After Afghan history, India are off to UKI

India finished the historic Afghanistan inaugural match in two days ( with their captain & main keeper injured). Post that, they have embarked on another tour to UK & Ireland ( where they lost badly 1-3, despite winning the first test). Legendary Tendulkar calls this as the most comprehensive bowling attack in years!Virat Kohli averaged less than 15 last time, making Jimmy Anderson take a jibe much before the tour was even planned ( though Anderson himself has not performed that well outside England)!

All in all, the series starts in Ireland with a T20I, followed by limited overs series ( giving time for the players to settle down!) There are reinforcements available from the A team, who are also in the same country playing well so far (Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, Shubnam Gill, Shardul Thakur will fancy their chances in case of an emergency).

With good experience for all players in the team & bright, sunny weather this year, I expect the visitors to win 2-1. The ODI series will be well-fought as the hosts are No.1 in the world and have just white-washed the Aussies! Let us see what happens! Kohli & his men will be keen to show their mettle, after South Africa.

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 away tests - India strike back with a great win

If you wanted to know why they are called test matches, do save this one for quick reference. A test of patience, perseverance, technique, guts, temperament!! It was good to see the Indians not only come out on top but show the heart required to fight out on a pitch that the home team opener ( undefeated in the last innings) thought was dangerous to play! A great overseas win that is better than the one at Perth!

It was the match where India had nothing more to lose. The batting, bowling and fielding came to the party together. The selections were spot-on, with the errors ( Ajinkya  Rahane and Bhuvneshwar Kumar) rectified.  Bumrah and Shami stepped up with the ball (while Bhuvi was his usual consistent self) while Vijay & Rahane showed their class on such a nasty pitch ( Virat Kohli's runs were worth more than what the scorecard showed. It was a collective effort as everyone contributed in all the three areas. A great effort by the Indian team to go down valiantly in the test series - the next tour should see them reap greater rewards.

Image courtesy: ESPN Cricinfo website

Definitely a win that will shape this young team further! Watch out for the Indians!!

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!!

ODIs - India reach No.1 position

Thanks to their wins away versus Sri Lanka and at home versus the Aussies, India reached the No.1 position in ICC Rankings!

Sri Lanka series

The ODIs were closer as compared to the test series, thanks to the young spinner Akhila Dananjaya. India coasted while chasing - winning by nine, three, six and six wickets  - and crushed the Lankans after setting a huge target.Openers Rohit, Rahane or Dhawan continued their good form while Pandya surprised everyone with his exploits with bat and ball. MSD showed he could still win matches for his country while Manish Pandey remained in contention for a spot in the middle order with Jadhav. Bhuvi took his first five wicket haul while Shardul Thakur impressed as a backup quick The spinners and Bumrah were terrific to hand India a sweep of the ODI series!

England Home T20s - India win 2-1

Another series for him - not one with youngsters like Kedar but with veterans like Raina, Yuvraj, Dhoni winding the clock back - vintage performance that one can go miles to see. Bumrah, Nehra and Chahal shared the spoils with the ball to complete a 2-1 of the T20 series, reflecting the closeness of the teams.

NZ Home ODIs - MSD, Kohli take India to 2-1 lead

Dhoni promoted himself to give the stability, using which Kohli roared past 150 to take India to 2-1 lead in the series.

Image Courtesy: Cricinfo website

NZ Home ODIs - NZ sneak past Indians to level the series

The Indian bowlers continued their good work to pull back the target but even that turned out to be tall by six runs for the Indian batting.

Kohli failed for once and MSD couldnt get going in a rare occurence. Hardik Pandya tried his best but that could only reduce the losing margin. NZ levelled the series but the Indians will be keen  to come back and win the series.

Image Courtesy: Cricinfo website