ICC

India Is No.1 In ODI Rankings

February 14, 2018 Happenings

Close on the heels of a remarkable world cup campaign by the U-19s, India has now toppled South Africa to take the no.1 spot in the latest ICC ODI Championship rankings which happened after they beat the Proteas by 73 runs in the 5th ODI at Port Elizabeth on Feb-13. India is also the top-ranked team in test cricket today.

The Indians have outclassed the opposition in 9 consecutive ODI bilateral series and are on a roll in the shorter format of the game at this point. Under Kohli’s captaincy, this team has won their first ever bilateral ODI series against South Africa which they’re leading 4-1 with one more match to be played. In their current form, I would have to admit they’re my favourite team to win the 2019 World Cup to be held in England & Wales provided they’d have sorted out their middle-order batting woes by then. Ironically, their next ODI series is in July versus England and it’d be interesting to watch the spinners perform in English conditions.

Here’s a list of India’s successive ODI bilateral series Wins from June 2016 to present Feb 2018:

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  • Vs Zimbabwe – 3-0 in Zimbabwe
  • Vs New Zealand – 3-2 in India
  • Vs England – 2-1 in India
  • Vs West Indies – 3-1 in West Indies
  • Vs Sri Lanka – 5-0 in Sri Lanka
  • Vs Australia – 4-1 in India
  • Vs New Zealand – 2-1 in India
  • Vs Sri Lanka – 2-1 in India
  • Vs South Africa – 5-1 in South Africa (1 match to go)

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West Indies had the most consecutive bilateral series wins of 14 between May 1980 – March 1988 so I am hoping we continue to win more matches!

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.

Aussies win Champions Trophy (Yawnn!!)

November 6, 2006 Happenings

The Aussie win of their first ICC Champions Trophy tournament yesterday in Mumbai, came as no surprise to me. To say the least, Ricky’s Devils have become very predictable and it no longer excites me to watch them play Cricket. Boring might seem to be an apt phrase to use. The degree of clinical perfection that they have managed to bring in every game has become a matter of discussion in the cricketing corridors of the world. Yesterday’s 8 wicket win, came after a blazing start by the Windies who won the toss and elected to bat first. But some good bowling performances by Nathan Bracken and McGrath restricted them to just 138 in 30.4 overs. What makes them click? Is it the talent or the support staff that’s doing the job? or is it both? we try hard to unlock the code every time. But I beg to ask the managers of our cricketing legacy whether they have a road map ready for the coming months and the ICC world cup. The answer seems obvious to me.

Certainly, I would like to believe that amongst the other South Asian teams, the Indians are a better side to stop the Kangaroo’s hop, given their historic success rate but they aren’t doing well of late. Many a times it’s the psychological edge that proves the winner of the day and we seem to have lost it completely after our 16 match winning streak came to a sad end in the Caribbean tour. In the Champions Trophy, after the Indians won against the English in their first match, I thought they lost their rhythm coming back after a long 11 day holiday. They even failed to exploit the home conditions and looked very edgy in that match against West Indies which we should have won comfortably. After that loss, it was very improbable to defeat the Aussies, given their desperation to win the only trophy missing in their cabinet. Simply put, we don’t look like a team that wants to win anymore. Let’s hope we get our heads back together before the world cup and start winning a few matches. ‘Ooh aah India….Aaya India’ and the Blue Billion Express – such marketing jamboree is worthless if the team continues to downplay the emotions of a nation and keeps losing tournaments. Hope the sponsors are listening and taking notes.