India's Chances in Cricket World Cup 2011

Where do India go from here? They are still at the top of group B with 7 points. But, there is a small probability of them not making it to the quarterfinals. But, thats more of a theoretical calculation. But, I believe they should be through.

Why Dhoni is not giving Ashwin a chance? Can someone remind Dhoni that Ashwin is the bowler who helped him to win IPL3 and the Champions League for Chennai Super Kings? I am not discounting the performances of Bollinger or Murali, but Ashwin was the key; he was the surprise element in IPL. Why Dhoni always hesitates to use Ashwin for India in international matches?

Its time India gives Ashwin a chance in the last league game, that too at Chennai (Ashwin's home ground). I also would like to try Suresh Raina in place of Yusuf Pathan in the last match. My team for the game against West Indies would be:

1. Virender Sehwag
2. Sachin Tendulkar
3. Gautam Gambhir
4. Virat Kohli
5. Yuvraj Singh
6. Suresh Raina
7. Mahendra Singh Dhoni
8. Harbhajan Singh
9. R. Ashwin
10. Zaheer Khan
11. Munaf Patel

Let us do it boys; we have much more challenges awaiting in the knock out rounds.

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Good Bye England, Hello West Indies

India have been eliminated from the World Twenty20 2009 tournament. It is a huge disappointment, no doubt, for the defending champions. But, the beauty of any sport is its unpredictability. If everyone can predict the result perfectly, then we would not be able to enjoy the game.

My Predictions went wrong
My predictions had gone wrong for the semi-finalists of the ICC World Twenty20 2009 tournament. I had predicted with confidence that South Africa, Sri Lanka and New Zealand to reach semi-finals. I have also thought the fourth spot would be a fight between India and West Indies and predicted India to edge out West Indies. But, it turns out that India had been eliminated. From the other group, either Sri Lanka or New Zealand will go through. Pakistan has surprised me completely by qualifying as the first team from group F. Sri Lanka is in a very similar situation to South Africa's position in 2007. That time, South Africa was the stronger team coming in undefeated for the last match of the super eights. India defeated them by a big margin and they were out of the tournament. Sri Lanka also comes undefeated, but they are in a must-win situation now due to their poor net run rate.

Is Dhoni to be blamed?
Everyone started to blame Dhoni for the elimination. Many of his decisions were questioned in hindsight. The decision to field first, the decision to drop Ojha and include Jadeja, sending Jadeja ahead of Yuvraj Singh and so on. It is easier said than done. I cannot but sympathize with Dhoni and Jadeja. Jadeja is a good player and he contributed in the bowling department. He picked two of the most valuable wickets, Kevin Pietersen and Ravi Bopara. Yes, he has consumed 35 deliveries for his 25. I should agree a 25 ball 25 would have been ideal. He has taken 10 extra deliveries, which could have been decisive in the end.

Jadeja at No. 4
I have to be honest. When I saw Ravindra Jadeja walking in at No. 4, I was quite happy. I thought the situation demanded some calm and cool play with good running between the wicket. Yuvraj Singh likes to be aggressive and if he fails earlier then India is gone. So, Jadeja is suited for the job and situation, but he failed to become the hero.

Instinctive Captain
Let us not forget that the margin of loss is just three runs, just one hit to the boundary. So, stop complaining and be with the team when they need you the most. We had seen Dhoni take several peculiar decisions earlier, which had paid off. Think about Joginder Sharma bowling the final over in ICC World Twenty20 2007 or bringing Piyush Chawla late in the VB series tournament in Australia. We all said Dhoni is a captain by instinct. Your instincts could fail on a day. This is one such day.

Bye Bye England, Hello West Indies
Let us forget it and move on. With the last match against South Africa today, we will bid good bye to England and start concentrating on the next series. Just ten days break before India takes on West Indies in the one-day series that begins on 26 June 2009.

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Leading Run Scorers: ICC World Twenty20 2007

ICC World Twenty20 was first held in South Africa in 2007. India entered the Twenty20 arena with not much background in the shorter format of cricket. They too went in with a new skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and a relatively youth team, that missed the experience of players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Anil Kumble. But they managed to lift the trophy beating off stiff competition from arch rivals Pakistan, who came very close twice but failed to overcome India.

In this article, I have compiled the list of best batsmen in the ICC World Twenty20 2007. The list includes the top five leading run scorers, highest individual scores in an innings, most sixes hit by batsmen, best batting strike rates and best batting averages.

Top Five Leading Run Scorers
1. Matthew Hayden, Australia - 265 runs
2. Gautam Gambhir, India - 227 runs
3. Misbah-Ul-Haq, Pakistan - 218 runs
4. Shaoib Malik, Pakistan - 195 runs
5. Kevin Pietersen, England - 178 runs

Highest Individual Scores
1. Chris Gayle, West Indies - 117 runs
2. Herschelle Gibbs, South Africa - 90 not out
3. Justin Kemp, South Africa - 89 not out
4. Sanath Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka - 88
5. Kevin Pietersen, England - 79

Best Batting Averages (Most Consistent Batsmen)
1. Brendon Taylor, Zimbabwe - 107.00
2. Matthew Hayden, Australia - 88.33
3. Justin Kemp, South Africa - 86.50
4. Zunaed Siddique, Bangladesh - 71.00
5. Chris Gayle, West Indies - 58.50

Best Batting Strike Rates (Quick Scorers)
1. Shahid Afridi, Pakistan - 197.83
2. Chris Gayle, West Indies - 195.00
3. Yuvraj Singh, India - 194.74
4. Mohammed Ashraful, Bangladesh - 181.25
5. Craig McMillan, New Zealand - 181.11

* Only Batsmen who have faced at least 25 deliveries in the tournament has been considered in the above list

Batsmen with Most Sixes (Most Aggressive Batsmen)
1. Craig McMillan, New Zealand - 13
2. Yuvraj Singh, India - 12
3. Matthew Hayden, Australia - 10
4. Justin Kemp, South Africa - 10
5. Imran Nazir, Pakistan - 10

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Indian Squad for ICC World Twenty20 2009

ICC World Twenty20 2009 (WT20) is going to be held in England, in about a week's time from now. The Indians are coming to the Twenty20 tournament fresh from the just concluded Indian Premier League (IPL 2009), which also belongs to the twenty overs a side format. Will they be fresh or tired? I am not sure. The results will show. I hope the match experience in South Africa would have prepared them well.

Below is the list of Indian players selected for the ICC World Twenty20 tournament:

1. Virender Sehwag (Vice captain)
2. Gautam Gambhir
3. Suresh Raina
4. Yuvraj Singh
5. Rohit Sharma
6. Yusuf Pathan
7. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain & Wicket-keeper)
8. Irfan Pathan
9. Harbhajan Singh
10. Zaheer Khan
11. RP Singh
12. Ravindra Jadeja
13. Praveen Kumar
14. Pragyan Ojha
15. Ishant Sharma

Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be leading the team in the World Twenty20 for the second time, following his success in the first edition held in South Africa. Virender Sehwag will be his deputy.

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Indian Cricket Team for Test Matches

The teams will take a new look as shorter version of the game gives way to traditional test matches. The test matches had been interesting, of late, and had produced some excellent nail biting finishes. The recent India-Australia series, Australia-South Africa series and West Indies-England cricket series were really good. Going along these lines, we should have an interesting series ahead.

The Indian team for the test series will have some of the seniors coming back to replace one-day/ T20 specialists. The Indian team is as follows:

1. Virender Sehwag
2. Gautam Gambhir
3. Rahul Dravid
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. VVS Laxman
6. Yuvraj Singh
7. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain and wicket-keeper)
8. Harbhajan Singh
9. Zaheer Khan
10. Ishant Sharma
11. Munaf Patel

The Batsmen
It is certain that Sehwag and Gambhir will open the innings. The No. 3, 4 & 5 are assured places for Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman. Yuvraj Singh is most likely to fill in as the sixth batsman, unless Dhoni decides to play five specialist bowlers.

The Bowlers
Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma are three bowlers who will be automatic selections. The only place that might be up for discussion will the last bowler slot. It will be a fight between Munaf Patel, Dhawal Kulkarni, Lakshmipathy Balaji and Amit Mishra. It is unlikely that India will be playing two spinners in New Zealand. I personally feel that Munaf Patel might just make it, even though I prefer to try out Dhawal Kulkarni.

Reserve Players
The other players including M. Vijay (reserve opening batsman), Dinesh Karthik (reserve wicket-keeper) and Amit Mishra (reserve spinner) have to wait unless someone is not able to play.

The first test match is scheduled to be played from March 18 to March 22 at Hamilton.

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Sri Lanka Cricket Tour Begins

It is the start of Cricket action for Indians in the year 2009. With fairly successful 2008, they are now going into the New Year with a vision to move further up in the ladder. The Indians are currently ranked No. 3 in the ICC ODI rankings while Sri Lanka is placed much lower at No. 7. But, the difference in quality may not be much different with Sri Lanka holding home advantage.

Both India and Sri Lanka had been successful in their respective previous series against England and Pakistan. India beat England 5-0 before the ODI series was called off due to the terrorist attacks on Mumbai. Sri Lanka lost their first match to Pakistan, but came back strongly to take the series 2-1. Kevin Pietersen lost his England team captaincy after the Indian tour, while Shoaib Malik lost his captaincy following the Sri Lankan visit.

The previous ODI series between India and Sri Lanka was a very close fight with India taking the series 3-2, thanks largely to Dhoni's luck with the coin. The other key factor was the ability of Dhoni and Raina to handle Mendis.

This series again will be a test for the Indians ability to play Murali and Mendis. The Indian team looks settled, with the following likely combination:

1. Sachin Tendulkar
2. Virender Sehwag
3. Gautam Gambhir
4. Suresh Raina
5. Yuvraj Singh
6. Mahendra Singh Dhoni
7. Yusuf Pathan
8. Pragyan Ojha
9. Zaheer Khan
10. Ishant Sharma
11. Munaf Patel

The other players who could come into play later in the series include all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Irfan Pathan, Praveen Kumar and Rohit Sharma.

A good series is in the line. Recently, I don't like the ODI formats. They have been largely one-sided affairs, except a few good games here and there. Hope this series will provide tight finishes and keep the interest in the ODI games alive.

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England Cricket Tour: Dhoni as captain

Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be leading the Indian Test side for a full series for the first time. The doubts hanging over the England cricket tour has been cleared after Reg Dickason cleared Chennai for the first test match. The England cricket players had arrived in Chennai yesterday for the match commencing on 11 December 2008.

Full Strength England Cricket Team
It is satisfying to know that England has arrived in full strength, in spite of fears earlier that some players might opt out. You could not blame them if any of them have chosen not to visit India after the Mumbai terror attacks. But, the England cricket players have shown faith in the security arrangements by Indian authorities.

Hope all the doubts about security will be away from the minds of the cricket players and they will start to concentrate on the game of cricket. England had been outplayed in the ODI series 5-0, but they have to come back in the test match series.

Indian Cricket Team Selection
The following is the 15-member Indian squad for the test match:

Virender Sehwag,
Gautam Gambhir,
M Vijay,
Rahul Dravid,
Sachin Tendulkar,
VVS Laxman,
Yuvraj Singh,
S Badrinath,
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain & wicket-keeper),
Harbhajan Singh,
Amit Mishra,
Pragyan Ojha,
Zaheer Khan,
Ishant Sharma,
Munaf Patel

Gambhir comes back after serving the one-match ban. Yuvraj Singh and Pragyan Ojha take the places of Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble, the veterans who retired after the Australia cricket series. It is a pity that Rohit Sharma could not find a place in the test squad. No one doubts his skills. But, he needs to show consistency that has failed him consistently. Two of Tamil Nadu batsmen, M Vijay and S Badrinath, find their names in the squad. They are unlikely to play in the test match unless someone else is injured. How great it would be for Vijay and Badri to play in front of their home crowd? Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma will be opening the bowling with Munaf Patel as the standby seamer. Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra are likely to play as spinners, with Pragyan Ojha as standby spinner.

Time for Cricket
Chennai is full of police and security had been taken very seriously. The climate is the only thing that could stop an entertainer in Chennai. It is rather gloomy conditions in Chennai for the past one month or so. But, the enthusiastic Chennai crowd is already clearing the tickets for the test match. Let us hope to see an entertaining cricket match with twists and turns that are purely associated with test matches.

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England Cricket Tour to India

England cricket tour is still hanging in the balance, even though the reactions suggest the tour might go ahead. The general feeling points that the security consultant Reg Dickason is comfortable with the arrangements in Chennai. Dickason is scheduled to visit Mohali later and he will also hold meetings with Hugh Morris, the managing director of England cricket, and Sean Morris, the chief executive of England's Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA).

I personally feel that the tour must go on. While I respect the individual cricket player's decision, I think no place is in the world is safe now. Is United States of America safe? The act of terrorism on twin towers, known as 911 now, is not forgotten yet. Is London safe? The serial bombings in the underground trains will put that conclusion to doubt. Is Chennai safe? It was considered to be a "Peace Park" until the former Primer Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi, was assasinated by a suicide bomber.

I am not concluding that safety and security should be compromised. We should not give place to complacency. But, at the same time, we should not let the terrorists achieve what they want. The terrorists want to implant the seeds of fear and insecurity among the citizens. If we allow that to happen, we are completely lost.

The Indian Government and the Indian cricket board should ensure all necessary safety precautions are taken and nothing should be left unattended. If this is going to cause some inconvenience to the general public, they will understand it is for their own good. Let us all stand united in this effort to resurrect the image of India.

I appreciate Andrew Strauss, the England opener, for showing his faith and expressing openly that the England cricket tour must go on. If other England cricket players understand his feelings, probably they too will feel comfortable.

The Indian cricket team is expected to be chosen today. Mahendra Singh Dhoni will lead a full series for the first time. Yuvraj Singh is expected to come in place of the retired Sourav Ganguly. Gambhir is also expected to return to his opener's slot after serving out the one-match ban imposed during the Australia test match series.

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Mahendra Singh Dhoni #1, Again

Mahendra Singh Dhoni retained his top spot in the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship Batting Rankings. Yuvraj Singh is the only other Indian batsman to be featured in the top ten list.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni with rating points of 779 leads the pack of ODI batsman, followed by Australia's Michael Hussey. Hussey trails Dhoni by just 3 points. Australians have three players in the top ten, followed by two each from India and West Indies, and one player each from South Africa, England and Pakistan.

Top Ten ODI Batmen
The top ten list is as follows:

1. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (India)
2. Michael Hussey (Australia)
3. Graeme Smith (South Africa)
4. Shivnarine Chanderpaul (West Indies)
5. Chris Gayle (West Indies)
6. Yuvraj Singh (India)
7. Ricky Ponting (Australia)
8. Kevin Pietersen (England)
9. Mohammad Yousuf (Pakistan)
10. Andrew Symonds (Australia)

Other Indians in the Top 100 ODI Batsmen list
The other Indian players to be featured in the top-100 list is as follows:

12. Sachin Tendulkar
21. Virender Sehwag
23. Gautam Gambhir
39. Suresh Raina
40. Rahul Dravid
64. Robin Uthappa
73. Rohit Sharma
85. Irfan Pathan
98. Virat Kohli

For the complete list, please refer to Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings

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Yuvraj Singh loves England

It is surprising to note that some of the cricket players like certain opponents. They choose to hog the limelight in a particular series, and then go into hiding, only to come back strongly against the same opponents. It is nothing to do with the strength of the opposition. You call it luck, coincidence or by whatever name. But, there is enough proof of such interesting occurrences in the game of cricket.

Mystery Players
Players like Sachin and Dravid have performed consistently well against almost all the countries. It is known to everyone how much VVS Laxman loves Australia. He reserves his best for the Australians. The same kind of mystery had been exhibited by Shivnarine Chanderpaul against India. In recent times, we witnessed how Misbah-ul-Haq loved playing against the Indians. Yuvraj Singh shows a similar liking for England.

Emerging Yuvraj
Nobody would forget the match-winning partnership between Yuvraj Singh and Kaif in the Natwest Series 2002 in England. India was chasing a huge target of 326 runs to win the Natwest trophy. Yuvraj Singh scored 69 runs, Kaif made 87 not out and were featured in a partnership of 121 runs. It was a day when a new team of youngsters came into the fore under the aggressive captaincy of Sourav Ganguly. The match is remembered for Sourav Ganguly’s theatrical skills, removing his shirt in celebration of the victory.

Majestic Yuvraj
Yuvraj Singh’s six sixes off Stuart Broad in the Twenty20 World cup, held in South Africa, will ever be remembered for brute force. It also landed him the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year Award.

Current Form
The two hundreds in the first two matches of the ongoing India-England series further highlight his liking for the opposition. It is no wonder he won the player of the award on both occasions. In the second match, he even topped the bowling honours.

Conquering England
His batting average of 55.78 against England stands far ahead of his overall average of 37.19 in ODIs. His bowling average of 30.17 also stands better than the overall average of 39.41.

Hope he continues his form in the series and India will clinch the series comfortably. Kevin Pietersen, skipper of England cricket team, has to find a way to stop Yuvraj Singh if they like to pose any real challenge in this series.

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Test Cricket beats ODI

I have written sometime ago that Cricket is boring. In fact, I should rewrite that article that ODI cricket is boring. If the recent test series against Australia and the first two ODI matches against England are any indication, then I can conclude that Test cricket is here to stay. And ODI format will make way for Twenty20 format.

Test Cricket is Interesting
Just recall the four test matches between India and Australia. We saw gripping contest between two teams, one that could not accept defeat and another one fighting to go on top of the table. Every match had its own twists and turns, that made each day of the test match interesting to watch. The first match went to the last day and Indians forced a draw. The second match saw how clinically a victory could be achieved against the World Champions. The third match saw a see-saw battle and ended in a draw. The final match once again stretched to the last day and probably India won the match as Australia decided to go for the kill on the last day. Interesting twenty days of cricket.

ODI is Boring
Just look at the two ODIs so far concluded against England. The first match was a no-contest once Yuvraj Singh and Sehwag hammered the bowlers. The match was all but over at mid-stage. Its merely a formality to be completed for Dhoni's men. Eventually they bowled out England for 229 runs and won the contest by a whopping margin of 158 runs. If anyone expected a better contest in the second ODI, it all lasted only for the first ten overs. From then on, it was India's way all along. England fell short again, this time by a margin of 54 runs. Will we able to see a better contest in the coming matches?

Future of Cricket
ICC is trying everything to bring back interest to the ODI format. Supersub rule, changes to powerplays, mandatory ball changes, ... Nothing seem to work so far. If nothing happens drastically in favour of ODIs, I expect Twenty20 to take over as the preferred shorter version. With the successful emergence of IPL and other Twenty20 leagues everywhere, it is only logical to conclude that Test Cricket and Twenty20 will see the end of ODIs. The format that ruled the game of cricket for close to 25 years might come to an end soon.

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Dhoni clinches LG ICC ODI Player of the Year Award

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has won the ODI Player of the year award at the LG ICC awards ceremony held in Dubai on 10 Sep 2008. This year’s LG ICC Awards included eight individual prizes, including a new one for the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year that went to Yuvraj Singh for his amazing six sixes off Stuart Broad.

Nominees for the award
India's one-day and Twenty20 International captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been nominated for the award along with Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammad Yousuf and Nathan Bracken. The award was given based on the players performance during the period between August 9, 2007 and August 12, 2008. Let us take a look at the comparison of the four players’ performance during the above period.

Analysis of the performances
The table below lists the performance of the four players during the mentioned period. The players include one bowler, two specialist batsmen and one wicket-keeper batsman.


It is very clear that everyone has performed well and it is difficult to prefer one above the other. During the period under consideration, Dhoni won three man of the match awards, Sachin too had three, Yousuf had two and Bracken was content with one. Yousuf had won the player of the series award for the South Africa series at home while Bracken clinched the series award for his performance during CB series in Australia.

Why the award went to Dhoni?
I believe Dhoni inched ahead of the others due to his wicket-keeping skills and his able captaincy. During this period, he has led the Indian team in 31 matches. The result is in favour of Dhoni with 16 wins, 12 losses and 3 matches with no result. Dhoni’s achievements, as captain, include a series victory over Pakistan at home, CB series triumph in Australia, finals appearance in Kitply cup and Asia cup. His batting average also shoots up to 59.10 while playing as a captain.

Milestone
Dhoni becomes the first Indian to win the ODI player of the year award. The last four awards went to England twice (Flintoff and Pietersen) and Australia twice (Hayden and Michael Hussey).

Other Awards

• Cricketer of the year: Shivnarine Chanderpaul (West Indies)


• Test Player of the year: Dale Steyn (South Africa)


• Twenty20 International Performance: Yuvraj Singh (India)


• Emerging Player of the year: Ajantha Mendis (Sri Lanka)


• Captain of the year: Ricky Ponting (Australia)


• Umpire of the year: Simon Taufel (Australia)


• Associate Player of the year: Ryan ten Doeschate (Netherlands)


• Women’s Cricketer of the year: Charlotte Edwards (England)


• Spirit of Cricket award: Sri Lanka team

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Murali and Mendis mesmerize Indians

India vs Sri Lanka, India in Sri Lanka ODI Series (2008) - 1st ODI
Date: 18 Aug 2008

Murali and Mendis once again did not allow any room for the Indians to escape. The end was delayed thanks to Mahela's approach to hold back Mendis. Finally when he was introduced again, the innings was over.

If you see the scorecard progress from over 25 to over 30, you will understand how dominant the two spinners were. All the five overs were maidens bowled by Mendis and Murali. During this period, Mendis dismissed Dhoni and Murali accounted for Irfan Pathan. The last hope of Pathan rallying with the tail was cut short by an umpiring error. He was given out lbw even though TV replays showed an inside edge. The score of 87/5 at 24.5 overs read 88/7 at the end of 30 overs.

It was upto the tail from over number 30 to 45. They managed to bring the score to 146, thanks to 20-run partnership between Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan and a 29-run partnership for the last wicket between Munaf Patel and Pragyan Ojha. In one over by Murali that cost 14 runs, Ojha hit a four and Munaf Patel cleared the field for a six. But, all those were too little too late.

You cannot expect much when the highest individual score is 23 (by Yuvraj) and the highest partnership is 37 (between Yuvraj and Rohit Sharma). Mendis finished with figures of 3-21 and Murali's bowling analysis read 3-37. It seems the Mendis' mystery is yet to be resolved. Until India finds a way to handle Mendis, they cannot make any impression here in Sri Lanka.

Let us wait and see whether the Indian bowlers can restore some sort of confidence back in the team before the next ODI.

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Indian top half is back in the pavilion

India vs Sri Lanka, India in Sri Lanka ODI Series (2008) - 1st ODI
Date: 18 Aug 2008

You cannot have a worst start to a series than this. The top half of the team is back in the pavilion even before the end of 21st over. India is certainly looking at one of the lowest scores in ODI if the bottom half and the skipper Dhoni does not contribute handsomely.

Yuvraj Singh and Rohit Sharma were trying to steady the ship after the fall of Suresh Raina for just 17 runs. The pair came together at the score of 36/3 and helped only to double the score. The introduction of Ajantha Mendis in the last over of the powerplay, 20th over, immediately had rewards for Sri Lanka. Yuvraj Singh survived an lbw appeal in the second delivery of the over. Yuvraj responded with a huge six in the next delivery. As we had seen, Mendis does not wait too long to strike. In the next delivery, fourth delivery of his first over, he bowled Yuvraj Singh for 23. Thushara accounted for Rohit Sharma in the next over. Sharma contributed 19 runs to the total with a four and a six.

Now, it is upto Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Irfan Pathan to salvage some pride for the Indians. At the half-way mark, the Indians were restricted to 87 for 5, with Dhoni on 6 and Pathan on 7.

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Kulasekara removes Kohli

India vs Sri Lanka, India in Sri Lanka ODI Series (2008) - 1st ODI
Date: 18 Aug 2008

The Indians are struggling against good pace bowling. They lost the debutant Virat Kohli for just 12 runs. At the end of 10 overs, Indians were precariously placed at 29 for the loss of both the openers. The scenario could have been worse if Jayawardane held the chance offered by Yuvraj Singh off the last delivery of the tenth over.

At the end of ten overs, Suresh Raina is unbeaten on 11 from 27 deliveries and Yuvraj Singh is playing with 5 runs off 9 balls. Much is expected from Yuvraj Singh in the lines of his explosive 172 in the tour game. Will he do it and bail India out?

All these happening even before Ajantha Mendis has bowled a single delivery! (Interesting!!!)

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Virat Kohli makes ODI debut

India vs Sri Lanka, India in Sri Lanka ODI Series (2008) - 1st ODI
Date: 18 Aug 2008

The India-Sri Lanka ODI series kicks off in a few minutes from now with the first match at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium. The Indians start as underdogs after their surrender to Ajantha Mendis in the Asia Cup final and the debacle in the recently concluded test series.

The Indians have further bad news as in-form Virender Sehwag will not be playing in the first match due to injury. But, that's good news for at least Virat Kohli. Virat Kohli, the successful under-19 captain, makes his ODI debut against Sri Lanka as an opener. Will he deliver? Let us wait and see.

India has won the toss and Dhoni opted to bat first. A good decision. Dambulla stadium has been known for its low scores. The highest score here of 282 is by the home team against India in 2004. Sangakkara and Jayawardene were fabulous in that match, posting a 100+ partnership in about 15 overs. In that match, India chased the match and made 270/8, thanks to good knocks from Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh.

The outcome will depend on how well the Indians play Murali and Mendis, popularly known as M&M now. The Indian team for the match is as follows:

1 Gautam Gambhir
2 Virat Kohli
3 Suresh Raina
4 Yuvraj Singh
5 Mahendra Singh Dhoni
6 Rohit Sharma
7 Irfan Pathan
8 Pragyan Ojha
9 Harbhajan Singh
10 Zaheer Khan
11 Munaf Patel

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No Excitement in India-Pakistan Clashes

The cricket matches between the archrivals India and Pakistan had always been exciting and entertaining. It all started with one great day at Sharjah. On April 18, 1986, Javed Miandad held his nerves till the end to clinch the Austral-Asia Cup. It was a match in which Miandad smashed a full toss from Chetan Sharma out of the ground for a huge six. It was off the last ball of the innings.

I still remember that day when the future of India-Pakistan cricket matches had been rewritten. Pakistan took a vital lead and confidence booster from that last-ball six and went on to dominate the Indians for at least a decade. The Indians did their best to counter that morale-sapping blow. As a result, the matches got more interesting and the spectators were the real winners. How many good matches you would have seen between these two teams since then?

Do you feel the scenario has changed?
I feel yes. The India-Pakistan match does not give me sleepless nights any more. Too many clashes between these two teams with too little time in between have crushed the interest of the followers. Another reason is that the match-winners are gone. You won’t see the greatness of the players like Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Javed Miandad, Abdul Qadir, Kapil Dev, Kris Srikanth, Maninder Singh… While India has the likes of Dhoni, Sehwag and Yuvraj who could make the game interesting, Pakistan certainly lacks one. Shahid Afridi, who could do it for Pakistan, is struggling to put bat to ball recently.

Another hard-fought match, close to the Kitply cup final, might reignite the fire in the India-Pakistan clashes. Until then, it is yet another clash!

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Asia Cup 2008: Will the Indian team sparkle?

Yet another cricket tournament! Yes, the ninth edition of the Asia Cup is about to commence today with two day-night matches. Pakistan will take on Hong Kong in a Group B match while Bangladesh meets United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Group A.

Sri Lanka is featured in the Group A along with Bangladesh and UAE. India is the third team in Group B along with Pakistan and Hong Kong. The three teams will meet each other once in group matches and the top two teams from each group will progress to the next stage. The four teams will again meet each other once, with the top two teams qualifying for the finals to be played on 6th July 2008.

The Indians had so far won the Asia cup four times; Sri Lanka lifted it thrice and Pakistan once. India’s last triumph was 13 years back in the year 1995. The tournament has a history that dates back to 1984 when the first tournament was launched in UAE.

India plays Hong Kong tomorrow in a day-night encounter. Interesting news is that Dhoni will bat up the order. I would prefer Dhoni to come in at No. 5, with Rohit Sharma and Yuvraj Singh occupying the No.3 and No. 4 slots. Gambhir and Sehwag would open the batting. Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma and Piyush Chawla are certain to be in the bowling line-up. That leaves a slot for a batsman, an all-rounder and a bowler. I would love to have Yusuf Pathan as an all-rounder and Manpreet Gony to fill the bowler slot. The last batsman slot should go either to Robin Uthappa or Suresh Raina. I am happy with the approach of both these batsmen. The only problem is that both these batsmen get good starts, but do not go on to make a big score.

A good performance from Dhoni’s men could light up the tournament, which otherwise looks to be a dull encounter.

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Kings XI Punjab gets closer to a semi-final spot

Kings XI Punjab defeated Mumbai Indians by a solitary run, in one of the most exciting matches played in the Indian Premier League. Such tense, intensely fought matches would increase the spectators’ interest in the Twenty20 format.

Marsh and Pomersbach sizzle
Sachin Tendulkar won the toss and decided to bowl first. It looked like a good decision when Shaun Pollock removed James Hopes in just the third delivery of the match. But, the Mumbai Indians had to wait until the 15th over for the second wicket. During this period, the Australians Shaun Marsh and Luke Pomersbach played some exciting cricket. They put together an emphatic partnership that yielded 133 runs in just 86 deliveries. Shaun Marsh was dismissed for 81 runs from 56 deliveries, but Luke Pomersbach continued and remained unbeaten on 79 from 50 deliveries. Kings XI Punjab completed the innings with a challenging total of 189 for 4.

So Near, Yet So Far
Mumbai Indians started the chase in a splendid fashion. Sree Santh helped the scoreboard by starting off with three wide deliveries. Runs started to flow from the bat of Sanath Jayasuriya. When he was dismissed by Sree Santh, Mumbai Indians were off to a flying start with 36 runs on the board from just 16 deliveries. Dwayne Smith came in at No. 3 and continued from Jayasuriya left. With Tendulkar too getting into the act, this pair put on 45 runs from 35 deliveries. Smith’s departure did not change the way the Mumbai Indians were progressing. Nayar came in next and continued attacking the bowling. The third wicket partnership was worth 46 runs from just 28 deliveries.

By the end of 16 overs, the Mumbai Indians were comfortably placed at 156 for 3. With Sachin batting fluently and Robin Uthappa for company, 34 runs from the last 4 overs should have been an easy target. But, the next two overs changed it all. Sachin Tendulkar was run out in the 17th over and Yuvraj Singh accounted for Shaun Pollock and Robin Uthappa in the 18th over. But, the drama was not over yet. With 19 runs required off the last over bowled by VRV Singh, Chritnis hit a six off a no-ball and a four off the next delivery. 8 runs required from 5 deliveries. What followed? Three run-outs in five deliveries and the Mumbai Indians fell short of the target by just one run.

Sachin, Why?
Since the match went so close, several questions were raised about Sachin Tendulkar’s captaincy. Why did he choose Nehra to bowl the last over while Shaun Pollock had still one over left? Why did he not give Jayasuriya a chance to bowl? In fact, Yuvraj Singh picked two wickets for 12 runs in two overs. Mumbai Indians lost a match which they should have won comfortably in the end.

Where do we go from here?
That ends the six-match winning streak of the Mumbai Indians. Punjab, now, has 16 points and is very close to securing a semi-final spot. We will discuss about the match between Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings and Dravid’s Bangalore Royal Challengers in the next article.

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Rajasthan Royals in semi-finals

Rajasthan Royals stormed into the semi-finals after another emphatic win over Kolkata Knight Riders. Shane Warne can be proud as his team remains the most consistent team of the Indian Premier League (IPL). They have lost just two games, once outplayed by the batting power of Delhi Daredevils and once by the bowling power of Mumbai Indians.

Rajasthan Royals have played together as an excellent team. When the tournament started, I did not give them any chance. They did not have a real star player in my opinion. But, players like Graeme Smith, Asnodkar, Yusuf Pathan and Mohammad Kaif stood up to the challenge. Shane Watson was outstanding so far, as an all rounder. The bowling department was excellent with contributions from Sohail Tanvir, Munaf Patel and the captain Shane Warne.

Kolkata Knight Riders have been up and down the wave in the IPL league so far. By losing yesterday, they are almost at the brink of elimination here. But, theoretically they still have a chance. For them to qualify from here, they would expect Rajasthan Royals to win their three remaining games. Kolkata have to beat the Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab. They would also expect the results of other matches to be in their favour. A tough ask, but not impossible. Let us give some hope to Kolkata Knight Riders.

Tendulkar's Mumbai Indians meet Yuvraj Singh's Kings XI Punjab today, another important clash that would go a long way in deciding the semi-finalists. The Mumbai Indians are on a roll here, winning six consecutive games after a disastrous start to the tournament when they lost the first four games. They would love to continue their winning streak. Can you doubt them after their convincing wins recently? Kings XI Punjab has been one of the consistent teams in the tournament and they would prefer to win today, which would most likely seal a semi-final berth for them. So, we have an interesting game at hand. Look out for big hits from the two left handers in view, Sanath Jayasuriya and Yuvraj Singh.

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