Cricket Tournaments

Sri Lanka India

Yet another final, yet another defeat. The surprise victory in the Asia Cup final notwithstanding, the Indians continue to struggle at the final hurdle. As if this perennial problem wasn’t enough, the woes of Team India were compounded in the series courtesy yet another below par performance by the youngsters. With just over five months to go for international cricket’s most prized competition, India have plenty on their plate to ponder upon. Crucially, the decisions taken in the aftermath of the Dambulla loss should not be in haste, and must adhere to sound cricketing logic.

I am saying this because the easiest scapegoat could be, and perhaps will be, Dinesh Karthik. When Gautam Gambhir returns to the team, he might not be needed. However, it will be unfair to discard him solely on the basis of his disappointing scores in the recently concluded tri-series. It must be taken into consideration that he is primarily a middle-order player and was opening only to fill in for his more illustrious team-mate. He even recorded a match-winning score in the Asia Cup final. However, when it conditions got tougher for batting, his technique was found out.

A utility player like Karthik, and a complete team man, deserves a fair chance to prove that he is good enough to represent India consistently at the international level. And for that, he needs to be played in the lower-middle order. The question then arises is can be afford seven batsmen. Well, the problem should all but solve itself owing to Ravindra Jadeja’s uninspiring efforts with the bat. It isn’t great news for India that they can’t find an all-rounder a la Angelo Mathews. However, that’s the truth and they need to make do with it. And unless they want to give Yusuf Pathan another go – which would be worth a try — it wouldn’t be illogical to slot Karthik in at number seven. He could even keep wickets and relieve some pressure off captain MS Dhoni’s back.

Even as the Karthik dilemma needs to be solved in right earnest, India need to look beyond Rohit Sharma and possibly even Virat Kohli for occupancy in the middle-order slots. Both started off in international cricket in highly promising fashion, but haven’t shown the consistency to be trusted upon, unlike Suresh Raina, who too took his time to blossom, and is now one of the backbones of this Indian side. Also, some of the shots the two played in the tournaments were shocking, and they could be axed for that purpose itself. Of course, Raina too had an unsatisfactory. But, it has to be taken into account that his debut Test series must have taken a toll on him.

Considering the uncertainty in the middle-order, it would be logical to give the veteran Rahul Dravid one final go. He did pretty well when recalled for the Champions Trophy in the absence of Virender Sehwag, only to be dropped for reasons best known to selectors. The argument here could be that the great man had a torrid time in Lanka. However, knowing Dravid the cricketer, it shouldn’t be long before he has sorted out his batting flaws, unless his powers are on the wage.

The brightest spot for India from the ODI series in Lanka was performance of Virender Sehwag. Had he not been tragically run-out in the finals, who knows what might have transpired, considering the murderous form he was in. Anyways, let bygones be bygones. What Sehwag needs now is some stern support from the other end. The return of Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar should help, but having their names on the scorecard alone won’t transform into runs. Everyone needs to battle it out in the middle.

Call it a surprise or what you might, the bowling that was expected to be India’s Achilles Heel turned out to be rather reasonable, although they would have liked to do better in the finals. Praveen Kumar, especially, was below par in the summit clash. He is one of those curious cases for India. When the ball moves around, he is lethal even at his pace. But when he delivers the same stuff on an unresponsive, he is easy meat for the opposition batsmen. As such, while it will be a good idea for India to have him around, he shouldn’t be a certainly for all games, considering the flaw in his game. The other three pace bowlers were impressive at various phases in the tournament. However, they have far from achieved their desired consistency.

All of this means Dhoni faces his toughest test as captain in the months building up to the World Cup.

Ms Dhoni

Okay, for a change we aren’t discussing about an India-Sri Lanka game in the Emerald nation. Still, the India-New Zealand clash on Wednesday will be a highly significant affair in the context of the ongoing tri-series. As aptly pointed out by Indian skipper MS Dhoni, the game will be a virtual semi-final, with the winner joining the home team in the finals. Interestingly, both teams have had similar fortunes thus far, with a win one day and a disappointing loss on the next occasion. This is what makes the tussle between the two sides intriguing and very well-matched. Whichever team can leave their worst form back in the pavilion will benefit the most from the clash.

Starting with India, they entered the tournament with massive bowling worries. However, scores of 88 and 104 have meant that their batting deficiencies have also been seriously exposed. The problem begins right at the top, with Dinesh Karthik being unable to fit into the shoes of Gautam Gambhir. As a result, Virender Sehwag’s task has become doubly difficult. And while he has succeeded in helping India clinch one win, it is crucial from India’s point of view for him to find some support.

The non-performing youngsters are proving to be another bane in India’s build up to the World Cup. While Rohit Sharma has been a little unlucky with some close lbw shouts, the reality is that he still hasn’t ironed out the flaws in his game. And when you consider that he has been around the international circuit for a good four years now, it is a danger signal. His dismissals in the last two games have been as good as carbon copies.

For a while Virat Kohli looked settled at the number three slot. However, with Sachin Tendulkar shuttling in and out of the ODI team at his own will, Kohli has had to move up and down the order. And if his recent string of scores is taken into consideration, it hasn’t helped his cause at all. He might get one more chance to prove his worth again in place of, maybe, either Karthik or Sharma. It remains to be seen how he reacts if such an opportunity comes his way on Wednesday. A note on Ravindra Jadeja is essential too. While his bowling has been decent for a while, except the T20 World Cup, his batting skills haven’t come to the fore. And so, India need to decide very quickly whether they want him in the scheme of things for the 2011 World Cup.

Bizarre as it may sound, India’s bowling looks stronger in comparison. That, however, epitomizes the team’s batting debacles more than anything else. Still, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma and Ashish Nehra have done reasonably well in the series. And when the ball moves around, as it has been doing in Lanka, they aren’t the worst trio. Thankfully for the Indians, Pragyan Ojha has stepped up his game, as a result of which India haven’t missed Harbhajan Singh much. And anyways, the Punjab off-spinner wasn’t having a great time with the ball himself.

Shifting focus to the Kiwis, they have their own concerns. The inexperienced batting line-up was found out against Sri Lanka. Also, it hasn’t helped that their last game against the home team was washed out. Considering the leisurely schedule of the tournament, (the players wouldn’t be complaining) the wash out means the Kiwis haven’t batted out in the middle for well over a week. India would be hoping to take advantage of the rustiness, if any has crept in. Further, their batting looks brittle if ones takes away Scott Styris and Ross Taylor. Things seem worse when you add the fact that Jacom Oram is back on the ‘I am injured’ list, even though Martin Guptill’s expected comeback should cheer up the Kiwi camp.

Like India, their bowling too wears a stronger look in the presence of Daryl Tuffey and Kyle Mills, with the experienced Styris for support. India will need to be wary of the opening bowlers as the new ball has been doing plenty in the initial stages, and the batsmen have been guilty of not applying themselves. The pitch, once again, will play a crucial role. With the rain around, some movement has to be expected both at the start of the game as well as under lights.

Dhoni’s luck at the toss may have changed in the previous game, but he wouldn’t mind retaining the losing streak if the team continues to win. On a more serious note, winning or losing the toss notwithstanding, application should be the keyword for both sides.

Three games, three heroes

It was a disappointing end to the one-day series for India. They had a great chance to score a whitewash against the South Africans for the first time, but they preferred to rest their key players and tested out the bench strength, which resulted in a rather one-sided victory for the Proteas. Yet, the matter of the fact was that India won the series rather handsomely and there were some memorable performances even in such a short series. Presenting a rewind of top three performances of the series.

Game 1, Jaipur

Jadeja’s all-round act (22 and 2/29)

In a high-scoring game, where most of the batters were at ease, it was Ravindra Jadeja’s tight left-arm spin that made the difference. The Indian pacers, Ashish Nehra and S. Sreesanth went for plenty, and though they did pick up three wickets among themselves, they also ensured that South Africa stayed in the hunt. On the contrary, Jadeja not only kept the runs down, but also picked up two wickets, crucial ones at that, to derail the Proteas’ chase of 299. He cut short one-day specialist Herschelle Gibbs’ promising knock and later cleaned up AB de Villiers, who was also looking dangerous.

His cameo with the bat towards the fag end of the innings also came in handy, considering that India ended up winning by a solitary run, thanks to a late surge by the African tail. Jadeja is certainly turning out to be a good utility player for India.

Game 2, Gwalior

Sachin makes history (200 not out)

This was Sachin Tendulkar’s show all the way. Virender Sehwag fell early after India won the toss and batted. But, that did not deter the Indian master. He went on the rampage from the word go and the carnage did not stop till the very end. Come pace or spin, Sachin had an answer to every trick of the South African bowlers. He cut, pull, drove and lofted the bowlers with disdain on a ground that seemed too small for the Indian giant.

Dale Steyn, who destroyed India in the opening Test, was despatched for 89 from his quota of overs. Worse, Wayne Parnell went for 95. The others weren’t spared either. Charl Langeveldt went for a somewhat respectable 70 while Kallis and Duminy combined to leak over the 80. The Sachin magic was very much at display in Gwalior.

There were other handsome contributions in the game as well. Dinesh Karthik registered his highest ODI score of 79 while Dhoni slammed a hurricane like 68 not out. A B de Villiers too impressed with his sublime ton, but the match with undoubtedly be remembered for the indelible Sachin Tendulkar touch.

Game 3, Ahmedabad

de Villiers winning ton (102 not out)

The series was gone. However, the South Africans still had a lot to play for. After all they had never been blanked by India in a one-day series. And that record will stand, albeit with a little help from India themselves. They decided not to field a full-strength and de Villiers decided to take full toll of the inexperienced Indian attack. His 59 ball 102 included 11 hits to the fence and 3 over it. It was as if he was avenging the humiliation meted out to them at Gwalior, with great support from skipper Kallis.
The Indian bowling figures read similar to those of the Proteas in the previous game. Here was Sreesanth’s chance to lead the attack, but he failed miserably, conceding 83 in nine overs. As such, much couldn’t be expected from rookies Sudeep Tyagi and Abhimanyu Mithun. All were slammed. The de Villiers magic was in full bloom and the Indians had no answer to it.

In the second part, the teams that will be in the spotlight are the champions of the inaugural IPL, Rajasthan Royals, Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings

1) Rajasthan Royals
Rajasthan created history by winning in the 1st season, after defeating Chennai in a thrilling final. However, the second time around, Shane Warne’s magic didn’t work as the Royals finished at a lowly 6th spot.

This time, they are determined enough for another IPL trophy with the addition of Australian players such as Damien Martyn and Adam Voges, who were bought for a base price of $100000. The team strategy would be easier for Shane Warne to follow since communication would become easier. Not many changes in the Royals squad is also good because the players are used to playing with each other.

Warne’s all-round role as a determined captain and a champion leg-spin bowler would be crucial for the team’s success. Along with Graeme Smith, who is by far the trump player of the team. Youngsters such as Ravindra Jadeja, Munaf Patel, Naman Ojha, Amit Singh and Swapnil Asnodkar make Royals a team to contend with.

However, the Royals need to deal with the fact that only England’s Dimitri Mascerenhas is a match-winning all-rounder. They will miss Shane Watson dearly like the last season. However, they are a decent fielding side, so this should help do really well.

2) Kings XI Punjab
Punjab reached the semi-finals of the 1st season unexpectedly. And last year, they finished 5th, missing out the semi-finals yet again by a narrow margin. Despite good performances, it is quite mind-boggling that Yuvraj Singh was replaced by Kumar Sangakkara as skipper.

They are a good unit with the likes of Mahela Jayawardene, Yuvraj Singh as a player, Shaun Marsh, Ramesh Powar as well as youngsters such as Irfan Pathan, S Sreesanth, Yusuf Abdulla, Piyush Chawla, Sunny Sohal and the impressive left-handed batsman Karan Goel. The presence of Indian youth makes them a crowd favourite.

Who knows Sangakkara’s captaincy could be worth the risk just as he is inspirational for Sri Lanka. Tom Moody as coach would ensure that there is a good working relationship between Moody and Sangakkara. However, this move shouldn’t backfire like Kolkata’s where Brendon McCullum was made captain in the place of Sourav Ganguly. This will ensure Punjab an outright chance for victory.

3) Chennai Super Kings
Chennai are a side that has been the most consistent in the first two seasons. Could it get any better when it is known that they were the finalists in the first season and 4th in the 2nd season, losing to eventual runners-up Royal Challengers Bangalore in the semi-final in Durban in South Africa.

It can get better and more exciting cricket is expected from Chennai. With Mahendra Singh Dhoni as captain and wicketkeeper, Chennai has got the right balance. Their team is flexible enough to perform with newly acquired all-rounders such as South Africa’s Justin Kemp and Sri Lanka’s latest sensation Thissira Perera.

Who can count out Jacob Oram and Albie Morkel? Despite Andrew Flintoff’s and Michael Hussey’s absence, Chennai has the star power to perform consistently. The likes of Matthew Hayden who was the top-scorer of the IPL last season, Suresh Raina who played the perfect second fiddle to Hayden with the bat at the No.3 position and sometimes won matches due to his exceptional fielding, S Badrinath who is undoubtedly the next big thing of Indian cricket alongside Parthiv Patel who has won Dhoni’s faith thanks to his contributions at the top of the order as well as improved wicketkeeping, allowing Dhoni to focus on his captaincy.

The bowling too is strong and is led by Muttiah Muralitharan. Laxmipathy Balaji is an experienced bowler. Makhaya Ntini adds to the firepower of the bowling attack. Not to forget that Chennai has a number of bowling all-rounders which gives Dhoni various options in forming his bowling strategy.

Youngsters such as Srikkanth Aniruddha, Manpreet Gony, Joginder Sharma, Sudeep Tyagi and Shadab Jakati only enlighten Chennai’s position to win the IPL this time. Undoubtedly, Chennai is an overwhelming favourite to not just win the IPL, but also qualify for the Champions League 2010, which they missed out narrowly last season thanks to controversies created by the IPL.

Ravindra Jadeja was the unlikely hero with the ball for India, claiming a career-best 4/32 and helping India overcome an unbelievably belligerent start by Sri Lanka, who batted first after winning the toss. In the end, India won easily by 7 wickets thanks to yet another supreme effort from Sachin Tendulkar, who remained unbeaten on 96, as India chased down a modest target of 240.

The way the Lankans began, they looked well on course to score over 350. Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga slammed nearly each and every delivery out of sight as the partnership raised 65 in less than seven overs. Once again, the left-arm pace duo of Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra were at the receiving. Ishant Sharma, who took the place of Praveen Kumar in the playing XI, wasn’t spared either. If anything, he was singled out for special treatment by the dynamic opening pair. The Indians once again were let down by their fielding. MS Dhoni’s keeping replacement Dinesh Karthik missed one of the easiest run out chances amidst the run carnage, Dilshan being the beneficiary. Luckily for India and Karthik, the slip-up did not prove too costly as Nehra snapped him up a few runs later, caught by none other than Karthik himself of a short, rising delivery which Dilshan (41) top-edged.

The troubles though were far from over for the Indians. Tharanga continued the good work in the company of skipper Kumar Sangakkara. Mixing caution and aggression perfectly, the two laid a solid foundation for Lanka. The pair had added exactly a hundred when Sangakkara’s charge down the track to his opposite number Virender Sehwag proved fatal. Sangakkara missed the ball and a fumbling Karthik somehow managed to get rid of the bails, giving India some much-needed respite. There was no looking back for India from thereon as they took firm control.

The left-arm spinner Jadeja began his demolition job by cleaning up the well-set Tharanga (73) from one which came back in sharply and breached his defence. Soon, he had Chamara Kapugedera bowled off an inside edge. At the other end, Harbhajan Singh was doing a wonderful job, strangling the runs. He was rewarded for his efforts with the wicket of Mahela Jayawardene. The former skipper fell to a tame dismissal when he lofted a long hop straight into the hands of a floating short mid-on. Sharma, who had a woeful first spell, then came back to dent the Lankans further with a double blow. He had the dangerous Thilina Kandamby bowled and Suraj Randiv caught behind off successive deliveries. Jadeja then continued his good work trapping Nuwan Kulasekara lbw and cleaning bowling Ajantha Mendis as the Lankan innings drew to a close. From 165/1, the visitors miraculously collapsed to 239 all out.

For the Lankans to stay in the game, early wickets were essential. However, a whirlwind start by stand-in skipper Sehwag (44) ensured the nerves were settled in the Indian dressing room. Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh also made useful contributions, but it was Tendulkar who saw India through till the end in the company of Karthik (36*). On most days, such a performance would have been enough to earn Tendulkar the man of the match, but on this day it was undeniably Jadeja whose performance stood out.

Mitchell Johnson and Doug Bollinger made excellent use of the early morning moisture on the Guwahati pitch as Australia crushed India by 6 wickets in the 6th one-day international, and in the process clinched the series 4-2. Johnson picked up three wickets while Bollinger claimed his maiden five-wicket haul to bowl India out for a paltry 170. Matters could have been worse for the home side, but for defiant half-centuries from Ravindra Jadeja and Praveen Kumar. They had crumbled to 27/5 and then 75/7 before the Jadeja and Kumar combined to add a valuable 74 for the eighth wicket. In reply, Australia lost Shaun Marsh early, but handy contributions from the remaining batsmen saw them through easily.

Earlier in the day, MS Dhoni won the toss and decided to bat first – a decision which he was left ruing within 15 minutes of the game. Mitchell Johnson, who had a horrendous series before the game, came into his own on a pitch that offered him more than a semblance of assistance. Though Virender Sehwag smashed the second delivery of the game for six over point, he was cleaned up the left-arm seamer in the same over with a fuller delivery. The Indian opener’s defence stood thoroughly exposed as his attempted drive saw his stumps ending up in shambles. In came Gautam Gambhir and, in a matter of minutes, out went Gambhir. The left-handed batsmen tried to play one across the line on the on side, but the ball moved in the opposite direction and sent the furniture behind him cart-wheeling. Soon, Johnson sent back sometimes in-form, sometimes out-of-form Suresh Raina with a slower delivery that the youngster failed to pick and handed a simple catch to short mid-on.

At the other end, Bollinger was in his elements too. Amidst all the havoc wreaked by Johnson, he began by sending back the danger man Sachin Tendulkar, caught and bowled off a straightish delivery. Next man Yuvraj Singh was dismissed rather freakishly. Unaware of where the ball had landed up after playing a defensive stroke, Yuvraj turned around in place his bat inside his crease. Unfortunately, the ball was still in motion at that very place and the meeting the willow saw it end up dislodging the bails.

As if India weren’t embarrassed enough, Bollinger returned for two more spells and had an equally damaging impact. He broke a steadily developing partnership between Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja. The Indian skipper was a tad unlucky as he was adjudged lbw off a delivery that was going to miss the off-stump. But this was Bollinger’s day. He got his much-deserved fifth wicket when Jadeja went for an ambitious on-side wallop in the batting power play just after completing his half-century. Some meaty blows by Kumar ensured India gained a degree of respectability before Shane Watson cleaned up the tail.

Australia did not have too much trouble in their chase. There was a brief flutter when Ponting and Waston fell after a steadying partnership. But the Indian bowlers did not have enough runs to play with. In the end, it was a deserving win for the Aussies.

The heartbreak at Hyderabad will rankle the Indians just as much as the loss in the Chennai Test against Pakistan a decade ago. It was a match India should have won considering they had six wickets in hand and just over 50 to get. But they blew it away rather embarrassingly and the last few minutes of game proved why they do not deserve to be the number one team in the world. The frenetic running between the wickets was absolutely pathetic, and that is to put it mildly; Ravindra Jadeja’s run-out was symptomatic of the Indian effort, if you take out Sachin Tendulkar and the contribution Suresh Raina to an extent.

The defeat will once again raise questions regarding Sachin not being a finisher despite the fact that he scored more than 50 per cent of the runs in the chase. However, it was clearly the younger brigade which let India down. The fact that Raina doesn’t know how to pull has been demonstrated in his dismissals umpteen times, yet he keeps playing that fatal stroke at inopportune moments. And Thursday’s dismissal is one he would not like to remember, but one is sure he won’t be able to forget it soon considering it ended up costing India the match. Time and again, Raina has looked good enough to take India to the finishing line. However, he’s been a failure on most occasions.

Similarly, Jadeja had another great opportunity to become a hero, only to squander it away with some nonsensical play. His charge down the pitch when the ball hadn’t gone anywhere but straight to the fielder was a clear indication that he couldn’t handle the pressure out in the middle. And the Aussies pounced on him and every chance they got to mow down the Indians. Praveen Kumar’s six in the dying moments did give India hope. Unfortunately, the earlier batsmen had just left him with a little too much to achieve.

What hurt India most was there was only one partnership of note, which took them to the doorsteps of victory, but was broken just as the Aussies were beginning to run out of ideas. Virender Sehwag cannot be blamed on this occasion, since he had not option but to go after the bowlers right from the start. However, chasing such a mammoth target, India desperately needed at least two out of Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni to fire. That did not happen and if India still got so tantalizingly close to the target, it was only due to Sachin’s efforts. He has to ask himself though whether he needs such stressful times at this stage of his career.

India have now lost two consecutive matches chasing. Remember they came into the series with a strong batting line-up as their strength and have faced what can be termed as an efficient bowling line-up at best considering the number of injured players in the Australian side. This certainly doesn’t augur well for the home side. Their bowling too struggled at Hyderabad, however that had more to do with the pitch. The loss though has to be attributed to a total lack of mental application by the batters, especially towards the end when a cool head would have done the trick.

There was little going against India in the fourth ODI at Mohali. They won the toss, got the better of the bowling conditions, restricted Australia to an easily achievable target and even put up an unexpected sparking performance in the field. Yet, they ended up on the losing side. It can only be put down to a complacent effort by their batsmen on a pitch where the ball was coming on to the bat very nicely till the very end. All India needed was a reasonable score from one of their top order batsmen and decent contributions from a couple of the others and they would have cantered home rather easily. Not only have the home side squandered a rare opportunity to go 3-1 up against Australia, they have also given the ‘wounded’ Aussies a new lease of life in the tournament. And we all know how dangerous they can get once they smell blood.

The entire Indian batting line-up needs to be held responsible for the defeat, may be with the exception of Virender Sehwag, who, it seems, has been given the license (or may be he has taken it himself) of going after every delivery. While it has been absolutely entertaining to watch him taking on the bowlers, how the Indians would wish he can carry on a bit longer. It’s not all that difficult for the man. Asking him to change his natural style would only backfire on India; if only he can be slightly judicious in his shot selection in the remainder of the series, Australia’s woes would be compounded to magnanimous proportions. As it is they are struggling to put together a fit XI. The Indians cannot get a better opportunity to put it across the Aussies, something they have failed to do in a long time at home against the world champions.

Sri Lanka recently sent out the message to the veteran Sanath Jayasuriya that his spot in the ODI team is not guaranteed anymore, unless he performs with some degree of consistency. It may be too early, but the same principle must also apply to Sachin Tendulkar. He hasn’t crossed 50 in any of the four ODIs and the poor decision he got at Mohali cannot be considered as an excuse. The Indian team management must ask itself and Sachin the tough put pertinent question – will he still be around when the 2011 World Cup comes. One is not querying Sachin’s commitment, but it has been often proved in recent times that his splitting the Gambhir-Sehwag combo has harmed the team’s chances.

Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja are still young, yet they need to learn sooner rather than later. What is disappointing is that they aren’t really making a concerted effort to dig themselves in when the team needs. Kohli played an expansive stroke before getting set, whereas Jadeja ran himself out needlessly. Suresh Raina has been on the international circuit for a couple of seasons now and he, more than the other youngsters, needs to put his hand up and lead the brigade of the young guns. When he made his comeback last year, he stroked some sparking centuries. Even though against minnows, the tons made one believe that he was ready to climb up the ladder. That though is yet to happen and, like Rohit Sharma, Raina too will face exclusion unless he performs soon.

A lot to improve upon for India as they head into the next game. The hosts would have reclaimed the top spot had they beat the Aussies at Mohali. But considering their disappointing performance, it is clear that they are not yet ready to take over the numero uno slot.