World Cup 2011 - Sri Lanka favorites vs England

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179-153 says Castrol Index, reflecting the difference between England and Sri Lanka. Quite a big difference, one can say, that has been justified by the inconsistent performances by the English team during this tournament. The Quarter-final match is being held in the backyard of the Sri Lankans, which will boost their confidence further.

Murali has been declared fit by his team - knowing him, he would have played if he was even 50% fit. Further, if he was not in the team also, the other spinners would be a handful  for the English team. It is a fact that England have played well against the test-playing nations, faltering against the minnows - the inconsistency of the batting lineup must be haunting both the Andys.

Strauss must stay as the anchor of the lineup so that the others can bat around him. Swann and Tredwell proved their prowess last match - will they do it again this match? The Sri Lankans are much better batsmen of spin and can negate the threat easily. Anderson will make a comeback but again, he is not much of a threat on these pitches.

Muralidharan, Mendis and Herath will play in all likelihood with Dilshan providing the part-time option. Malinga and Matthews can open the bowling with the new ball. Sangakkara and Jayawardene will be the key batsmen for the Lankans who will be expected to provide the strength. It has been a while that Dilshan has put up a big score - if he and Tharanga can put up a solid base, the others can take on from there. The middler order is suspect and might come apart just like the Proteas did against the Black Caps in their quarter-final.

The Emerald Isle team have the ability to put it across the English team easily, if they play as per their reputation. Will the English finally regain their Ashes-winning form?

World Cup 2011 - Comparing the experience of all teams

The World Cup comes once in four years and it is no wonder that all teams start planning for it years in advance. They try to ensure that by the time the event starts, they have players who have a good amount of experience and exposure in international cricket. How do the current teams stack up against each other, was one question that I had on my mind. Thanks to my friend Hari, I was able to get this data that compares teams participating in the World Cup.

If one looks at the runs scored as a percentage of the overall runs scored by test-playing teams, no surprises for guessing who turns up first. Similarly, the number of centuries and fifties scored by each of the teams as a percentage reveals the experience that the teams carry with them. The figures are bolstered by one man, Sachin Tendulkar, who has almost all the records in ODI cricket. 

Similarly, the bowling records tell their own tale. The Indians top the wickets column while the number of times bowlers have taken 5 wickets or 4 wickets in an innings is topped by Sri Lanka - no wonder when they have a certain Muttiah Muralitharan in their ranks. Pakistan is helped by Razzaq while Brett Lee brings in the experience for the Oz.



Thus, India and Sri Lanka have definitely an edge over the other teams not only with their experience of home pitches but also the amount of runs and wickets they have taken as a team. Will the results justify this? Let us wait and watch.

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MSD maintains his no-loss series record

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By winning the last test in Sri Lanka, India avoided the series defeat and managed to retain captain Dhoni's record of not having lost a series so far. Dhoni has now captained India to 10 wins in his reign of 16 matches (2 of them ending up on the losing side). After winning the first test convincingly, the Lankans fortunes dipped due to various reasons - Muralitharan's retirement being one of the main one.

The Lankans will have to endure the journey of not having workhorses like Vaas and Muralitharan till they find one who can take wickets on foreign soils as well. Malinga, definitely, is one potential match-winner but his fitness seems to be a cause of concern. Even in this series, he missed the 2nd and didnt bowl much on the final day of the series. Randiv has potential to be the lead bowler but he needs support from the other end. Mendis has been critically viewed by Video analysts all over the world which has helped batsmen face him better - he needs to reinvent himself to be a better bowler than what he is now. Without this, it is very difficult for Sri Lanka to continue their impressive run at home also.

The Lankans bowled more and took more wickets - Randiv, Malinga and Murali were the highest wicket-takers in the series. Sangakkara scored the highest runs on both sides but the Indians fought back hard in the series after Murali's departure. Sehwag starred in the Top-5 players in both the batting and bowling charts - he thoroughly deserved to be the Man of the Series.

Just like the Oz team won the ODI series in India without their main bowlers to justify their No.1 status, the Indians did a repeat by  drawing the series even after the two strike bowlers (Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh) withdrew from the bowling line. The batting department seems to be working just fine with Vijay being an impressive reserve for the openers. Yuvraj and Raina provide options to the fourth slot at the middle-order where Dravid, Tendulkar and Laxman provide the experience. Dhoni's batting was not upto the mark in this series but he managed to rally his team well at the crucial times. The fourth day of the 3rd test was one where India had a whiff of victory and they grabbed it with both hands. The victory could have come earlier but for some strange tactics by the captain.

Mithun was one of the finds of the tour, though he didnt have many wickets to show - a good potential worth investing, just for his fitness. Ojha did what was expected of him in the last test and repaid the faith of the Team Management. Mishra did do  better than what Harbhajan had managed in the first two tests, both with the bat and ball. But, overall, the spin department is also a cause of concern for the No.1 team - something that needs attention before the Oz come home.

The No.1 ranking continues for one more series - it wouldnt have mattered if they had lost the series though. The Indian team did well to come from behind and level the series - that showed glimpses of character that is expected from a No.1 team. Will they manage to show the same level in the next series against Australia? Let us hope they do.

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SSC Test - Sri Lanka gain early advantage

Another 3-0 sweep of the Session Dashboard for the Sri Lankans on the first day of the second test match at SSC, Colombo today.

The team on both sides saw a lot of changes: Welegedara was out - Sehwag must have been happy (considering that Sehwag got out to him in both innings). Malinga & Muralitharan were known absentees. Gambhir was ruled out. Very surprisingly, Herath was kept out. All the four frontline bowlers who got 20 wkts in the first test for SriLanka are absent while India retained the same 4 bowlers.

The Lankan batsmen, especially Dilshan, looked like they were on a TVS bike and zoomed away at high speed. The Indians have been facing problems with their bowling Exide engine throughout the series and today was no different. After lunch, everyone thought that the Dabur Chyawanprash they had, might have energized the Indians but BPCL Speed was missing in the bowling as well as the Cello Pin Point accuracy.


Another interval came and went by - the Boost break making no difference to the scorecard. The Lankans seemed to be on a Maha Choco run-making spree, thanks to the placid pitch. Centuries were scored once again by the same batsmen as the first test match, their team proclaiming Pepsi Dil Maange More. Sonata Time was running out and the Indians did not have the Milk Shakti to stop the batsmen.

The Indians, at the end of the day, would do well to take a Royal Stag drink and rest for the day. They will also find out that the Dainik Bhaskar papers will not be kind to them on their performance. Videocon televisions will show the lack of proactive moves from the Indian management. 


Tomorrow, the new ball will still have Kiwi polish and the Indians can still make good use of it by remembering (via Memory Vita) how they did come back on the 3rd day of Galle test. If not, all their Big Bazaar clothes will need extra wash on the morrow. Will the Reebok shoes of the Indians show an extra spring in their step tomorrow?

Stats show that SriLanka haven't lost at home after winning the toss in last 10 years - evidence today showed that they will not lose this record so easily. The Indian batsmen will do well to take a leaf out of the Lankans and Concreto cement their feet on the crease when they get their chance. MS Dhoni will do well to make an Aircel or Maxx Mobilink call to Azharuddin and find how he can win a series in SriLanka. All the Orient PSPO fans of the Indian team are waiting.

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Galle Test - Sri Lanka go up 1-0

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The Indians managed to delay the inevitable till the tea-break. Unlike Sehwag's expectations of rain, there was no further delay in the Sri Lankan victory. 800 wickets landmark was breached by Muralitharan, triggering celebrations in the crowd.

The following stats tell a story on its own:

• 10 of the 20 Indian wickets were due to Muralitharan and run-outs(2) He will not be present in the playing eleven next test match. Who will take these for Sri Lanka the next match? Malinga, who took 7, will however be still present. Will the burden be too much for him?
• 52 overs were played out by Mithun, Ishant, Ojha along with VVS Laxman in the 2nd innings. The other 7 accomplished batsmen - 64
• Malinga and Herath scored 115 during their partnership - 100 less and the follow-on would have been averted by the Indian team. Even with the partnership, if they had scored 44 runs more in the first innings, the Indians could have played out the match for a draw.
• Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha bowled 32.1 and 31 overs respectively. How many wickets did they get? 0
• Herath bowled 45 overs in the match - 1 wicket to show for his efforts. Think what will happen in the next test match without Murali.
• Sehwag scored a century while VVS, Tendulkar and Yuvraj scored fifties. Sangakkara, Paranavitana scored centuries for Lanka while Herath and Malinga scored surprising fifties.
• Gambhir played 5 balls in the match for his 2 runs.No other contribution on the field. In fact, he dropped a half-chance. Match to forget for him.
• MS Dhoni lost his 2nd match as captain. Importantly, first match after his marriage was a loss. His record in test series show him improving as a batsman after the first match. Let us hope this stat is true.

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Galle Test - First Test of Series Syndrome ails India

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At Galle, India is slipping down to yet another first-test-of-series defeat, thanks to poor decision-making by their batsmen in both innings. Except for Sehwag in the first and Sachin in the second, the others failed. They did not try and score runs against the bowling attack that was marked by good spells by Malinga and Muralitharan. Forget scoring runs, other than Rahul Dravid, the batters could not occupy the crease for a long period of time.

Sehwag, Laxman got in but threw away their wickets while Dhoni (1st) and Sachin (2nd) were victims of exceptional balls by the Lankan bowling - the Indian bowlers should learn from the opposition on their incisiveness.

The Indians again suffered from the Lose-First-Match-of-Test-Series Syndrome - this has been their Achilles heel for quite some time now. The team has lost quite a number of first tests, especially overseas. On Twitter, Prem Panicker mentioned various reasons - insufficient warm-ups as well as attitude of individuals not to practice before important series. Of course, the Boards do not take the practice matches into their mind when creating the iterinary of any series. The individuals also dont take the time available to work on their technique. Of course, this is nothing new that only the Indian team suffers from this syndrome but nothing has happened with changing selectors, coaches or captains. One only hopes that there is a change in players' attitude but that is asking for too much, no?

Back to the series, only the rain can save the Indians now. If not rain, the pair of VVS Laxman and MSD Dhoni should do a miracle. Murali must be relishing the prospect of getting the 2 wickets for his 800.

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Galle Test - India let Sri Lanka get away further

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India, thanks to the exploits of their pace bowlers, made a comeback in the first session of the 3rd days play. Ishant Sharma, in fact, gave Jayawardane the same treatment that he had given Ricky Ponting in Perth before taking his wicket. Mithun gave him good support at the other end, not only restricting the run scoring but also taking wickets.

In fact, they were the only ones who looked like taking wickets from the Indian attack. They started the bowling in the morning, took a brief rest and then come back to take the second new ball, restricting to around 340 for 6.

Herath and Malinga then took the attack by its scruff, scoring their highest first-class scores. Prasanna Jayawardene was the one who started attacking the bowlers and strengthening India's position. This is where the Indian bowlers gave away the match - now, only a draw could be the favorable result for the Indians.

The Indians started their innings after the declaration at tea. Gambhir was dismissed cheaply by Malinga - his batting has been going downhill, even though slightly, for few matches now. Probably, his rich vein has gone the other direction now - whatever reason it may be, he needs to re-align his radar back to his high-scoring ways. Sehwag had no such problems - he was away, putting away the bad balls while controlling the ones that threatened his body and head.

Rahul Dravid - he must have now gone ahead of Inzamam-ul-Haq in the number of run-outs - lost his wicket after settling down. Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed by the magician, trying to attempt a sweep. Sehwag continued to prosper and it is very likely that he will add to his tally of centuries tomorrow. Laxman has been promising so far - hope he can go on to score a big one.

3 days gone and India still is not in dire straits. They can still make a match out of it, at least think they can. 320 is the first target that the Indian team has to scale (interesting rule for follow-on here). The Indian team needs to show their batting strength and combat the Lankans on the last 2 days. Will the rain-gods help India also?

Session Dashboard - The Lankans still lead the Indians by 4.5 - 1.5. The first session was all India's while the Lankans came back in the second. The third session was dominated by the Indians though the Lankans took 3 vital wickets. With 6 more sessions remaining, Sri Lanka needs to win more than 3 sessions in the next 2 days to win the match. What will India's response be?

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Galle Test - Sri Lanka take opening day honors

India has seldom won the opening day honors on an overseas test match - today was no different. After a long time, the opening attack had no left-arm bowler with the new ball.

Did that make a difference? Definitely. India missed the services of Zaheer Khan, not just as a bowler but also as a mentor to the young Ishant Sharma. Ishant bowled well very rarely in the midst of a flurry of boundary balls. Mithun was much better in his spell in the day, getting the wicket of Dilshan early. Few half-chances were missed - resulting in the large total at the end of the day. Pragyan Ojha was able to extract quite a bit of turn on the first-day track - indications of how Murali will play his 'tricks' later in the test - 800 wickets does not seem far away now. Harbhajan seems to have hurt his hamstring, which will impact the bowling to an extent. Sehwag bowled well in his limited capacity but that will not be enough.

Once the toss was won, it was a matter of putting a large total in the first innings of the match. Sri Lanka have done that so far and all evidence points to a dominant performance with the bat. How Indian batsmen (whenever they get a chance) will reply, will determine the result of the match. Of course, if weather permits, that is.

MS Dhoni must go back in time and bring out his tricks that he tried against the Aussies (bowling to a packed offside field of 8-1) and inducing mistakes from the batsmen. So far, the first day sees the session dashboard 3-0 in favor of Sri Lanka - all sessions won by the home team.

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Zaheer and Murali spice up the Lankan test series

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India is playing Sri Lanka in another series - for a change, it is a test series at home. Yawn.

Just as things were getting predictable and boring, Zaheer Khan and Muralitharan decided to spice up the series by their announcements in the last 2 days.

Zaheer Khan has been ruled out due to a shoulder injury. In his place, comes in the rookie Mithun (from Karnataka). There is a lot of pressure on the Indian bowling attack now - Sreesanth and Ishant Sharma, who have had no match practice after the IPL (forget longer versions of the game), will be expected to lead the new ball. Mithun is more of an insurance - expected to play only if one of the two gets injured. Zaheer is missing a series again due to injuries - surely a routine inspection of the fitness of bowlers (if not the entire team) is needed. Will the BCCI take heed? Dont think so.

Murali, on the other hand, will play the first test of the series as the last of his career. He has not made up his mind on the ODI/T20 career but is sure that he will play for Chennai SuperKings in IPL - intesting, no? I would not make his case as one who is plunging into the T20 just for money but questions do arise to the common man. His absence would have made India the favorites if not for Zaheer's absence. Who will lead the Lankans' spin attack? Rangana Herath has done well recently and would be expected to step up to the challenge. Mendis will be a threat once again (one will remember the earlier series in Lanka when he ripped apart the Indian team).

The injuries have started even before the Indian team left the shores. Will the list continue during the series also? One hopes that the usual suspects (Sehwag) do not extend the list. Only time will tell.

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