh Karthik has taken the spot of the reserve wicket-keeper and opener. Ravindra Jadeja did well in the series and looks to have taken his gap over Yusuf Pathan forward. Harbhajan loves bowling here and turned out good spells other than the win with his bat. Praveen, Zaheer and Ashish utilized the conditions to their advantage in the finals - how they can continue in the same zeal needs to be seen.

The worries - Gambhir's running between the wickets has worsened from series to series. Suresh Raina, once again, showed his weakness against the short ball of Malinga - the gap till the next ODI series should give him time to sort it out. What happens to the bowlers when there is no support from the pitch is a concern still. The backup spinner could have been taken by Ashwin if he had been given chances. Sehwag has missed quite a few series in the shorter version - is it pure coincidence or lack of interest in the shorter game?

A good series win to the boot and the media must be happy to see MSD back to his winning ways. The crux of the team for the next World Cup is there, barring 2-3 slots. Let us hope for the best.

The next is a series of test matches - good to see the return of the veterans.

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Middle-order problem for the Indians

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The Indians might have made a good start to the Asia Cup today, by beating Bangladesh comfortably. The bowlers were not so great but they had good practice against the weaker team today. Hopefully, they will improve their performance against the Pakistan & Lankan teams later. But, that is not the subject of this post.

The middle-order saw Virat Kohli come out at No.3, followed by Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni and finally Suresh Raina. Is this the right order that can turn out for the Indians in this Asian Cup? Of course, Yuvraj Singh and Sachin Tendulkar are options but since they are not available in Sri Lanka, we need to look at the correct order in which the current players can flourish.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are the more sedate batsmen, though capable of playing the big shots. Suresh Raina has done well at No.3 slot while MS Dhoni has become the No.1 batsmen by playing various innings at No.4. Ravindra Jadeja has been given the all-rounder position in the Indian eleven, in place of Yusuf Pathan. He neither has the shots that a typical batsmen at No.7 needs.

Maybe, that is the rationale behind sending Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma ahead of MSD and Raina. Jadeja can come up earlier also but he has already lost a match (even though in T20s) by playing on the slower side. Hence, this option may not be tried once again by the think-tank for some time now.

MSD and Raina will be the best batsmen to hit out in the slog overs and hence they need to come down the order. If any early wickets fall, the order can be changed.

What can be tried also is to send Harbhajan Singh or Praveen Kumar higher in the order at times when the faster bowlers are trying to bounce out.

What is your opinion on the middle order issue?

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Asia Cup - here we come

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The Asia Cup starts on 15th June - one more of those tournaments started by regional boards. Not sure why there is no Australasia Cup or African Cup. Hold on - there is an Afro-Asian Cup - does not matter if it is not being pursued still.

Anyway, this tournament is being played regularly for some time now. The first edition still stands out - India winning the first version in 1983/84, thanks to a relative newcomer by name Surinder Khanna!!!  The last Cup saw the Indians succumb to the guiles of veteran Sanath Jayasuriya & a newcomer (then), Ajantha Mendis.

This time around, the Indians again go as favorites (even though they did not qualify for the tri-series final in Zimbabwe) to Sri Lanka - the seniors have had their share of rest and must be eager to retain the trophy after 15 years. Sachin Tendulkar is the only missing star in the line-up with the Board heeding his request for time to be with his children. Yuvraj Singh has been dropped on fitness and form, giving a chance to the others like Rohit Sharma to claim their ticket to a permanent slot.

The bowling looks better than what has been in recent days, even though Zaheer Khan can do his bit to rise his average from the current close-to-30. Ashish Nehra and Praveen Kumar also average 30+, which is usually not associated with players who played for some time now. Dinda will now have a chance to see the veterans and learn new tricks. Harbhajan Singh will be back to lead the attack - though I dont think that is something to cherish. He, like the others, averages 30+ and must be itching to show his wares. Pragyan Ojha and Ashwin might get chances against the lower teams as well as pick up tips from Bhajji.

The batting department is bolstered by the returns of Sehwag and Gambhir at the top. It was here in Sri Lanka, that both of them gave good starts in the test series after the last Asia Cup. They will do well to remember the series and repeat their performances. Is Sehwag fine with his form, will be the question on everyone's mind? Dhoni comes to the middle order to support Raina, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravinder Jadeja. The latter seems to have gained in standing, compared to Yusuf Pathan in Zimbabwe. A good chance for the youngsters to prove themselves. Tiwary, just like Dinda, will gain a lot from observing the seniors closely.

How will the Indians perform? A final seems to be on cards but will they suffer the final-blues once again? Let us see. What is your prediction?

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