Match 2: India Vs England : A Cliff Hanger

The England India match at Bangalore ended in a tie, much to the disappointment of Indian fans. India won the toss and elected to bat. Riding on superlative century from Sachin (His 47th) India ended up with a mammoth 338 in 50 overs. Though they were set for something in excess of 360 but the last six wickets fell for only 33 Runs. However India would have fancied their chances defending 338. Well 9 out of 10 times they would. They were surprised by another superlative innings in the form of Andrew Strauss (158). His batting was such that India looked totally down and out and England were cruising towards an easy victory. India then clawed their way back when Zaheer picked a few wickets in a short span. England now looked down and out with 29 runs required with 2 wickets in hand and all recognised batsmen back in the pavilion. Chawla was given the ball at this stage and he was hammered for 15 runs. 14 Runs were required of the last over. England made 13 of this over from Munaf and the match tied.
Brief Scores: (India 338- Sachin 120,Yuvraj 58: Bresnan 48/5 AND England 338 - Strauss 158, Bell 69:Zaheer 64/3)
Indians were lucky to see this match tie. Strauss and Bell made the chase look easy. They were sitting pretty at 281/2. Even the India fielders had thrown the towel. Then two wickets fell in two balls which changed the game in India's favors. One should agree that it was a placid pitch. Nothing much for the bowlers and the dew factor made it all the more difficult for the bowlers. All is still not lost for India. Yeah, some serious thought has to be brought into our bowling giving away more than 600 runs in two matches. Fielding looks pathetic. India has to lift their game from here on. We can’t expect our batting to win us games all the time. Defending 338, we took them lightly and paid the price. I don’t think we bowled that badly. The Pitch had nothing in it for them. It’s a known fact that there is no fire power in our bowling. In such placid pitches, I believe there is no need to have that extra batsman because he would hardly get a chance to bat. Even if he does, he gets to bat only the last few balls. More than an extra batsman, situation now demands for a genuine 5th Bowler. This applies especially on placid pitches.
India now taken on Ireland in their next match. Since they would be playing again on this same pitch, its worth going for that extra bowler. Preferably Nehra. All the very best team India

Match 1 : India Vs Bangladesh : Bangla Tigers blown away by Sehwag storm

India avenged its 2007 World Cup defeat by beating Bangladesh in its first match this world cup played at Mirpur, Bangladesh. The highlight of the game was blistering centuries from Sehwag (175) and Virat Kohli (100 N.O) and a disciplined bowling performance from Munaf Patel (4 for 48). After losing the toss, India ensured that they batted BD out of the game by setting them a mammoth 371 to win
Brief Scores are: India 370/4 (Sehwag 175, Kohli 100*) and Bangladesh (Tamim Iqbal 70, Shakib 55; Munaf 4/48)

I totally failed to understand why Dhoni went in with three fast bowlers in Zaheer,Munaf and Sreesanth. Going by the history of the ground, Shakib al hassan did the mistake of inviting India to bat first. With no grass or movement in the pitch, he literally played into India's hands. With the strong batting line-up it was more easier for India to pile runs first up. Anything less than 300 would have been disappointing. Infact the total was so huge that the dew factor hardly mattered. Sehwag looks to be a completely different batsman now. Being patient is his new virtue. Not getting perturbed by some short balls or those going passed the outside edges. It's a big positive factor to this already mighty lineup. Hopefully he continues to bat this way in the remaining games. Batting of Virat Kohli has reached a totally different level. Suddenly he seems to stand tall against the likes of Yuvraj,Raina and even Gambhir. He is seen as the most consistent performer of late. What stands out in his batting is his ability to deliver when matters and see it thru to the end. In this match too he matched sehwag stroke be stroke. Chasing 370 was next to impossible for BD on any track. However they kept up their chase and did not give-up until the very end. Munaf's bowling was inspirational. For me, Sreesanth should have played his last game in this world cup. He did was he does best. Give runs in plenty which he did (53 in 5 overs). Zaheer as usual was brilliant. A bit of concern though with regards to the fifth bowler. Yusuf and Yuvraj both went for more than 6 an over.
India now play their next match against a slightly stronger opponent in England. Chawla should be coming-in for Sreesanth. India should adopt a proper game plan against two visible threats. One, to counter KP's onslaught at the start and play Swan tactfully especially since they have never played him before. Offcourse there is trott too, who is the best batsman on current form. All the best team India. Go for it.

World Cup Cricket 2011 - A Curtain Raiser

The biggest cricket Extravanganza is on its way in the form of World Cup 2011. This season makes an exciting watch for more than one reason. This could be the last world cup for the batting Maestro Sachin Tendulkar. There are no clear cut favourites this time as Australia are no more the team they were before.
India looks strong on paper but weak on form. Middle order has not performed lately. Kohli and Pathan are the only batsmen who are comming to this worldcup with runs behind them. Fast bowling department looks pathetic. Nehra and Munaf are totally out of sorts. Sreesanth can best be described as unreliable. Zaheer Khan carries the maximum responsiblity in this entire team. All depends on how quickly he provides the initial break throughs. I can read the opposition score to be 60-70 runs in 10 Overs with this bowling lineup. Dhoni should not hesitate to bring on the spinners inside the first 5 overs.

By saying a lot depends on Sachin, is an understatement. He single handedly took us to the 2003 finals. I hope he repeats the same magic with his bat. He should aim to bat close to 40 overs and others to rally around him. He along with Zaheer are the men who can do it for india consistently. However i beleive it was a bad strategy on his part to sit out on almost all the One Day matches in the last one year. It will take him atleast a few games to settle down before getting used to play a long innings. Sehwag is talking about playing full 50 overs. Looks like he wants a role reversal with Sachin. He should play his natural game. Though he is in hot form in Test cricket,but not so much in the One Dayers. Gambhir and Kohli have shown lots of promise and maturity. They can mould their innings according to the situation. High hopes rests on them. The form of Dhoni, Raina and Yuvraj would be the make or break for India. They are the genuine match winners for India. Especially Yuvraj. His form is the greatest worry. No matter how well Sachin,Gambhir or Kohli plays it all depends on how good Dhoni or Yuvraj or Raina finishes. Even if one of them is in form then there is no beating team India. It would be exciting to watch Yusuf Pathan in this world cup. A few fire Works are expected of him. Even a 30-40 Runs from him could make a huge difference to the side's total. This could be a make or break series for him because i still believe he has to prove himself on a few more ocassions to ensure that his last couple of heroics were no fluke. We can expect Harbhajan too to lift a few games for us through his batting prowess. There is some assurances in the Spin department. Their role is more crucial at games where india is looking at defending small totals. Let me do a SWOT analysis on team india

Strengths: Presence of Sachin Tendulkar, Quality in spin attack
Weakness : Running between wickets, Fast bowling department
Opportunities : Home Conditions, Sufficient time for lack of form players to be back on track before the knock out stages
Threats: Dhoni's Luck with the Toss, Bangladesh

Let me have a look at the other teams too.
Bangladesh is a much improved team now and they are playing most of their matches at home. So expect them to throw some surprises. They may be the fourth team to qualify for the Quarters. Man to watch - Tamim Iqbal,Abdur Razzak
England have made an exciting move by promoting KP as an opener. Excellent Move infact. This will enable the team to have brisks starts but they have a weak middle order. Interesting to see Swan bowl. He will surely win a few matches on his own. Men to watch - KP & Swan
Australia: This world cup would be exciting just because of the fact that this team is no more a potent side they were in 2007. They can be beaten. Lee and Tait are players to watch out for. Though the later can go for runs. Batting is heavily reliant on Ponting. Watson has matured as a complete cricketer of late. For me he looks to be the player of the tournment because of his ability to bowl as well. Men to Watch - Watson,Lee
Srilanka: looks to be a very good side because of the fact that they play at home. They have destructive batsman in Dilshan who provides the fireworks at the start,Sangakara to see them through the middle overs and Angelo mathews to propel them at the dearth. They have a good bowling attack in Malinga and Murali. Men to watch: Dilshan, Murali
Pakistan: are the dark horses. Misbah is their hope. Younis Khan their next best. Razzak can be a match winner on his day. Inconsistency is what will do them in. Men to watch : Misbah,Razzak
South Africa: A Balanced side among all the teams. They slighly fall behind in their spin department.Steyn is their Bowling spearhead. Batting looks rock solid with Kallis, Devilliers & Dumminy.
Men to watch: Steyn , Dumminy
Nothing much to right about teams like West Indies and New Zealand. They are failing misreably as a unit. I hope they do not prove me wrong.
All the very best Team India, Go for it.