BCCI

India’s Lack Of A Batting Specialist

April 21, 2019 Happenings

The BCCI just announced a provisional team for India that would take on the best teams in the hope of lifting the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup, and I feel, they have picked a decent team. Unlike the last time when we won, the matches this time are in a round-robin format so I’m expecting some fierce contest. There were no surprises as far as the composition of the team was concerned but the batting lacks depth. I feel they’re short of a specialist batsman in the English conditions which would mean there’s too much reliance on the middle order, half-bat-half-bowler batsmen like Jadhav, Shankar and Jadeja. Sparing a thought for Vijay Shankar who has been pushed into the spotlight for no reason, but his lack of ODI experience just pales in comparison to Ambati Rayudu for the big stage matches such as the world cup. I think Rayudu’s selection would have made a huge difference when you consider the vulnerability of opening pairs to the seaming balls in the English conditions. And it’s still a possibility because this is just a provisional team.

Let us look into the details. Not only have England changed as a world-class team but if you look at how the pitches in England have behaved since the last world cup and analyze them broadly from the perspective of the home series you’ll realize the gravity of what I’m talking. It’s noteworthy, that there have been no less than 20 occasions in the English conditions where teams have posted 300+ totals, most significantly, 3 of those high-scoring ODIs have been 400+ totals. Under the context, I am baffled with the logic of going to an important tournament with a batsman short. Rayudu could have provided that extra leeway in the middle-order whilst chasing 300+ scores or when the batsmen at the top are struggling. His average of 47.05 in 55 ODIs with three 100s and a strike rate of 79.04 makes him an indispensable no.4 of the Indian cricket team. Conversely, India’s dependency on all-rounders is a worthy gamble given the fact that the England middle-order has promoted the likes of Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, and Moeen Ali. It remains to be seen how our all-rounders manage the world cup expectations playing on their merits. I will be tuned in!

India Batting Depth Analysis
India’s Batting Depth Analysis for the 2019 World Cup

Indians Bask in Glory after 24 years!

September 25, 2007 Happenings

After the celebrations are over, this young Indian team will realize that they have etched their names in the annals of history forever. When the tournament started, nobody — the selectors included, ever thought they could win the inaugural edition of the T20 world cup. It’s a sign of good things to come for the Indian cricket — this young nextgen cricketers have no fear of reputation and just want to consistently perform for their country. We last won a world cup in 1983 in England and today we have done it again after 24 long years. Chak De India!

At one point in time of the match, India seemed to be losing the plot. In the last over though, the pakis needed just 5 runs of the last 3 balls and I had already given up hope. Just then I stared in complete disbelief at my TV screen when Misbah-ul-Haq hit that uneventful shot right into the waiting hands of Sreesanth, when he could have just played a straight bat shot. The commentators went ga-ga over his ” sound cricketing mind” but the Indians held their nerves to pulloff an incredible win. Everytime I went inside my room in complete disbelief, a wicket would fall for the Pakis. Considering this odd coincidence, I have decided to NOT watch cricket when India’s playing, to ensure that they win everytime. Here’s a summary of India’s road to the final victory.

India 'Bowl Out' Pak

September 15, 2007 Happenings

ICC World Twenty20 LogoIndia and Pakistan never fail to entertain when they play each other. Be it Hockey or Cricket, their performances are keenly watched and scrutinized on both sides of the border. Yesterday’s match at the World Twenty 20 in Kingsmead, Durban (South Africa) proved to be a nail-biting event unlike all their previous encounters.

First, it looked like India would be bowled out within 15 overs as they were tottering at 36/4 after Mohammed Asif picked up four Indian wickets. However, the Indians managed 141 in their 20 overs thanks to some hard hitting by Robin Uthappa who scored 50. Then defending their modest score, the Indians were gaining some ground early before Agarkar gave away 17 runs in his penultimate over and the match went down to the wire with 1 run required of just 1 ball. Sreesanth then bowled the last over of the match superbly to end the Pakistan innings at 141/7 in their 20 overs and the match was tied — a first for any Twenty20 International. A ‘Bowl out’ method — much similar to the penalty shootouts in Hockey and Soccer — was applied for an outcome despite both teams already qualifying for the Super8s from Group D.

The rules were simple — each team nominates 5 bowlers to bowl at the stumps. The team with the majority hits wins. Sehwag, Bhajji and Uthappa made no mistake to help India win 3-0 and keep its winning record against in world playoffs against Pakistan intact. The young Indian side maintained a characteristically cool head till the last ball which helped them snatch victory from the Pakistanis. The sad reality of going into a big tournament without a regular coach hasn’t come to hassle the Indians and the way they performed yesterday it seems there’s no requirement for one at the moment if they keep winning consistently. Great performance surely and I hope they bring back the world cup and with it the glorious days of Indian cricket.