Get Set GO! For Gold

Its time for the blockbuster of Cricket as the World Champions begin their title defence against the Arch-rivals Pakistan.at the mighty Adelaide Oval.

 India aren't the same where they played out of their skins in front of the home crowd four years ago. Their performance has degraded since and we all know how well they can perform on foreign soil.
India and Pakistan have met five times in World Cups before but Pakistan had no luck in any of the games. This is the sixth time and Pakistan has the opportunity big time to beat India and break the jinx. Even if India has the cent percent win record against Pakistan in World Cup cricket, the overall head to head record does not swing in favor of India as they stand with 40% win record having played 126 matches against. The same thing goes when it comes to neutral venues.

The stadium is going to get packed and the Television Rating Points are going to reach peaks today when India and Pakistan lock horns. The much awaited bonanza and every cricketing fan is looking forward to it.


The World Cup opening day started with a bang as both the hosts secured thumping victories making it a cake walk.

Match 1: Having put into bat by Angelo Mathews, New Zealand took the game away from Sri Lanka right from the start with the help of Opener and skipper Brendon McCullum who gave a flying start for them at Christchurch. Even if they were stalled in the middle overs the duo of Corey Anderson made sure they piled up a mammoth tota of 331/6 with their unbelievable slogging. With this Sri Lanka could not show any resilience and with the building pressure they lost quick wickets and were eventually all out for 233 in 46.1 overs handing New Zealand a 98 run victory.



Match 2: The MCG lit up depicting a carnival atmosphere as the hosts took on Ashes rivals England in the second match of the opening day of World Cup.

Aaron finch celebrates after his century at the MCG

England won the toss and put Australia into bat resulted to be a really bat decision as the openers Aaron Finch and David Warner showed how dangerous they are at the top of the order. Aaron Finch who was dropped on duck in the first over of the match went on to score a mammoth 135 who was brilliantly run out by Eoin Morgan became the first centurion in WC2015. Later on Glenn Maxwell put in the finishing touch with a quick fire half century (66 off 40 balls) as Australia ended up scoring 342/9.

Mitchell Marsh acknowledges the crowd after taking his career best 5/33

The man who was crucial in the chase Moeen Ali went down cheaply as he was removed by Mitchell Starc early in the innings. Added to their misery Mitchell Marsh broke England's back bone by taking a career best 5/33 removing key players that include Bell, Morgan, Root, Butter and Ballance. As a result England had to suffer a loss by 111 runs.

The third match of the tournament is going to be against the African brothers, South Africa and Zimbabwe but the only match in mind is IND v PAK. Sit back, relax and enjoy the game.

OZ back home - Safari Challenge

After shameful Test defeats against Pakistan in the UAE, Australia will now having a sigh of relief after returning home. But that it a passing cloud because there await a stiffer challenge from the Proteas (SA). They begin their International tour with a 3 match T20I series. First of them will start on 5th Nov 2014 at 08:35GMT at the Adelaide Oval.

Its a tough job ahead for Australia to shift from a Test frame of mind to T20 mindset in a short span of time where the opponents are none other than South Africa. Many of the Australian big guns have been rested for the T20s. Barring Shane Watson and captain Aaron Finch we cannot see any big players in the Australian team. Although there are many T20 specialists like Nathan Reardon, Ben Dunk, Nic Maddinson and James Faulkner on his day can change a game upside down. The inclusion of Cameron White remains to be a question.

The South African team is also lagging experience with Jean Paul Duminy captaining the side. They too are focused on playing around with fresh talent like K Rabada. His inclusion in the playing 11 will remain a puzzle. Most of them are fill in players like Reeza Hendricks, Robin Peterson, Farhaan Behardien, Marchant de Lange and David Wiese who does not feature regularly for the team. Dave Miller is the key player for South Africa.

No T20I matches were played at the Adelaide Oval in the recent past. The last match played here was a cliff hanger between Australia and England where England won the man off the last ball with just the one wicket remaining which happened in 2011. There is nothing to predict between these teams as all matches are a treat to watch. Don't forget the 436 match between them guys. Sit back, relax and enjoy the game.

PAK a punch

Against all odds

God! I don't believe this is the same Pakistan team which not only put up a poor show in the ODIs but made it ugly in the end. No one expected this kind of an amazing Test performance from them in the first place but against all odds they have come a long way. I mean the team which could not sustain the full 50-overs have posted a mammoth total of 570/6 declared. This is a great achievement. Having the first test in their kitty already, Pakistan are really looking to close in another huge win for themselves considering the state of the game where Australia have made a poor start to their innings by losing Chris Rogers early and cornered to initiate damage control by sending in the night watchman, Nathan Lyon. Seriously, 22/1 is not a great position to be in where they are still trailing by 548 runs. Australia however has the only option of somehow try and draw the Test unless and until Pakistan try and do something insanely wrong which they are really used to lately. Anyways this probability may be very minute looking at the form their batsmen are in right now.

Take a bow Younis Khan for putting up a spectacular batting performance. This epic phase will be remembered throughout his life. Three consecutive centuries in three innings is a treat to the Pakistani fans in this tough situation they are in. The last of them being a double-century(213) is probably the best thing that could happen. Azhar Ali and captain Misbah-ul-Haq only rubbed salt on the Aussies' wounds with a century each, 109 and 101 respectively.

Younis Khan raises hit bat and acknowledges the crowd after reaching his double-century

Still the battle is far from over. Let us not forget that the opposition is no novice but mighty Australia. Warner is capable of turning things around for Ozs if he can see off the new ball attack.

Zulfiqar Babar and Yasir Shah are a great find for Pakistan. Their great bowling performances helped big time in the victory in Dubai. We can expect a similar show at Abu Dhabi as well.

Let us find out how things turn out to be on the 3rd day of the Test.

Rustys begin WC preparation

New Zealand v South Africa

A file picture of Brendon McCullum & AB de Villiers

Scenario

After more than 3 months an awfully long break from International cricket, the black caps gear up for a short One-Day-International series against the South Africans who too were not in action after winning the triangular series in Zimbabwe. This ODI series is nothing but a preparation for the long awaited ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 hosted by Australia and New Zealand. Having said that I don't think the venues are selected perfectly because Mount Maunganui doesn't host any of the World Cup matches yet they have scheduled the first two matches here.

Its a long break by New Zealand no doubt but the schedule for them in the International calendar is packed as they get to host Sri Lanka & Pakistan in individual tours followed by a triangular series against the same opponents immediately followed by the World Cup. Obviously they want to start the season on a high.

 South Africa on the other hand will want to make the most of the opportunity and get used to conditions in New Zealand which could be a big advantage before the World Cup Down Under.

Team Setup

Both New Zealand as well as South Africa have sent in their A+  players for this series as both teams doesn't seem to be experimenting on their players and are rooted on experience. Speaking of experience the return of veteran black cap Daniel Vettori to International duty will add flavor to a delicious cuisine. Ross Taylor's absence could prove to be a loss but thinking otherwise would help.  Both the aggressive Wicket keeper batsmen and also captain counterparts will look to use their aggressive attitude in leading their teams. That is where players like Corey Anderson and David Miller come in handy who are known for their intent towards the game. We all know what damage they both can do with the bat at the death respectively. It a perfect blend of experience and youth.

Wounds are still fresh

The last time these two teams met was back on March 24th in the ICC World Twenty20 where Dale Steyn amazingly stole the match from New Zealand's pocket as the Proteas managed to defend 7 runs off the last over and pull off a great win by 2 runs. New Zealand will surely have that in mind.

Dale Steyn at his very best in the NZ v SA encounter in the WT20

Ground

The Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui has hasted just the one ODI that is between Canada and Netherlands which was a part of the World Cup Qualifiers. There were many other matches played here during that tournament but they were not considered as ODIs. So there is nothing to analyze on this relatively new ground. Win the toss, choose to bowl first is my opinion.

A JOB "MAX"WELL DONE

What a cracker jack of a game we've had tonight at Abu Dhabi!! Australia have snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Pakistan have no one but themselves to blame. It was an unbelievable turn of events at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium. Glenn Maxwell has turned this match upside down as he came into bowl the last over of the match with Pakistan needing just 2 runs for a victory and he produced an incredible over "0 W 0 0 0 W" to turn the match in Australia's favor.

The Australia team poses with the trophy after white washing Pakistan

Australia won the toss and chose to bat before being reduced to 231/9 in the allotted 50 overs. Another interesting fact to observe here is the Pakistani captain Misbah-ul-Haq dropped himself in this particular ODI. Last time Misbah missed an ODI was in New Zealand, in Feb 2011. Shahid Afridi was the stand-in captain.
Australia started off steadily and were going really well in the mandatory powerplay just before Aaron Finch's dismissal. Finch has been out of color in this series so far with scores of 0, 14 and 18 that fails Australia in getting a good opening stand. After reaching 100 with half centuries by Warner and Smith.

Australia could not kick on and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Batting powerplay went horribly wrong for the Australians as they managed to score just 9 runs and lost 2 wickets of Hughes and Haddin at that course of the game. This is the second least number of runs scored in an ODI innings between the overs 36 to 40, lowest being 7 runs by Kenya against Afghanistan.  The average batting powerplay score in this series is 25/1.With some late flourish by James Faulkner they eventually creeped up to 231 runs. In the last 20 years there have been only three instances of Australia scoring fewer runs after batting all 50 overs against Pakistan, this being the 4th. Pakistan's
bowling effort was outstanding as they never missed the line and length and did not give away any alarming extras. Shahid Afridi's bowling too looked good as he took 5 wickets in 3 matches this series - he took only 4 wickets in the 10 ODIs before that.

Pakistan came to bat boasting with confidence and so did they do. The openers gave them a decent start followed by Asad Shafiq's half century. Another important record I would like to put to light here is that before this match there have been 3 occasions that 4 of Pakistan's top 5 have made 25+ against Australia in an ODI innings. They lost the last time this happened (2012). Chasing a below par score they were going really good till the 35th over before losing wickets in a heap. But still they had the upper hand as there was no pressure of required run rate. The match went to the last over and it seemed to be a cake walk as Pakistan required 2 runs off the last over with 2 wickets in hand. But that was not to be my friends, it was Maxwell who bowled the last over which is a game changer on a whole as he managed to produce a double wicket maiden to give Australia an unbelievable win. That's why Maxwell is so special as the records also speak of him for Glenn Maxwell is the only one ODI batsmen who have a 30+ average and a 120+ strike rate (min. 25 matches). Undoubtedly he was awarded the Man-of-the-Match.

Glenn Maxwell during his match defining last over.

With this Australia have whitewashed Pakistan winning all three matches in this series.Australia have whitewashed Pakistan 3 times in a bilateral ODI series of three or more matches.

India v West Indies, 1st ODI, Kochi

Match Report

West Indies players running in joy after their victory against India

India were left clueless in the 1st ODI of the Indian season beginner at the Nehru Stadium, Kochi as the West Indies launched an unexpected blitz. India were handed a humiliating defeat by 124 runs, the second largest margin of victory by the West Indies against India with 135 runs being the largest margin at Vijayawada back in 2002.

Marlon Samuels celebrating after his century. He was unbeaten on 126*

Marlon Samuels and Denesh Ramdin stitched a 165 run partnership

Marlon Samuels stole the show with an all-round performance of 126 runs with the bat and boosting it up by picking 2 wickets with figures of 3.0-0-10-2. He made his return into ODI cricket with a bang after 7 months. Another interesting fact that should be noticed that out of the last 4 centuries scored by a West Indian No.4, 3 have been hit by Samuels. Also it looks like Samuels has a special liking towards India as the records show that he has 9 occasions of 50+ scores against this team, more than against any other team. And the mammoth partnership of 165 by Samuels and Denesh Ramdin is the first century partnership in the last 20 IND - WI ties.

At the toss MS Dhoni (India) won the toss and chose to bowl, which was a very bad decision given the conditions as I stated in the preview that it would be better to bat first, get runs on the board and put pressure on the opposition with the fear of

Virat Kohli practicing a shot after getting out cheaply for 2 runs.

required run rate. But that was not the case, India were concerned about their on issues that the death bowling is not up to the mark and that is what happened once again as the last 10 overs of the innings fetched 81 runs and the batting powerplay cost 52 runs. Dwayne Bravo was satisfied with Dhoni's decision as he wanted to bat first. As a result West Indies posted a whooping 321 runs, thanks to Samuels & Indian death bowling.

Suresh Raina looks back to see his stump go cartwheeling on the second delivery he faced

Even this score did not look threatening as the opposition was INDIA, who holds the record for successfully chasing 300+ targets on 15 junctures, no other team could do that more than 7 times, that too they were playing at home. But that was not to be as the Indian inning started in a chaos as Ajinkya Rahane was run out in an imbecilic fashion. But the two crucial men for the chase were Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina who were both out on single digits of 2 and 0 respectively, that put India clearly on the backfoot. Record suggests that India have never chased down a 300+ score losing 4 wickets inside the 100 run mark. Dhoni also could not make amends and perished after a scratchy 8 off 21 balls. As a result India were bowled out 197 in 41 overs. India were folded to West Indian attack 26 times before this match.

Shikhar Dhawan made a scratchy half-century

The important stats to put light on are:

• Virat Kohli has been out in single digit scores in his last 16 innings. Is his form a question considering the World Cup round the corner?
• Amit Mishra is very effective against the West Indies taking 12 of his 42 wickets against this team. Still his spin was fruitless as he went for 7.2 to the over.
• The best average for a wicket keeper in the last 12 months of ODI cricket are 

1. MS Dhoni           70.61
2. Denesh Ramdin  63.25
3. Quinton de Kock 52.9.   The top two played in the match and the clear winner is Denesh Ramdin.

• Even without Sunil Narine and Chris Gayle, West Indies could beat India in their own backyard. How lethal it would be if the two were included!

India missed the trick by experimenting too much on its players before the World Cup and taking the opposition lightly.

India v West Indies - 1st ODI, Kochi

 

 

India v W-Indies (Micromax Cup)

Match Preview

India and West Indies get ready for another enthralling One Day International Series starting today at the Nehru Stadium, Kochi. Gone are the days where MS Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo are in same team line-up with the yellow jersey on. Now, both are busy captaining their respective International sides.

This match should result in an even contest as both teams look alike in terms of experience, exposure and temperament. West Indies look more an experienced team but that is evened out by India with the home advantage.

Key Players:

Virat Kohli should be fresh from his month long vacation and a new hair-cut. He is the key in any match India is featured. Suresh Raina is unchallenged in the limited over format scoring heaps of runs. His overall strike of 92.21 proves how devastating he could be in the middle overs. Bhuvi and Umesh Yadav are the bowlers to watch out for. Amit Mishra should be the key in the spin department as the last time these two teams met at this stadium on 21-Nov-13, West Indies folded for a meagre 211 thanks to the spin attack by Jadeja and Raina taking 3 wickets apiece. New guy Kuldeep Yadav has provided KKR with great bowling spells and got a place in the Indian team but is this enough to get a spot in the playing 11 is a question.

On the other side Jason Holder is slowly building as an all-rounder but Bravo is the best all-rounder of them all. When we see at the line-up its dominated by all-rounders including Samuels, Russell, Pollard, Sammy etc. but one pure ace batsman is Darren Bravo, he holds the key to success for West Indies to gel together and build partnerships.

• India's record at the Nehru Stadium is outstanding with a win percentage of 72.2% whereas West Indies have only played one match here where they had to face defeat.

• There have been 9 ODI matches played in total all involving India and India have won 6 out of those with a match being abandoned.

• Out of the 9 matches 4 matches have been won each by teams batting first and second respectively.

• The average first inning score in Kochi is 268 runs for the loss of 7 wickets.

• For me the captain should look to bat first in a high scoring and spin friendly track where the spinners can take care of things in the second innings with a slightly deteriorating pitch. But the weather predictions does not look favorable as there is 50% chances of thunderstorm and heavy rain.

India looks clearly a better side of the two as the W-Indies players were too busy mulling over their payment issues. Will they concentrate 100% on the match is a question. Its a issue of mental fitness.