Thoughts on India-England first ODI

Hello friends,

It was nice to see India post a comprehensive win in the first ODI against England. The size and ease of victory is what gave me more joy than the actual victory. India ticked off most boxes with that win, but they need to post a comprehensive win for the series and only then will Indian fans, myself included, be satisfied.

I think the 1 week rest has done lot of good for Dhoni. He looked fresh and agile in the middle and also in his decision-making. In that way, Chennai Super Kings not making the semi-finals of CLT20 was a blessing in disguise. It is nice to see that Dhoni is in great batting form. Also, Ravindra Jadeja continues to play like he has a point to prove. As long as that fire in him is burning, he will continue to perform well. It will be interesting to see whether, after a few more good performances like these, he will get complacent and drop his standards. I hope not, because there are a lot of contenders for his slot and if the team does not do well, his will be one of the first places to be scrutinized. For a like-for-like swap (bowling all-rounder or batting all-rounder), we have Yusuf and Yuvraj (when he returns) and Irfan (if he does very well in the upcoming domestic season). One other way his position could be sacrificed is if the team management decide to go with 7 proper batsmen (especially once Yuvi comes back) and use a few others (Raina, Yuvi, a fully-fit Sehwag etc.) for the 5th bowler option. So he should continue to perform and I hope he realizes this.

Having seen Jadeja perform, I think it is difficult for Rahul Sharma to get in to this setup, which is sad because he deserves a look-in. I hope Rahul stays in the squad for the remaining 3 matches as well and that the management try him in the 4th or 5th ODI, especially if India wrap-up the series early. I hope all pitches behave like the one in Hyderabad, a bit on the slower side, but once the batsmen get in, they can play shots, like Dhoni and Raina proved. This will test the England batsmen and will suit our pop-gun attack (I am talking about the pacers here). Having said that, it was nice to see Umesh Yadav run in and hit speeds of 135+ consistently and hustle the England batsmen at times with his pace. I wish they also try Varun Aaron at some time this series, and that he does the same as Yadav.

Lets hope for another win in the second ODI. I will post again after the second ODI, so please stay tuned.

Cheers.