Well it would not be a surprise for any team to have pulled off a stunning win against any team in T20 games. Mumbai Indians might have been the team that was on the top in the third edition of the Indian Premier League that was concluded some 5 months back. But, how can it consider itself comfortable with just 180 on board with 200+ totals being successfully chased down repeatedly. There should not be anything peculiar in any team that is found chasing 180 on board. Despite all odds, on fact to be noticed is that the Mumbai Indians' team didn't have even a single score above 50.
Well, that is not an area of concern for either of the teams out there. At the end of the day it is who wins and who loses and South Australia have made the better of the day by beating the Mumbai Indians by 5 wickets rather deserving. Unlike the Mumbai Indians' inings, the South Australian team had their openers post individual scores in excess of 50 with Michael Klinger and Daniel Harris scoring 50 and 56 respectively. By the end, Daniel Harris was awarded the man of the match for scoring just 6 runs above his opening partner which can seem to be a race for that as well.
There were no other contenders for the man of the match award with no bowler managing to take more than 2 wickets. Ali Murtaza and Lasith Malinga happened to top the bowling charts with two scalps against their names each with Aaron O'Brien doing the same for the South Australians. But these performances were not able to fetch either of the three the man of the match award with little coming from the willow and obviously the preference going to them. Despite a run rate of 9 an over, there were hardly any individual batting performances from both the teams.
Showing posts with label Zaheer Khan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Zaheer Khan. Show all posts
Wednesday, 15 September 2010
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Selection only partly responsible for India's loss
Well the moment India lost their first test match to South Africa, the first person to whom all the fingers pointed towards happens to be the selection committee, followed by the captain and in some cases the coach. I don't think that anyone reading this post needs to be reminded specially that cricket is a team sport unlike badminton and table tennis. It was of course not a good selection when someone like Saha, Badrinath and Abhimanyu the included in the squad. If the scorecard of the match is given a close look at, Badrinath and Saha did play upto expectations and Abhimanyu was not included in the playing XI.
Not much was expected from Saha and Badrinath but, they did live upto expectations when Badrinath scored 56 in the first innings that included a 40 run partnership along with Sehwag in the first innings. Later on in the second innings, Saha had his say when he scored 36 runs and stood for 150 balls or 30 overs and almost 2 hours at the crease. All these despite not guaranteed a place in the coming test. Even Murali Vijay was pretty decent with the bat when he scored 32 runs in the second innings. Most of the damage was first done by the bowlers when they let the South African bowlers cut loose.
It is justified the way the Indian bowlers despite playing in the home conditions could allow the South African batsmen not only to pile up 556 runs on the board but also allow a 300+ run partnership between Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis. If there were no Laxman & Dravid in the squad, there were Sachin, Sehwag, Dhoni and Gambhir who could have solved the issue related to batting. Of course, Sehwag and Tendulkar came up with hundreds in the 1st and the 2nd innings respectively. But, Dhoni and Gambhir were absolute failures with the bat in the Nagpur test.
In the bowling department, if not for Zaheer Khan's first spell in the first innings, even he was not upto the mark and so were the other bowlers viz Harbhajan, Ishanth Sharma and Amit Mishra. The bowling department indeed requires some or a lot of refinement. For, someone like Sehwag had to bowl as a full time bowler and that too in a test match under the conditions where the South African batsmen were in full bloom. Luckily Sehwag got a wicket which is a different issue altogether. No matter what the first test squad had to say but, the inclusion of someone like Raina and Sreesanth would be just another blunder for, the former is a new comer to tests and the latter battles injuries most of the time.
Not much was expected from Saha and Badrinath but, they did live upto expectations when Badrinath scored 56 in the first innings that included a 40 run partnership along with Sehwag in the first innings. Later on in the second innings, Saha had his say when he scored 36 runs and stood for 150 balls or 30 overs and almost 2 hours at the crease. All these despite not guaranteed a place in the coming test. Even Murali Vijay was pretty decent with the bat when he scored 32 runs in the second innings. Most of the damage was first done by the bowlers when they let the South African bowlers cut loose.
It is justified the way the Indian bowlers despite playing in the home conditions could allow the South African batsmen not only to pile up 556 runs on the board but also allow a 300+ run partnership between Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis. If there were no Laxman & Dravid in the squad, there were Sachin, Sehwag, Dhoni and Gambhir who could have solved the issue related to batting. Of course, Sehwag and Tendulkar came up with hundreds in the 1st and the 2nd innings respectively. But, Dhoni and Gambhir were absolute failures with the bat in the Nagpur test.
In the bowling department, if not for Zaheer Khan's first spell in the first innings, even he was not upto the mark and so were the other bowlers viz Harbhajan, Ishanth Sharma and Amit Mishra. The bowling department indeed requires some or a lot of refinement. For, someone like Sehwag had to bowl as a full time bowler and that too in a test match under the conditions where the South African batsmen were in full bloom. Luckily Sehwag got a wicket which is a different issue altogether. No matter what the first test squad had to say but, the inclusion of someone like Raina and Sreesanth would be just another blunder for, the former is a new comer to tests and the latter battles injuries most of the time.
Thursday, 28 January 2010
A lot of hide 'n' seeks in the game
If the end of the third day's play was considered, it was as though India will have to struggle for two more days to win the game and an innings win was almost ruled out. And, even at the end of the match, India didn't walk home with an innings win. India had to bat another time to ensure a win for them. This was not owing to any sort of rain delays which was the case in the earlier game against Bangladesh at Chittagong. Neither were the Bangladeshi batsmen so strong that India had to sweat for every wicket of Bangladesh.
However, if the earlier part of the third day's play was considered, there was a 200 run 2nd wicket partnership between Tamim Iqbal and Junaid Siddique. And, things didn't end just there for the Indians. There was another 68 run 4th wicket partnership between Shahadat Hossain and Mohammed Ashraful which threatened to take the game to atleast another day. Earlier to that, India did well on day 1 to see the Bangladeshi batsmen collapsing for a mere 233 runs giving hopes of an innings win for India. It was Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma who took the initiative towards destruction of the Bangladeshi innings.
And then, it was India all the way with almost all of the Indian batsmen posting half centuries. India ended the 2nd day putting up 459 runs on the board which finally saw them declaring the innings at 544 runs on the board. After this, it was as though an Indian win by an innings was confirmed for a short period of time not until Bangladeshi batsmen Tamim Iqbal and Junaid Siddique did as mentioned above. After that, unexpectedly after the fall of the 5th wicket, it was a cycle stand effect at Dhaka where the remaining 6 wickets fell for a score of just 22 runs.
Still, this eventually couldn't guarantee India an innings win and had no other option but to take to the crease once again. It was all because of the initial damage done by the Bangladeshi top order batsmen from which India could never recover and had to pay the price. There was frequent underestimation from the Indians' side which the Bangladeshi batsmen made full use of until the Indian bowlers realized their mistake and got back to the game. India has to consider themselves lucky that the match didn't take another day to finish, with India finishing the game well before the end of the 4th day itself.
However, if the earlier part of the third day's play was considered, there was a 200 run 2nd wicket partnership between Tamim Iqbal and Junaid Siddique. And, things didn't end just there for the Indians. There was another 68 run 4th wicket partnership between Shahadat Hossain and Mohammed Ashraful which threatened to take the game to atleast another day. Earlier to that, India did well on day 1 to see the Bangladeshi batsmen collapsing for a mere 233 runs giving hopes of an innings win for India. It was Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma who took the initiative towards destruction of the Bangladeshi innings.
And then, it was India all the way with almost all of the Indian batsmen posting half centuries. India ended the 2nd day putting up 459 runs on the board which finally saw them declaring the innings at 544 runs on the board. After this, it was as though an Indian win by an innings was confirmed for a short period of time not until Bangladeshi batsmen Tamim Iqbal and Junaid Siddique did as mentioned above. After that, unexpectedly after the fall of the 5th wicket, it was a cycle stand effect at Dhaka where the remaining 6 wickets fell for a score of just 22 runs.
Still, this eventually couldn't guarantee India an innings win and had no other option but to take to the crease once again. It was all because of the initial damage done by the Bangladeshi top order batsmen from which India could never recover and had to pay the price. There was frequent underestimation from the Indians' side which the Bangladeshi batsmen made full use of until the Indian bowlers realized their mistake and got back to the game. India has to consider themselves lucky that the match didn't take another day to finish, with India finishing the game well before the end of the 4th day itself.
Monday, 25 January 2010
India take no chances this time
With the thrashing what they received in the first test at Chittagong, India were in no mood to relax keeping in mind that they had to prove a lot of things in the second test at Dhaka. And, the Indian players did just that. Added to everything that happened earlier in the tournament, India were convinced after the return of the regular captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni who had to miss the first test owing to a back injury, which India had to put in a delayed and extra effort to see them through that match. But now, everything looks to be intact for India.
The Bangladeshi batsmen that includes Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes and other lesser known names as far as international cricket is considered had absolutely no answers for the Indian bowlers that had the likes of Zaheer Khan, Ishanth Sharma in the lead. Unlike in the first test where it was all left on the experienced lads like Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan to fight it out, this time it was Ishanth Sharma who did everything he could with the ball. What a match it was with both the openers Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes getting out for a duck! One need not forget the caliber of the Bangladesh team when citing the above deeds.
However, Bangladesh didn't stop reminding the world regarding the improvement they have shown in recent years and also showed that they are very much interested in playing test cricket as good as any other test playing nation. In fact, Bangladesh are the only team who are found putting up more hard work than any other team in today's test cricket. If a close look at the 9 test playing nations in today's cricket is given a close look at, no country is found playing the game the way it is supposed to be played. Finally, there has to be one winner and one loser for every game.
However, there was a late swing in the Bangladeshi tale when the number 8 batsman in Mahmudullah scored 96 runs and there were also four batsmen who scored in excess of 30 runs. This was hardly expected from a Bangladeshi team that was at one stage found reeling at 51 runs for the loss of 5 wickets. The last two wickets of the Bangladeshi innings lasted for 78 runs which is too costly as far as Bangladesh is considered. India should not have allowed Bangladesh go past 200 runs with all these in hand. But, once again, a little bit of underestimation made this turn into reality.
The Bangladeshi batsmen that includes Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes and other lesser known names as far as international cricket is considered had absolutely no answers for the Indian bowlers that had the likes of Zaheer Khan, Ishanth Sharma in the lead. Unlike in the first test where it was all left on the experienced lads like Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan to fight it out, this time it was Ishanth Sharma who did everything he could with the ball. What a match it was with both the openers Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes getting out for a duck! One need not forget the caliber of the Bangladesh team when citing the above deeds.
However, Bangladesh didn't stop reminding the world regarding the improvement they have shown in recent years and also showed that they are very much interested in playing test cricket as good as any other test playing nation. In fact, Bangladesh are the only team who are found putting up more hard work than any other team in today's test cricket. If a close look at the 9 test playing nations in today's cricket is given a close look at, no country is found playing the game the way it is supposed to be played. Finally, there has to be one winner and one loser for every game.
However, there was a late swing in the Bangladeshi tale when the number 8 batsman in Mahmudullah scored 96 runs and there were also four batsmen who scored in excess of 30 runs. This was hardly expected from a Bangladeshi team that was at one stage found reeling at 51 runs for the loss of 5 wickets. The last two wickets of the Bangladeshi innings lasted for 78 runs which is too costly as far as Bangladesh is considered. India should not have allowed Bangladesh go past 200 runs with all these in hand. But, once again, a little bit of underestimation made this turn into reality.
Wednesday, 20 January 2010
Is this all India can do?
Well at the end of the third day's play, no doubt that the Indian openers started their batting in the second innings by losing just one wicket putting up a score of 122 on the board. But, at the same time they also allowed Bangladesh to score runs at will when despite at the end of day 2 being 3 down with 59 on board eventually ended their first innings total scoring 242 runs which was just 1 runs less than what the Indians could. And, I guess despite his past heroics, Sehwag should be once again reminded that he is playing test cricket and not the limited overs edition.
Remaining at the crease for a longer duration is as important as scoring runs. And so is putting up partnerships which can at most times prove as a weapon to win matches. But, similar to that in the first innings, where Sehwag got out after scoring a quickfire 52 from 51 balls, this time as well, Sehwag score a decent score of 45 from 58 balls. And, following that a nightwatchman in Amit Mishra has taken to the crease. May be Dhoni is doing all these only because India is sure to win this game. I wish this had been against any other team which gives India a run for their position in tests.
After 4 quick wickets in the Bangladeshi innings, it was all Bangladesh's show with Mahmudullah scoring 69 runs in the total of 242 which they eventually ended their first innings total. Second on the list would be Mushfiqur Rahim who scored 44 runs. And much to anyone's surprise, the two batsmen mentioned above came in at positions 7 and 8 and still could not be contained by the Indian bowlers that had the likes of Zaheer Khan and co. This can be analyzed in two ways. One, that the Indian batsmen didn't not bat to their full potential and two, the Bangladeshi batsmen fought with their full strength despite ending the previous day at 59/3.
Even on the previous day, when Bangladesh lost 3 wickets for a score of 59 runs, it was not before openers Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes scored 31 and 23 respectively and had scored 11 boundaries between them. Bangladesh were at one stage on the third day's play found reeling at 98 runs for the loss of 6 wickets which then saw the remaining four tail-end and lower middle order batsmen piling up another 144 runs on the board against India who are now rated as the number one team in test cricket. This was a bit of underestimation from the Indians' point of view with more of improvement for the Bangladeshi side.
Remaining at the crease for a longer duration is as important as scoring runs. And so is putting up partnerships which can at most times prove as a weapon to win matches. But, similar to that in the first innings, where Sehwag got out after scoring a quickfire 52 from 51 balls, this time as well, Sehwag score a decent score of 45 from 58 balls. And, following that a nightwatchman in Amit Mishra has taken to the crease. May be Dhoni is doing all these only because India is sure to win this game. I wish this had been against any other team which gives India a run for their position in tests.
After 4 quick wickets in the Bangladeshi innings, it was all Bangladesh's show with Mahmudullah scoring 69 runs in the total of 242 which they eventually ended their first innings total. Second on the list would be Mushfiqur Rahim who scored 44 runs. And much to anyone's surprise, the two batsmen mentioned above came in at positions 7 and 8 and still could not be contained by the Indian bowlers that had the likes of Zaheer Khan and co. This can be analyzed in two ways. One, that the Indian batsmen didn't not bat to their full potential and two, the Bangladeshi batsmen fought with their full strength despite ending the previous day at 59/3.
Even on the previous day, when Bangladesh lost 3 wickets for a score of 59 runs, it was not before openers Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes scored 31 and 23 respectively and had scored 11 boundaries between them. Bangladesh were at one stage on the third day's play found reeling at 98 runs for the loss of 6 wickets which then saw the remaining four tail-end and lower middle order batsmen piling up another 144 runs on the board against India who are now rated as the number one team in test cricket. This was a bit of underestimation from the Indians' point of view with more of improvement for the Bangladeshi side.
Tuesday, 19 January 2010
After Tendulkar it is now Zaheer
Well yesterday it was the most experienced man for India in Sachin Tendulkar who had to save some face for his team when he ended the day ensuring that India didn't lose all the ten wickets on day 1 and kept the hopes of a decent total alive though the chance for the same being freak. And, yesterday on day 2, Sachin Tendulkar completed the formality when India ended their first innings with the scoreboard reading 243 all out with Sachin Tendulkar remaining unbeaten on 105. Needless to be said this was his 44th test hundred and much to no one's surprise, he scored 29 out of the 30 runs that were scored yesterday.
The remaining 1 run was not scored by anyone and was contributed by extras. However, as expected, Bangladesh did start their innings the was everyone would have anticipated when they lost three quick wickets with the scoreboard reading 59 runs at the end of the day. That was the day when just 15 overs of play in the Bangladesh innings was possible and, India having a tough task at hand if at all India lose momentum on day 3. It had to once again be another experienced player in Zaheer Khan who had to use his decade long experience to shatter the stumps of two of the 3 Bangladeshi batsmen who got out.
If the day's play is considered, it looks like the Indian bowlers were well set to tackle the Bangladeshi batsmen and this may not be the case in the days to come despite the pitch posing problems for the batting side. Had it not been for the loss of play on day 2, may be India would have had the Bangladeshi batsmen well in their control. May be India would have succeeded in bowling the Bangladeshi batsmen all out. Now, one thing is for sure that India cannot hope of an innings win against Bangladesh. And the match will surely go upto the 5th day.
It was fascinating to hear that India had lost three quick wickets for 6 runs and Bangladesh had a better run when they had 5 runs in a span of which they lost 3 wickets. This was just one run less than what the number one team in test cricket could afford to do. Meaning there was a difference of just one run between the teams out of which one team topped the ICC test rankings and the other team was exactly opposite. So, is India only that much stronger compared to Bangladesh? So, with so much compromise India will continue to top the rankings atleast until the series against RSA starts.
The remaining 1 run was not scored by anyone and was contributed by extras. However, as expected, Bangladesh did start their innings the was everyone would have anticipated when they lost three quick wickets with the scoreboard reading 59 runs at the end of the day. That was the day when just 15 overs of play in the Bangladesh innings was possible and, India having a tough task at hand if at all India lose momentum on day 3. It had to once again be another experienced player in Zaheer Khan who had to use his decade long experience to shatter the stumps of two of the 3 Bangladeshi batsmen who got out.
If the day's play is considered, it looks like the Indian bowlers were well set to tackle the Bangladeshi batsmen and this may not be the case in the days to come despite the pitch posing problems for the batting side. Had it not been for the loss of play on day 2, may be India would have had the Bangladeshi batsmen well in their control. May be India would have succeeded in bowling the Bangladeshi batsmen all out. Now, one thing is for sure that India cannot hope of an innings win against Bangladesh. And the match will surely go upto the 5th day.
It was fascinating to hear that India had lost three quick wickets for 6 runs and Bangladesh had a better run when they had 5 runs in a span of which they lost 3 wickets. This was just one run less than what the number one team in test cricket could afford to do. Meaning there was a difference of just one run between the teams out of which one team topped the ICC test rankings and the other team was exactly opposite. So, is India only that much stronger compared to Bangladesh? So, with so much compromise India will continue to top the rankings atleast until the series against RSA starts.
Saturday, 2 January 2010
Bowling coach needed to silence critics
Just three days before the start of the tri series involving India , Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, the Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni comes out shouting regarding the absence of a bowling coach with Venkatest Prasad being sacked after team India's disastrous world T20 and the ICC Champion's trophy that followed last year. All these with the fact that India has been doing well even without the presence of a regular bowling coach. India won the bilateral series against SriLanka last month and also the test series that preceded. Though it is a fact, its necessity is not clear.
There has been bowlers like Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Aashish Nehra and others who have been found doing a fab job for their team in the series mentioned. Though the bowlers mentioned have not been awarded the man of the match award, their service to their team can never be turned down whatsoever. It would not be a tough call for the BCCI to ask some retired bowler to take over from the point where Venkatesh Prasad had left. But, one has to question the BCCI for not doing the same. Does the BCCI doesn't find the necessity of hiring a bowling coach for India?
Whatever may be the case, though team India has been faring well in all the three formats of the game, it should not be forgotten that all these victories have been achieved at home and India has not seen touring any nation. The last time India toured any country was New Zealand way back in April last year which India won by a 3-1 margin. Since then, India has hardly toured any strong cricketing nation and whenever India has toured, they came back empty handed like it happened in the ICC Champions trophy- in South Africa and the World T20 in England.
One need not cite the tour of West Indies which India won by a margin 3-1 with the West Indies being a team solely for Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. However, a loss against the same can make heads crack. Moreover, Dhoni's men would be playing a tri series, the result of which has been bitter at most times. All that team India can do in a tri series is to reach the finals of the same and compromise being the runners up. And this time as well, reaching the finals of a tournament would not be a tough guess with a team like Bangladesh always there to guarantee this to India.
There has been bowlers like Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Aashish Nehra and others who have been found doing a fab job for their team in the series mentioned. Though the bowlers mentioned have not been awarded the man of the match award, their service to their team can never be turned down whatsoever. It would not be a tough call for the BCCI to ask some retired bowler to take over from the point where Venkatesh Prasad had left. But, one has to question the BCCI for not doing the same. Does the BCCI doesn't find the necessity of hiring a bowling coach for India?
Whatever may be the case, though team India has been faring well in all the three formats of the game, it should not be forgotten that all these victories have been achieved at home and India has not seen touring any nation. The last time India toured any country was New Zealand way back in April last year which India won by a 3-1 margin. Since then, India has hardly toured any strong cricketing nation and whenever India has toured, they came back empty handed like it happened in the ICC Champions trophy- in South Africa and the World T20 in England.
One need not cite the tour of West Indies which India won by a margin 3-1 with the West Indies being a team solely for Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. However, a loss against the same can make heads crack. Moreover, Dhoni's men would be playing a tri series, the result of which has been bitter at most times. All that team India can do in a tri series is to reach the finals of the same and compromise being the runners up. And this time as well, reaching the finals of a tournament would not be a tough guess with a team like Bangladesh always there to guarantee this to India.
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