Cricket's new home! » Men in Blue

The curious case of awesome Aussies

prasad — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 14:18:05 +0000

The recently concluded second Test at Sydney between Australia and Pakistan has brought an interesting fact out of the woods — Australian cricket is certainly not in the decline. Agreed, they lost the Ashes in 2009 but if you look at the battles that were fought, barring the odd Test at Lord’s, Australia fought tooth and nail in every game, a trait that has been passed on from one generation to another.
Australia may not boast of genuine match-winners in the form of Adam Gilchrist, Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and with Ricky Ponting not scoring at Bradmanesque pace at the moment, the current team looked more vulnerable than it ever was. But one look at the performances in myriad formats of the game in the last six months tells a different story.
A comprehensive (read carnage!) win over familiar foes England in the seven match ODI series in England was followed by victories at the Champions Trophy and a 4-2 win against the Men in Blue in India.
Ponting’s men faced stiff challenge at Sydney when they were skittled out for a paltry 127 but bounced back to show the world that this team still had what it takes to reach the shore safely.
There are few things which Australians do which no other team does and they are not groundbreaking but important things that a cricket team needs to. For starters, they fight it out till the very end and put a price on every wicket.
Also, Australian cricket is built on strong foundation that does not negotiate on work ethics and the cricketers come through the ranks following a robust system that makes battle-ready while players at the highest level in other cricket-playing nations are seen adjusting technical flaws (Read players from the sub-continent).
When the aforementioned processes have been followed for decades together, the decline in the overall standards of cricket can never be dramatic. Agreed, Australia no more wins Tests in three days but they still have the arsenal to give the best a run for their money. Another clincher for the Australians stems from the fact that on numerous occasions both in the past and in the present, teams have gone ahead of the Aussies in a session or two but the team from Down Under have bounced back. The reason being, teams have still not learnt how to sustain the pressure they created on the Australians, a good example being the Sydney Test when the Pakistanis discovered much to their own dismay.
All traits of a great Australian revival are in place and for those who still doubt the supremacy, will do so at their own cost.

Resilient India back in the lead

prasad — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:40:42 +0000

No problems whatsoever for Men in Blue as they took a 2-1 lead in the five-match series after they bundled Sri Lanka out for 239, the hosts cruising to a comfortable seven-wicket victory at the Barabati Stadium here on Monday night.
The visitors will rue the fact that from a position of supreme strength at 165/1 , Sri Lanka were all out for 239 by the 45th over. Indians gave a fitting reply with Virender Sehwag’s scoring a freewheeling 44 that set the tempo for the match and Sachin Tendulkar who scored yet another gem (96 not out) stayed till the end in ensuring a facile win that gave the hosts a 2-1 lead in the series.
Virender Sehwag will want to thank their hero Ravindra Jadeja whose 4/32 was instrumental in the Lankans being bowled out for a below-par score. The left-arm spinner came on when the visitors were looking at a much healthier total, but his wickets swiftly pegged back Kumar Sangakkara’s men.
At the start, the Sehwag-Tendulkar combination clobbered the bowling to put on 50 in less than seven overs. Chanaka Welegedera got the better of Sehwag off a mistimed slash that went straight to point, but Sri Lanka’s prospects quickly faded as spinners went for runs aplenty.
Earlier, Sri Lanka’s openers butchered Indian pacers for the third time on the trot. Tillakaratne Dilshan toyed with the Indian bowling as the Lankans raced to 58/0 in just four overs.
Zaheer and Ishant repeatedly drifted down the leg side and Dilshan took full toll, cracking 10 boundaries on his way to an 18-ball 41. But Jadeja then went onto spin the match in India’s favour that helped the hosts to take a 2-1 lead.

Comprehensive win for Men in Blue! Crush Oz by 99 runs

prasad — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:46:08 +0000

It promised to be a belter of a wicket and it turned out to be one. The Men in Blue rode on their skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s impeccable 124 and some responsible bowling at the start to crush opponents Australia by 99 runs on Wednesday night at the Vidarbha Cricket Stadium in Nagpur to level series 1-1.

The only dark spot in the otherwise spotless stint the in the middle for the Men in Blue was the dismal bowling show by offie Harbhajan Singh who gave away too much for the opponents and the fielding seriously needs a overhaul altogether. Overthrows, wides, run-outs missed did not auger well for the Indian team and MSD and the coach A wicket that produced over 600 runs in 100 overs saw Australia chasing 355 in their 50 overs for a win. After a sedate start where in 14 runs came off the first four, Tim Paine was the first to depart, bowled off an inside edge off Praveen Kumar for 8. Australia 20 for 1. Ishant Sharma got his first ball wicket when Watson edged to first slip Sachin Tendulkar for 19 to reduce Australia to 41 for 2 in the 10th over.

But if that was not enough, Praveen Kumar got the big wicket of Australian skipper Ricky Ponting to further sink Australia to 45 for 3. PK was breathing fire from one end as new-man Michael Hussey was at sea in the first few balls he faced. With the required rate climbing all the time, the Kangaroos had a big job in their hands. MSD persisted with Kumar from one end and the right-arm bowler did not disappoint his skipper. Hussey and Cameron White gauged the pace of the wicket and played some delightful strokes, but it was Hussey who played a standout knock for the Australians first with White and then with Voges. With a run-rate close to ten runs an over required, Mr. Cricket was clean bowled by Ravindra Jadeja for 53. Australia 140 for 5.

Shaun Marsh tried to delay the inevitable but was stumped by Dhoni off Jadeja for 21, with 175 needed off the last 79 balls. Australia soon lost their seventh when Jadeja bowled Voges for 36. Australia were nose-diving at 194 for 7. But Nathan Hauritz and Johnson put up a brave fight but the winner of the match was decided by then. Earlier, Ricky Ponting won the toss and elected to field, getting rid of the back of maestro Sachin Tendulkar early, caught by Cameron White off Peter Siddle for just 4. Virender Sehwag took the attack to the opposition, playing some crisp shots on both sides of the wicket and had his Delhi teammate Gautam Gambhir for company. The duo brought the fifty for India in the 9th over. The key element in the partnership was the emphasis being given to singles and not to mention Viru going for his shots too as and when required.

Mitchell Johnson managed to pick the second wicket in the form of Viru who scored 40 off 31 and his wicket reduced India to 67 for 2 in the 11th over of the innings. The angle at which Johnson induced Viru to play a false shot and the Delhiite looked good for a bigger score. That brought Yuvraj Singh to the crease. Yuvi played the shot of the first innings when he flicked Ben Hilfenhaus to the mid-wicket fence for a boundary in the 12th over. The ball was pitched on the middle and leg-stump only for the southpaw to use his wrists to steal a boundary. The Australian skipper brought spinner Nathan Hauritz in the 15th over. Hauritz was immediately put to sword when Yuvi danced down the track to hoist the spinner for a six towards long on.

Ponting’s persistence with Hilfenhaus paid dividends when he removed Yuvi for 23, caught and bowled off a beautifully disguised slower delivery. India 97 for 3 and the Indian skipper walked into the middle. He was welcomed to the crease with a peach of a bouncer. Hilfenhaus suddenly looked menacing. The spinners Hauritz and Adam Voges were managing to extract a lot of turn off the wicket, but singles were the order for the day for Dhoni and Gambhir, who were anyways not given much width to free their arms. The partnership between Gambhir and Dhoni yielded 119 off 114 balls before the former was run-out for a valiant 76. India 216 for 4 in 34 overs. That stand gave the impetus for the Men in Blue to go for the kill in the slog overs.

Dhoni was a picture of concentration, curbing his natural instincts of going for the ball and instead running hard much to the agony of the Australians. But all that was to change in the final overs. Raina who walked in next and MSD took the batting powerplay in the 40th over of the innings. Dhoni got the license to go for the full Monty as he carted the bowlers to all parts of the stadium and in the company of Raina (62) helped the Indian total soar past the 300 run mark. Dhoni in the process reached his fifth ODI hundred with a big straight six off Shane Watson.

MSD was dismissed for a chanceless 124 in the final over but by that time, the damage was done as India reached 354 for 7.

India-Australia second ODI–preview

prasad — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:06:16 +0000

Even as the return of Yuvraj Singh into the Indian ranks would have a calming effect and with Australian line-up sans Mitchell Johnson, James Hopes and Brett Lee, the Men in Blue will definitely fancy their chances to equalise the series when they face each other at the Vidarbha Cricket Association stadium in Nagpur on Wednesday.

It was a one-sided battle in the first one-dayer in Baroda till Harbhajan Singh and Praveen Kumar put together a 84-run partnership that literally threatened to snatch the game away. Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be fully aware that another loss will make the task of coming back into the seven-match series, that much more difficult and tedious.

The last couple of weeks have witnessed a lot of debate on the way former bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad and fielding coach Robin Singh been shown the door unceremoniously once again bringing to fore the infighting that exists in Indian cricket. The least that the Indian fans expect now is a comprehensive series win that will catapult them to the numero uno position in the ODI rankings.

For the Indians, their bowling towards the death in the first ODI was quite heartening as they literally came back into the game restricting Australia to a total below 300. On the other hand, MSD will not want to meddle with the opening pair of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag and it will be interesting to see if the Indian captain tries to bat up the order. Dhoni is a kind of player who plays his best when he is given overs and time frame to hit. So, it becomes imperative for him to bat no. 4 which would mean Yuvi comes at 5 and Raina could come at 6. This necessarily means Ravindra Jadeja will face the axe. The management could even look at retaining Jadeja and dropping Virat Kohli but that looks unlikely as the team will look to go with extra batsman who is in form than a player who is a half-bowler and is struggling with the bat. The lesser said about the Indian fielding, the better. An ardent task awaits the Indians.

On the other hand, Australia will know that they literally had their hearts in their mouths when Harbhajan and Praveen were pummelling their attack which looked ordinary. With Midge, Hopes and Lee out of Wednesday’s match, Australian skipper Ricky Ponting will know that the bowling attack will lack the bite but knowing the Aussie attitude, Indians will know that a under-par Australian attack cannot be taken lightly.

Men in Blue break a billion hearts!!!

prasad — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:01:44 +0000

A billion hearts broke as the clock struck 2035 hours in the Indian Standard Time. Australia had won the match against Pakistan, thereby evicting India out of the tournament. In the final analysis, one match had cost India dear and when one realises that it was against Pakistan that changed the course of India’s journey here, the impact is more painful.

Be it any sport, it is always about timing and Dhoni’s men will have learnt this the hard way by being asked to cut short their journey.
Alas! It was a comprehensive performance against a under-rated and depleted West Indian side in Johannesburg on Wednesday as the WI side were bowled out for a paltry 129.
The Indians chased down the total in 32.1 overs to win the inconsequential contest by seven wickets with Virat Kohli FINALLY scoring some reasonable against a second-string attack with 79 as West Indies suffered a whitewash in the event.
The bad news was that the Men in Blue were knocked out with the defending champions nail-biting two wicket victory over Pakistan at Centurion while the men from WI were already out anyways.
The Aussies top the tables in Group A with 5 points followed by Pakistan. India have secured just one point and the West Indies none after two games.
India’s prayers rested on a Pakistan victory over formidable Australia and then beating the West Indies in a day-night game. The prayers went unanswered when Australia clinched a last-ball victory.
Against the West Indies, Nehra finished with 3-31 and Praveen Kumar with 3-22 to boost India’s hopes of posting a consolation victory. Off-spinner Harbhajan also bowled well, taking 2-14 off eight overs.
Darren Sammy (23), David Bernard (22) and Devon Smith (21) were the main scorers for the West Indies.
The Men in Blue won the toss as Nehra and P Kumar took two wickets each in their disciplined opening spells to reduce the West Indies to 31-4 in 11 overs.
Dhoni, who turned seamer after the drinks interval, got his maiden wicket in one-day internationals with his fourth delivery when he bowled Travis Dowlin for 14. Dinesh Karthik kept wickets in the remaining part of the innings.

Are South Africans worthy of being the numero uno?

prasad — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:01:21 +0000

Apologies to all those die-hard South African fans who ‘STILL’ believe that their team is the best and has been rightfully ranked on top. Agreed, they have performed consistently over the past few years but isn’t it logical to pick a team that wins the big matches.

Take Australia, India, Sri Lanka, West Indies (not the current side but the earlier ones!) for example, they have all won the World Cup and there has to be a clause wherein weightage is given to performances in BIG tournaments. The chokers tag hang on the South Africans head before every big tournament and it only gets reiterated when the Proteas lose tourney after tourney.
However, having said it must be understood that the answer to this problem is more mental than their attitude on the field.
Not long ago, Indians were guilty of losing in the finals and they have tried to rework their way out to remove this glitch.

Whenever great teams such as the West Indian side of the 70s or the Australian side of 90s are spoken about, they have capitalised on the talent they had to win the big tournaments and not surprisingly, Aussies have won the World Cup four times and the next comes the West Indies side that has won it twice.
But the South Africans have none to their credit much like England. Agreed that South Africa have won the Champions Trophy but a World Cup in any format has its own charm, unlike the mini- micro formats of the same.
Also, an important point to be noted is that the best teams elevate their performances and win crunch games and teams such as Australia and now India have consistently augmented their field performances to help them surge ahead in the rankings.

With minnows such as England, New Zealand, forever an unpredictable side Pakistan and Australia walking into the semis stage, the Champions Trophy 2009 has shown once again that ODI cricket is here to stay — no matter the amount of permutations and combinations that pundits keep putting forth.
The event has also shown that teams who have the ability to hold their nerves ultimately emerge the winner in this format of the game.

The Men in Blue will be disappointed after a wonderful series win against Sri Lanka just a couple of weeks back. They still depend on their batting to fire in order to compensate for the other ‘mishaps’ committed on the field.
Dhoni’s men will be disappointed that one bad performance literally evicted them from the tournament.

Do or die clash for Men in Blue!

prasad — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 19:13:28 +0000

So India get ready for a do-or-die clash against the world champions Australia on Monday. For the Men in Blue it is a must-win clash as another loss will slip them out of the contention in the last four stage, a situation MS Dhoni will like to avoid at best and not think of it et all.
The Aussies managed to JUST win their clash against a depleted West Indies side and will like to keep up their momentum into this big clash.
If Dhoni has to put a better fight against the Aussies, the defensive mindset of Dhoni needs to change. India’s issues stem mainly from their bowling which looks depleted after Zaheer Khan and now Yuvraj Singh being ruled out. India will have to bring in Praveen Kumar who has the ability to swing the ball in helpful conditions.
Dhoni paid heavily for using Virat Kohli and Yusuf Pathan while holding Harbhajan Singh back to cover for the lack of options.
What does Dhoni need to do?
Firstly, bring in Praveen Kumar in place of the out-of-sorts of RP Singh and get in Amit Mishra in place of Yusuf Pathan. Yes, tough call on RP who has bowled his heart out but Yusuf needs to earn his place than expecting things to be in his favour despite being so casual at the crease.
It is clear that the top three — Tendulkar, Gambhir and Dravid — will have to carry India’s challenge. Dhoni has evolved as a batsman and Raina provides powerful impetus in the lower order, but they have to bat together for longer periods.
Against Pakistan’s mammoth dig worth 206 for the fourth wicket, the best India could come up with was worth 72, also for the fourth wicket between Dravid and Raina. For their part, Australia survived a testing encounter at the Wanderers against the West Indies on Saturday.
Australia depend a lot on their frontline bowlers to fire and Sachin Tendulkar will have to lead the way against his most preferred team and once that happens the rest of jigsaw puzzle should fall in place.

Will it be super start to the week for the Indians or will the Men in Blue go with a mundane Monday? Read this space for more tomorrow!

Dravid a big plus, says Sachin

prasad — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:40:00 +0000

‘Master Blaster’ Sachin Tendulkar in an interview to www.espnstar.com has said that ‘The Wall’ aka Rahul Dravid’s inclusion into the team after close to two years in the wilderness has added “value” to the ODI team and his experience would come in handy during the tri-series in Sri Lanka and the subsequent Champions Trophy in South Africa.

“It should help the team. He brings in a lot of experience on the table and also a lot of skill. I think his will be good value addition to the team,” Tendulkar said. The champion batsman also mentioned that the Men in Blue is hungrier for success after the four-day camp concluded in Bengaluru.

“The camp has ended on a positive note and the team looks pretty solid and hungry. Sri Lanka is one place which is not very free scoring,” he said. “It will be a challenge for some of the strokeplayers in our team. As boundaries can be difficult to come by, there will be a lot of running between the wickets involved,” he added.

Speaking on the team’s strengths, Sachin said —”We are an extremely good fielding unit and we turned around games with our fielding. It is a misconception to assume that New Zealand and Sri Lanka have an edge over us. We run well between the wickets, our run out conversion is good, our catching ability is amongst the best, our bowlers are much more disciplined as they don’t bowl wides and no balls. I think we are three evenly matched teams.”

With an eclectic mix of senior players and juniors in the Indian team, it will be interesting to see at what number Rahul gets to bat in the tri-series that commences in September in Colombo.