Australian tour going England way

The Australia tour is turning out the England way. The maiden win is elusive and the pattern of defeats is disheartening from the fact that the Indian team is just not showing up the fight or desire to fight. The excuses are readymade and put up after every debacle. Rain in T20 defeat, the pitch in first 3 Tests and lack of fight in the 4th one. Seniors were the scapegoat for the Tests whitewash, who’d be the scapegoat for the T20I whitewash, which is a game away.

The new folks have arrived, the likes of Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina and of course Lord Ravinder Jadeja, the next IPL multi-millionaire.  A lot of noise was made on why Rohit Sharma was not played in Tests especially in Adelaide when Lax was having disaster of time in the middle. He was supposed to be the god sent savior to the losing Indian side. Unfortunately he didn’t have any magical wand that could have turned the defeatist attitude, lack of fight to a winning one. He lasted a ball and was bowled to the daddy of international cricket,  Brad Hogg first ball.

The selection of the playing XI was ridiculous:

• No Zaheer Khan or Irfan Pathan in the playing XI. The seamers who played were Praveen Kumar and Vinay Kumar. One was returning from injury lay-off, the second one was exposed in Test in Adelaide, yet somehow he continues to find a place in XI.  He bowled decent enough, but not good enough to justify his continued selection in the team. No pace, no variation, no skills. Vinay Kumar for you,  the reason that seems he is in the team is just cos of South Indian lobby that now (Chennai, to be precise) rules Indian cricket.

• Ravinder Jadeja at 7.  He is deemed to be a person who gives the team as balance. Balance as in a bowling allrounder or batting allrounder?  He concedes 23 runs in 2 overs, he makes 7 runs and saves a few. Saving and making still fall short of conceding. So where is the balance?  He cannot contribute when needed and often plays when all is lost (like he did in England T20).  MS Dhoni is in awe of him and that is harming the team.

• R Ashvin.  Supposedly new age bowler who can bowl anytime, the bowler who can do no wrong. He proved his worth for CSK in IPL and CLT20, but when it came for impact on international stage, he froze. He continued bowling full tosses and down the leg side. Easy meat for someone like David Warner to display their switch hit skills.  The only reason he still plays every game and Harbhajan doesn’t is he is from Chennai and represents Chennai Super Kinks whose captain, owner and brand ambassador occupy strong posts in Indian board.

• Virender Sehwag is fast turning out to be a flat track bully. I hate to say this, as I still feel he is a great, but he has done his reputation no justice on this tour.

• Gautam Gambhir and Kohli would probably rue the way they got out and their dismissals gave Australia an opening that was match winning in the final context of the game.

• And MSD, the man who once could do nothing wrong, now can do nothing right.  He has been stubborn, defensive, defeatist and strangely passive and switched off from the proceedings. When Ashvin got hit for runs in 2nd over, he still found himself bowling 3rd over in trot.  Ashvin completed his quota before 10th over was bowled and that suggests the blind faith of MS in him and also a glaring proof of being stubborn and close to experimenting.  Rahul Sharma was introduced late in the attack and he did impress in bits and pieces.

• Part time spinners might work in India, but not in Australia.  And there were plenty of them. When the runs were scored, there was no pace around to put some brakes and get some wickets. Only options available were Raina or Jadeja or Sharma who might grab wickets in India, but would be hit for runs elsewhere.  I don’t get the fascination for part timers for Indian captains off late.  Ganguly did use part timers but they had some quality – Yuvraj, Sachin and Sehwag then did use to take wickets and break partnerships. Jadeja actually gifts away runs, easy runs to the opposition. He might have got few wickets against England, but then who wouldn’t against England? They are such pitiful spin players. And based of that success, he finds himself part of every limited overs team India puts up.

The patience is long running thin and unless there is a drastic change in the mindset of the captain and the team, the fans would be forced to switch off  from watching the games. I spoilt my night yesterday sacrificing 5 hours of sleep to watch the flop show of the team who once was world champion in this format.

What an irony, the team of country that hosts the richest T20 league in the world, doesn’t have players who can combine as a team and win games consistently.  The top 7 of this team or top  8 are star players for their respective franchisees in IPL, but in the Indian team they are zilch contributors.  That makes the fans pose questions on the mindset and attitude of this players – do they really want to play for India to win or just turn up and grab their booty from BCCI and not bother to show up a fight.

I think the latter one is fast turning out to be a reality and unless addressed soon, the IPL would become a monster who would be hated more than it is loved.

Indore ODI

Cricket returns to the Holkar land once again after 3 years. In a new stadium, first day nighter ever in the history of city famous for its eating culture. Called as Mini Mumbai, given the diversity it has in its population and also famed for its poha jalebi world wide, Indore has hosted few ODIs on the older and pathetic Nehru stadium before. I had a chance to watch 3 of those ODIs, Australia playing in all of those,Steve Waugh playing in all of those. 1987 World Cup ODI, Aus vs NZ, 1996 Titan Cup Aus vs SA and 2001 India vs Aus when Tendulkar scored yet another ODI 100 and reached 10000 run milestone.

India goes in the 4th ODI as favorites despite losing the 3rd game which they should not have. And they are 1 win away from taking the series. Previous 2 ODIs on this new ground (Holkar stadium, much apt given the Holkars have ruled this city before Freedom and  the Ranji team has had a glorious past), India beat England twice. Sreesanth took a 6-for in 2006 and Robin Uthappa made best Indian ODI debut then.

India's top order has been sluggish with lack of runs for Sehwag, Gambhir and Patel. Patel has been a disappointment and he is hampering the run flow on the top. Expected to bat longer or provide brisk start, he has failed to provide both. Him batting on top means Gambhir continues to bat at 3, his World Cup slot. He has failed to score much runs at 3. I think he should move back on the top as in the future he would be opening once again with Sehwag, now that we know Tendulkar would not play any ODI in the future.

And so does Sehwag who has been off color with the bat this series.

And so does Suresh Raina who was in prolific form in Ranji, but has no runs in ODIs.

Rohit Sharma is in pristine form, Kohli has got runs, but besides 2 no other batsman is so confident to take the team through.

The bowling attack is confused once again. Umesh Yadav is flying to Australia early, so he isnt playing remaining 2 ODIs.  Vinay Kumar is so flummoxed in the slog overs when hit that he forgets how to bowl yorkers. 99 runs in 2nd ODI and then 73 in last 5 in 3rd one say pitiful figures about this useless lad from Karnataka, once famed for providing 2 of best modern day bowlers to India (Srinath and Kumble).  Irfan Pathan is back for two ODIs and it is heartening to see him back. And if he gets a chance to play and he performs, nothing better than that.

Ideally he should have been on the plane to Australia for tests, but again some cryogenic freeze in Srikanth's non existent brain made a nod to Abhimanyu Mithun ahead of Pathan. Now the pace attack in Australia reads Yadav, Aaron, Mithun, Sharma and provisional Zaheer Khan. So if the latter 2 break down, the 3 inexperienced lads are expected to take 20 wickets for India along side IPL Ashvin 'who cant run sala' and Pragyan Ojha. All of whom test experience hardly adds to 50 tests.

India needs its openers (Sehwag, Gambhir) and Raina to fire immediately and seal the series in Indore, which has been a happy hunting ground for India in last 5 years.

Leaving anything to the 5th ODI would just make things difficult and India wont want to lose a home ODI series in land where it was crowned World Champions 8 months back.

India's through to the semifinals

Australia's World cup run has ended. And in what a style. India was the team who did it. They have twice ended their run of 17 tests wins and now 12 years of unbeaten World cup run has been ended by the team called India. 

None gave India the chance to beat Australia today given the way they played in the league games. League games saw India taking few games easy and most of the experts called India a undeserving favorites. 

India has never thumped minnows. Thats Lankan speciality. India is known to beat big teams. Australia to be precise. The quality that two teams produce is of highest order. No half measures. Emotions run high, banters and everybody gives more than 100%. 

Everybody within the 2 teams want to win and not give an inch to the other team. And probably thats the reason why Tests or ODIs between this 2 teams are sparkling and intense. 

Today's game was no different. It saw Ricky Ponting ending his century draught. It saw Indians fielding the best in the entire tournament. It saw MSD handling his bowlers too well and rarely earning plaudits from the pundits in the commentary box. 

Tendulkar was at his imperious best before walking yet again. Gambhir was furious when he was out run out in the 3rd attempt, but that was his fault. Yuvraj replied to his anger saying he is not Viru and  they havent batted together that much. Point taken. 

India committed harakiri but then Yuvraj the man came to the fore yet again. What a world cup he is having. 341 runs and 12 wickets with 4 MoM awards. He is India's man of the moment. Not too long ago his commitment was questioned and so was his place and attitude. He's replied to every one those who questioned him. 

Virat Kohli continues to be an ass finding newer ways to get out. MSD continued his wretched run and when he departed at 187 the match was boiling towards Aussies but then in came Raina and the next 2 overs that got us 27 runs changing the equation dramatically in India's favor. 

Think about the commitment of Bret Lee. He was injured on head just above left / right eye and yet he bowled last 2 overs. He wanted to win it. But India had some other plans.  India are through to their 5th semifinal and 3rd one at home. This time they should go one step better. Beat Pakistan and go through to the finals. 

Today was that day when everything went right for India -- the fielding, bowling and batting. Ashvin took 2 wickets. How many runs did he give ? 52. Did he turn the ball square? How many wickets he got with peach of a ball ? Wild slogs both time to get Ponting and Watson.  He has not done any better than Chawla.

India have to think about Munaf what to do about this guy. He is listless, needless and useless. Anybody can hit him for runs. He doesnt take wickets, he cant field and he is even lax on the field.  Either play Nehra or get in Sreesanth. 

Today's win provides an deep feeling of satisfaction. India has come to full elements. And it would take huge effort from Pakistan to stop India from playing finals.  But thats for another day. 

Ponting has had his moments under sun for 12 years in World cups  but now its time for new champion. New team to take the reins. And hopefully it would be India, for the consistent run it has shown in ODIs post 2008.

Wooohooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo we are in semis. 

Looking back at the moral sapping defeat to SA

So India lost the first game of the tournament and in an insipid style.  In a way it was good they didnt deserve to win after spineless performance from the lower middle order and the middle order.

Yuvraj Singh attempted what he does the best -- hit successfully, but Saturday wasnt his day. MSD has forgot to hit fours and sixes and like dogs he scratches around and then stands infurirated and gives some spectacularly inefficient statements in the press. Yusuf Pathan is a mug and he shines occasionally to seal his spot for next few games. He has never delivered when needed the most. The best he can do now is to focus on IPL career. No more needed in the world cup.

He is useless in all departments. Cant bat, cant bowl, cant field.

Same goes for Virat Kohli. After that opening 100, he has faltered away. He has been bowled, caught & bowled, run out in last 4 games. What was he attempting on Saturday is best answered by him.

Coming to the fielding, it was the best display in the tournament unforunately didnt come good. Munaf Patel continued to be lax and listless with ball and field. Do we really need him? He is too passive and Sreesanth is too charged up. Extreme characters in the team.

He leaked runs in 48th over in England game too and here again. Both times he got the opposition in the game again after Zaheer Khan and Harbjhajan respectively had got India back into the game.

Foolish stuff.

Ashish Nehra, I guess his India career is almost good as over. No imagination, no yorkers like Zak and no wickets. Giving last over to him was a big mistake. Well if he did manage to get RP out and somehow stop 13 runs from being leaked, India could have hailed him as hero. But he did a good favor to the side by leaking 18 runs to a tail ender.

India needed this defeat at this stage and hopefully after the 8 day break they shall come out all guns blazing. The quarters scnario would be clear by then. They shall know what they'd need to do to go through should there be some upsets in this next few days.

Hopefully they will learn something from the games so far and make some changes in the personnel :

Suresh Raina for Virat Kohli in his IPL home ground

R Ashvin for Munaf Patel in his home and IPL home ground

May be Sreesanth for Nehra

Sreesanth is drama queen / king, is erractic and all the negative things, but only one thing he's got what others in the pace department dont have -- PACE. And if he is ready to play in the team cause and not let his emotions get better of him, he can very well turn out to be surprise package for West Indies.  But dont know predictions dont always come true in Indian team combination.

There is a very little chance India might not make it to the final 8.

The remaining games are:

SA vs Ireland : SA expected to win and get 8 points

WI vs England : England need to win this to stay afloat. if they do they shall end up with 7 points.  If they lose, they are out and BD go in. India also go in.

SA vs Bangladesh :  SA should win this and top the group with 10.  If BD win they go through and if SA lose this one they should still make it provided they dont lose to Ireland.

India vs WI : If India lose to WI and BD win their other game vs SA and WI lose to England they could go out depending on how bad they lose. If India win they end up 2nd in the group and go through.

I guess the turning point in Saturday's game were:

1. 9 for 29 in 9

2. One additional over for Zaheer in batting power play where he leaked 17 runs and if he was saved for last over, he could have got India 2 points.

3. Nehra over Harbhajan

Hopefully this was the bottom India saw and hereon they shall rise to the occasion and not squander the 100s from Tendulkar and starts from Delhi dashers.

India win but Irish get respect enhanced

An escape from the jail and a self inflicted trouble waned away by the typical Pathan act and a subdued but solid welcome Yuvaj innings in the end. A target of 208 in 50 overs for a famed batting lineup of India should have been a cakewalk, but the Irish with their gumption, fight and positive attitude made Indians work hard for every run and in the end had the respect quadrupuled many times.

After restricting Irish to 207 and getting the Wednesday hero cheaply Sehwag and Tendulkar should have cakewalked the target instead they chose to inflict themselves a trouble which was not needed.

Gambhir, Sehwag fell to irresponsible shots. Sachin Tendulkar had no business playing that sweep shot to another unfamed spinner. And Virat Kohli fell to another awful mixup. It took the pair of Dhoni and Yuvraj to finally settle the nerves and see off a win that should have been more easy than it appeared.

The bowling was improvement from the England game and Zaheer Khan was as usual best in the lot. Harbhajan was restrictive and Chawla not belonging to where he is.

Its timeup for Chawla in the world cup and either he should make way for Nehra or Ashwin in the next games. 

India play Netherlands next in Delhi and it should be another low, slow wicket there.  May be India should look forward to few changes -- resting Kohli and getting in Raina and dumping Chawla for a pacer or IPL spinner Ashvin.

Irish have proved they are the best associate nation and they would need to continue to participate in the future world cups even when the no of teams are trimmed.

Stand out players:

1. William Porterfield

2. Niall OBrien

3. George Dockrell for claiming MS and Tendulkar.

4. Trent Johnson for claiming Sehwag and bringing back Ireland in the game. If Sehwag was around the match woud have been over by 30th over.

5. Yuvraj Singh for his superb 5/31.

India are now on the top of table and should remain there comfortably until the South African game.

India play Holland next and they would win it. So they would have 7 points. Expectedly the NRR would also go up good enough to go past the England's when they would beat BD on Friday easily.

So when India would play South Africa over the weekend, that should pretty much decide who shall be on the top of the table.  Its over for Bangladesh unless they dont beat SA and England both.

They shall get past Netherlands, but so shall Ireland. West Indies are due to play Ireland and if they beat the Irish they would be all but in the quarters.

May be a lesson for Shakib: Talk less, play big. Play well more. That shall take care of every other question raised on their status. Beating Kiwis and Zimbabwe doesnt mean they would automatically get to the quarters....

India : 370/4

India scored 370 for 4 in 50 overs in their first game in the world cup against now minnows Bangladesh. That is almost the double they scored in 2007 against the same team.  The hero of the game was the man from Delhi, the vice captain of the team -- Virender Sehwag.

A massive 175 off  139 balls and he just missed out on the 200. But he ensured that the match is almost in India's pocket and the revenge is almost over. He is not a man popular in Bangladesh with 2 statements he has made off late. One in 2010 when he said BD are ordinary Test side and two when he said he is looking for the game as  revenge game. 

He ran out Tendulkar in an amateurish mixup, but thereon he took the game in his stride and ensured team crossed 300. He just hit 1 6 before 100 and then hit 4 more in another 75. He injured himself later which otherwise would have seen him go past 200.

Gambhir was at his fluent best until he had a brain freeze and dismissed himself without covering the stumps.

Kohli got a debut 100 too and perhaps he is first Indian to do so. Ganguly made 97 in 99 world cup previous highest. He perhaps has edged out Raina for long time to come unless Yuvraj finds way back to 2010 types form.

Though India looked good to cross 390 mark, they hit less 4s in last 5 overs than they would have liked. Yet 371 is a formidable total and India should not find much difficulty wrapping the game. Yes the idiot mofo Sreesanth is playing, but somebody would need to calm that muppet and ensure he does not leak runs in retail.

BD were horrible with the ball and much of their hopes in chase would depend on how Tamim Iqbal starts. Dont forget Zaheer Khan has a point to prove against him....

A thing about Sharma and Vijay

There are 2 reserve players who are sure shot replacements for every injury or dip of form of the first choice players. They are Mural Vijay from TN and Rohit Sharma from Mumbai. These lads are pretty rich fellows after their exploits in the IPL seasons and they are having hefty bank balances.

The last innings of substance Rohit Sharma played was way back in 2007-08 CB series final when he made 66* against Australia in partnership with Sachin Tendulkar. 

The last innings of any importance M Vijay played was in 2010 October when he made his first Test 100 against Australia at home.

Since 2008 he has been repalcing Sehwag or Gambhir at the top whenever these lads get injured. And off late in ODIs too since he had reasonable IPL3 in 2010.

Have a look at their performances in the ongoing ODI series in SA. None of them have the desire or firepower or the ambition to play for India and to play well. They are getting most of the chances on every replacement. We have the likes of Rahane, Pujara, Pandey, Uthappa and others who play well in domestic cricket. They are reasonable in IPL as well, but the fact is this lads do not have selectorial backing from their region. Sharma had backing of DIlip Vengsarkar, Vijay has Srikanth's backing and Srikanth, DBV were team mates for years in 1980s.

My point is how long this 2 players would get their chances? Isnt it time to show them the door for the time they sort out their temparament, attitude and most importantly find an answer to the question: "do they really want to play for India?"

Its good that they wont play the world cup, else they would have been easy walking wickets.

Last note, on current form Virat Kohli should easily replace Raina in the starting XI.

Raina has had 20 odd innings without a half century and even if we take the fact he is batting mostly at 6, he has not showed the temparament to bat responsibly. He had every thing going his way. He was retained by CSK, he was chosen to play Tests in SL ahead of Yuvraj Singh, he got a debut 100 and then he lost it. He hasnot showed the willpower to claw back to the reckoning by some responsible batting.

Sachin, Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj, Dhoni, Kohli, Pathan, Harbhajan, Zaheer, Praveen, Nehra would be my starting XI for Mirpur.

India's world cup chances brighten up

India are on a roll and having an unbeaten home season first time in memory of all the years I have watched Indian cricket. 2-0 win over Aussies, 1-0 over Kiwis and today's 2-0 lead over Kiwis in ODIs. And this is without the first choice players -- Sehwag, Zaheer, Harbhajan, Dhoni, Ishant, Tendulkar are all rested or missing.

India have been playing some positive brand of cricket after a dismal show in Sri Lanka on dicey useless pitches in august.

And that augurs well for the team ahead given the World Cup is in India itself.

Sreesanth's form in bowling and Gambhir, Kohli's form in batting is a huge bonus.

India's world cup chances look good again!!!

India wins Guwahati game

India won the first ODI in Guwahati by comfortable 40 runs. This margin could have been even bigger one should the 9th wkt partnership of 67 runs had been shortened. Yet next game in Jaipur, the Mallu lad Sreesanth would be on hattrick and if he gets wicket on first ball he would become 2nd bowler to take a ODI hatrrick for India. Kapil being the other one.

India had lot of positives from the game in all the aspects:

• Gambhir looked comfortable batting until he chased a wide delivery that got him out.
• Virat Kohli is soon maturing to a wonderful ODI batsman, with his 2nd consecutive century he is a certainity for the World Cup. He has gone past the likes of Vijay, Rohit Sharma and of course Sir Ravinder Jadeja in the utility to the team.
• R Ashvin was a very good bowler on this day and should he get more chances and he encashes them he would be good wicket taking bowler for India in ODIs.
• All bowlers bowled well in tandem with even Yuvraj Singh coming good with his off spin.

Nehra's ommission from the original squad was baffling and still its not sure if PK returns who would go out. I'd reckon it should be Munaf, as he has not been in the frame all this while and Nehra is India's most successful ODI bowler since June 2009 with 55 wickets in 37 games.

Kiwis now have lost 7 games on the trot in the subcontinental conditions and at this point of time Vettori/Taylor would be a huge fan of Mr Speakit Sangakara who every day gives us a new gyan on the cricketology and latest from his repository is "WC 2011 is going to be most  competitive and there is no clear favorite". So if going by this form, Kiwis are not the favorites for the world cup in subcontinent, but since this would be most open and competitive World Cup, the Kiwis can still surprise anybody. I would be happy if they surprise Sri Lanka every time they play.

Kohli at 7

No 7 slot is sealed.

No Jadeja, No Pathan, No Pathan, just Kohli.

A superb placed and timed 100. Sorry paced.

The line up:

Sehwag

Tendulkar

Gambhir

Yuvraj

Dhoni

Raina

Kohli

4 bowlers

Ojha

Harbhajan

Zaheer

Nehra or

Praveen

Super effort from Kohli. Something the likes of Vijay should learn. Seize the opportunity when it matters.  Playing great in T20s and CLT20s when they dont matter counts for nothing, playing well for country amidst limited opportunities matter and thats what Kohli has done today.

Awesome.

Virat Kohli, #7 go man

The # 7 spot in India's ODI team is up for grabs, the incumbents right now occupying the spots have not inspired any confidence. Yeah the great allrounder Ravinder Jajdeja, the spineless allrounder who cant hit, cant field and cant bowl. Enuf said.

RCB's campaign in CLT20 has thrown up a name we already know and he has in a way redeemed himself after disastrous SL tour.

Virat Kohli, my go man for # 7 spot for now.

Praveen Amre fired for not playing a regional bowler

It has been reported in ToI that Praveen Amre was sacked in the middle of India A tour to England in May and June this year and was replaced by B Arun. This move was initiated by the man in fire : N Srinivasan, the powerful BCCI sec who is also the owner of Chennai Super Kings franchise and perhaps head of TNCA.  He is also at loggerheads with Lalit Modi and is seen as the man behind downfall of Modi from the top position he occupied in the board ranks.

That apart, the reason why Praveen Amre was sacked?  Very much the same which I have thought is behind the sudden influx of Tamil Nadu players in the Indian team as replacements for everything – keepers, batsmen, spinners, bowlers, fielders and waterboys.

Its been said that bunch of Southie players complained to Srini that coach is not playing Ganapathy in the final XI and instead giving chance to Mumbai bowler Dhawal Kulkarni. Dhawal was selected for Indian tour to New Zealand and perhaps he did not play (I don’t remember he did).  Praveen Amre hails from Mumbai too and is one of the famed disciples of Ramakant Achrekar (Sachin being the other).  Pravin Amre had a decent career which began superbly with a debut hundred vs SA in SA. He has had successful coaching stints too with different teams at domestic level.

So if the reports of Amre being sacked on not playing Ganapathy are true, then they reflect to a very serious and a wrong trend in Indian cricket – regional bias and quota system. I have constantly believed that the likes of Dinesh Karthik, Murali Vijay,  R Ashvin, Dabrinath have been in and out of the teams with an alarmed frequency. A look at their performances does not paint a rosy picture though, but they still keep coming in.

Dinesh Karthik is out one series for non performance, he is back next one without doing any substantial. Right now he is playing in SL riding on 66 he made in Asia cup final.  On 10^th, he misfielded, failed with the bat and blah. He would still open with Sehwag on 16^th replacing Virat Kohli. Tough for Delhi lad cos he has had an awesome ODI year in 2010. He has been consistent in batting and is a wonderful fielder. He floats around, makes runs whenever he is in the team. Way better than Dinesh Karthik, who is forever young. He has been around now for 6 years and is just 24. Unbelievable. Where is Ajay Ratra?  Deep Dasgupta? Parthiv Patel? This lads have been redundant now in Indian cricket as the keeper right now is the captain of team in all 3 formats and does not seem to be failing in near future. 

Saurabh Tiwary is travelling since 2 series now and has not played a single game despite hailing from Dhoni’s own state. What does that mean? Is there a diktat to the tour selection committee to play one or 2 Tamil Nadu players every game? Murali was automatic replacement for Gambhir in Tests, Karthik is replacement for Gambhir in ODIs.  Awesome man!!

Cheekanth is into a deep running mission to Tamil Naduise Indian cricket and that would end in a disaster. No offence for anybody from TN, but are the players selected from TN right now worthy of playing? If there are 3 glittering TN players who are playing awesome domestic and A cricket, get them in the team. But don’t get in the failing stars who are just in cos they have Cheekas and Srini backing them up owing to the clout they enjoy in BCCI.

Wishing Karthik and Jadeja fail

The test series is over and the ODIs at Dambulla are back.  A relief that this is going to be the last leg of the series with Sri Lanka in last few years. Its been an unending spree of ODIs and Tests with the Island nation and that’s gone under skin of the normal sane cricket fans.

The Dravids, Laxmans and Tendulakrs are back in the rest mode. In come the usual culprits like Jadeja, Karthik and Ashvin amongst Nehra and Praveen Kumar.  For a change the team on the opposite side is going to be New Zealand without Bazz, Dan and Jesse.

The boring Lankans would be back to play the Dhoni warriors on 16^th, a day after Independence Day.

I don’t have any zeal to blog more on how useless Jadeja, Karthik are. I’d rather wish they fail and India lose so that selectors open their eyes and ground this folks for good. But that’s wishful thinking. I cant imagine the sorry plight of Karthik opening with Sehwag and thus keeping Virat Kohli who’s had a super ODI year 2010 out.

MicroMax conquered

India won a final and Asia MicroMax cup. Wow. Good one. Both are rarity. Asia Cup after 15 years when none of this players debuted for India and when Azharuddin was still the biggest name in Indian cricket.  India won despite making a mess of final 10 overs scoring just 49 runs and losing 1 wkt.  Scarier part of it is to have hit just one boundary. And who hit it ? Our hero Ravinder Jadeja. 

Everybody got starts, none of them made big except Dinesh Bhai.  The 66 he made were at right time. Today the Test selection is due and he would know that one innings of substance means his place for next series is secured. So wont be surprised if he makes the cut into the Test side as well as backup keeper.  Not only Chennai-ites are fan of Dinesh Bhai, but also Chinese and Anon readers who don’t forget to shower their piece of praise in the comments section.

Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina got starts, none made big. 2 of this 3 would go out when Yuvraj and Sachin return.  Amazing to see Jadeja being given chances after chances despite failing with the bat. He was a batsman who could bowl, now he is a bowler who never bats.   He would continue to play and in all probability would be part of World Cup 15. 

Bowling was good. Nehra, Praveen and Zaheer were among wickets. Fielding was decent too.   Nehra showed glimpses of that memorable Durban night of World Cup 2003.

All in all good win for MSD who grabbed 3^rd multinational trophy in as many years (CB in 2008, Compaq in 2009 and Asia Cup in 2010).

Hopefully World Cup in 2011.

Aniruddh Srikanth would be next replacement / reinforcement

Srikanth's croon Vijay was dismissed for 15 and the bearded cheapo also ensured his son got a chance to play the game so that whenever any India bound player gets injured Ani Srikanth would then play for India. 

Very soon you'd find Tamil Nadu players being drafted in Indian team as first choice players and not as replacements for injuries as they are done right now.

Dinesh Karthik would be the captain and Aniruddha Srikanth would be the vice captain then.  

Not so long ago the cheapo had said IPL is not just the criteria for India selection so when it came to replace Sehwag his regional preferences got over his statement and he ignored strong claims of Kohli and Uthappa for the Sehwag slot. Kohli has been the best bat for India in ODIs this year.

But Srikanth has got a myopic vision which does not see beyond the boundary of Tamil Nadu.

Do an Aircel to relaxed lads

Its time to do an AirCel (MoveOn) from this guys from Indian cricket. Yes Indian cricket exists and its not just about the IPL.

So those guys are :

Ishant Sharma from ODIs and T20s.
Dinesh Karthik from all formats
Rohit Sharma from all formats
Piyush Chawla from T20
S Badrinath from all formats

Put Raina, Praveen Kumar on notice that being lax and assured of place in the squad would come with a price and that would be a hefty amount to be paid.

The "in" guys are :

Manish Pandey for ODIs and T20s
Virat Kohli for T20s and Tests
Amit Mishra for ODIs and T20s
Naman Ojha for T20s

If that happens remains to be seen.

Wrong selection again

The return of Rohit Sharma in the team on the back of a triple century in Ranji game depicts how short sighted the  5 wise men of the Indian cricket are. There is a man who has churned out triple centuries like sixes from Viru Sehwag, yet he finds himself on the fringes of the selection.  Then there is a man who is the only Indian to score a hundred in IPL and has imposed himself well in the game, there is another man who has evolved in the ODIs off late.

Despite the stuff this 3 are ignored and Rohit Sharma from Thackerayland is in the team as a cover for VVS. The 3 men I talked above are:

1. C Pujara
2. M Pandey
3. V Kohli

Instead we have Dabri and Rohit Sharma in the team to play Tests. Whats the credibility of Sharma ahead of Kohli ? Kohli has hit 2 hundreds and 3/4 50s in crunch situations helping India win the games. Sharma on the other hand has done nothing of that sort off late.

So why is Sharmaji in and Kohli out ?

Its a dangerous proposition to go in a crucial Test series without Dravid and possibly Laxman and even more dangerous to go in with substitutes like Dabri and Sharma, proven failures in international cricket.  There are likes of Pujara who make runs yet do not get a chance, then there are dudes like Kohli who had attitude problems but when thrown in the middle of the fire come out with even golden streak. Now if this players do not get chance who else would ?

Delihi ki Chandi

ho gayi Bhiyao.

Are bhai 5 log the aaj team me Dilli se.

Veeru, Gambhir, Kohli, Nehra aur Ishant.

Sharmaji ko chod de to  sabhi log accha khel rahe he.  Kohli ne bata dia hai ki bhiya hum aa gaye he top stage par aur hume ab team me khilana padinga.

Aur acchi baat yeh hai is ladke me ki yeh dheer hai. Dheeraj hai. Jadhav nahi. Patience.

To yadi is bande ko thoda groom kare to aage chal ke yeh humare mahaan ballebajo ki jagah le sakta hain.  Mere hisaab se yeh number 4 pe acchi ballebazi kar sakta hai.

Dilli se itne log meri memory me to kabhi nahi aaye.  5 log team me khelna badi baat hai jabki wo Ranji champ bhi nahi hai. Ranji champion Bambai hai and GOD ko chod kar waha se koi nahi hai.

Kuch bhi bolo bhiyao aaj Delhi ke mundo ne bata diya ki chahe jo replace ho jaye des ka cricket surakshit hai aur Lanka jaise adi sadi team hara nahi sakte.

3-2, 4-1, 2-1 and 3-1* yeh scoreline hai Lanka par. Aur 4 saal pahle 5-1. Lol.

Biraat Kohli

PS : A posht in heartland Englis which desi readers wud understend.

haz giben a prablem aff plenty to the Keptain and the koach of Indian team.

End aalso a prablem aff where to fit this guy in and bich pozition ? Who goes out ?  Yubraaj and Dhoni bud return soon then laterz.

DK baba wud go out bonce MS komes beck. So the abvious kendidate to go aff is Sures. Yes you read it right. Kanpur ka chora Sures.

Some kanspiracy theory going aan in the team. After the 2nd ODI, the Sures bay did not bet (bat) any time. Biraat Kohli kame up the arder and betted. And he played bell. Biraat is from the Dilli.  Des's kepital. And the keptain of the team in last 2 ODIs was Beeru, Nazafgarh ka sultaan aur Multaan ka shenshaah, Chennai and Bambai ka dan. (DON).

So Dilli Dilli bhai bhai and Sures ki naak katai.

Sures also gets some pressure naw to perfrarm else go out. He sud take himself seriously now and think ober the T20 cheez. T20 is nat total kireeket. It izz jusht one farmet of the game.  And Biraat's Biraat innings against the Lanka team which houses demons like Sanga and Jayawardhene has sent out a messege  to the team to take him with full Gambhirpan.

So  this izz a good sar dard and matha fodi for Dhoni to hev.  Sirikanth 's agenda is ruled out naw which is to bring the 12th man Boss DK ebery time somebady gets injured / benned. Karthik naw wont kome beck in the team far lang.   And Beeru piromoted his own Dilli da munda and that munda sowed hiz cherecter. Bell cherecter is a word firam Lankan dictionary.  So baat, they hevant patented it. So I barrow it.

Good jab Biraat and Beeru. 

Runathon sets the series on fire

So one more Sehwag century and one more SL loss. Doesnt matter they came  close as good as 3 runs. A defeat is a defeat and unlike Sangakara there is no place for what ifs, could have beens and should have beens. He led the reply to a certain extent, fine. But he was unable to win it for the team.

So the result says India beat SL by 3 runs. Its amazing to see India have nose up the SL's ass in last 2 years. Out of last 13 games India has won 9 and lost just 4. Out of this 9, 8 wins have come in SL. So its a good comeback after the humiliating defeat in WC'07.

The figures of 0/88 in 10 for Zaks Khan doesnt reflect the super yorkers he bowled in the last overs which saw Kandamby, the modern day Ranatunga in every aspect -- running, laziness and getting run out :) and Mathews choke and get run out.

SL have got their batting order wrong. Jayasuriya has no business coming at 4 ahead of Jayawardhena. He should be batting at the top. Period.

Ok enough of SL bashing. Good for this post.

India has to sort out its middle order woes in absence of Yuvraj Singh.  309-1 to 352-6 in 5 overs is not something India would always prefer to have.

Rainas and Kohlis have to understand one thing that their IPL heroics aint going to give them the leeway for much longer in the international games.  Raina heads close to 2000 runs, but then he has been playing for more than 4 years now and hasnt attained the maturity he is supposed to.

Dhoni and himself made debut in space of 8 months in ODIs and the place where they stand today are poles apart.  Raina got 2 hundreds against weaker teams and besides that he has a bare cupboard. The 81 he made in England ODI series in 2006 is the only bright spot for him. Either side of that wretched period when Chappell ruined Raina's career, he has been unable to lift himself.

Gambhir at 4 isnt a suitable option for him. He has to be at 3 or opening. But with Ten playing he has to play one down. Dhoni did a good job but did that affect Gambhir's confidence ?

All in all 825 runs have set the bar a bit high from what it was before. 650 runs was considered huge in 90s and now with the end of 2000's first decade, the 800 runs isnt even safe benchmark.

T20s seem to spur the run rate for ODIs which had spurred the Tests run rates last decade with mighty Australians setting the trend. One format fuels the other and they say one format is dangerous for other.

Good start to the ODIs, but spare a thought for bowlers and of course Sangakars who seems to be coming with syllables and jargons with every game.

"Most of the time you can roll over and die chasing over 400, but we almost made".

Bachaooooooooooooooooo.