Hello friends,
I watched today's match between England and WI all the way from start to finish, mainly because I was interested to see how today's result would affect India's standing, and also to have a look at India's next opponents.
Before I post my thoughts for the India-WI game, here is a breakdown, by scenario, of the final 4 positions in Group B.
Scenario 1 - Bangladesh beat SA
If this happens tonight, here is how the final positions will be formed after the India-WI match
Scenario 1.A - India beat WI
If this happens, the top four from Group B will be
India - 9 points (number 1)
Bangladesh - 8 points (number 2)
SA - 8 points (number 3)
England - 7 points (number 4)
WI will be eliminated.
Scenario 1.B - WI beat India
If this happens, the top four from Group B will be
WI - 8 points (number 1)
SA - 8 points (number 2)
Bangladesh - 8 points (number 3)
India - 7 points (number 4)
England will be eliminated
Scenario 2 - SA beat Bangladesh
If this happens tonight, here is how the final positions will be formed after the India-WI match
Scenario 2.A - India beat WI
If this happens, the top four from Group B will be
SA - 10 points (number 1)
India - 9 points (number 2)
England - 7 points (number 3)
WI - 6 points (number 4)
Bangladesh will be eliminated
Scenario 2.B - WI beat India
If this happens, the top four from Group B will be
SA - 10 points (number 1)
WI - 8 points (number 2)
India - 7 points (number 3)
England - 7 points (number 4)
Bangladesh will be eliminated
I am not accounting for tied games or rained-out games in either of the 2 matches where both teams will get 1 point each. Also, I am assuming that the wins will not be by huge margin. I am assuming the wins to be by around 20-70 runs or with 3-4 overs to spare, such that there will not be a big difference in net run rate.
Hope this helps to get an idea regarding India's potential QF opponents. Watch for my next post in a few minutes which will be a preview of the India-WI match.
Cheers.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Thoughts on India-SA match
Hello friends,
Out of the two wishes that I had posted in the preview of this match, one got fulfilled and one did not. It was a very good match, but India lost. Let us look at a few aspects of this game.
Indian team selection
I cannot understand the reluctance of Dhoni to bring Ashwin into the playing eleven. Today was a good chance to brng him in. The only acceptable reason for his exclusion would have been Dhoni going into this game with 3 pacers, and he did just that, so I reluctantly agreed with that tactic.
For SA, it must have been difficult to leave out their form bowler, Imran Tahir. I also thought they would give a chance to Tsotsobe, given that he did very well against India just before this World Cup. But they chose to go with 2 full spinners in Botha and Peterson, to complement the pace of Steyn and Morkel, and I was ok with that.
Indian batting
Dhoni got it right with his call to bat first after winning the toss. As I had mentioned, India's best chance lay in batting first in friendly conditions and posting a big total. They started very well, Veeru and Sachin got out of the blocks in a hurry, no doubt boosted by the fact that Steyn and Morkel did not get any help from the conditions.
Veeru got out a little earlier than he should have, a hundred was there for the taking, but he fell when India had SA on the mat. But it was nice to see Gambhir get a decent outing in the middle and converting his 20s and 30s to a good score. Sachin batted excellently as usual, not taking too many risks and just riding the great batting conditions to notch up another hundred.
Even after what happened in the batting powerplay, I dont have any complaints regarding the timing of it. I still believe the batsmen were right to take it around the 38th-39th over when the changed ball was still a little hard and giving themselves 7-8 overs after the powerplay to really push the pedal to the floor. But what followed was pathetic, and very similar to what happened against England. Batsman after batsman came, tried to be a hero, and perished early. As Dhoni mentioned in his post-match interview, batting powerplay and slog overs are not about pleasing the crowd, but doing what is best for the team. Not one batsman seemed to think in that direction, and fell trying to hit every ball to the boundary. Dhoni himself did not try to be a hero, but in my opinion, went to the other side too much and actually looked and played defensive, which is also a crime given the situation.
I feel that this trend of taking the foot off the pedal when the opposition is down and out, especially when India is batting, is going to cost us very dearly in this World Cup. This needs to be rectified ASAP. How that is going to happen, is anyone's guess. But today, I felt Dhoni made another bad decision by sending in Yusuf at the fall of the second wicket. I understand that the powerplay was on, and he probably saw this as his chance to shut the opposition out of the game. But Yusuf is like a lottery, he cannot and will not click every time. More often than not, this will give another quick wicket to the opposition and against a team like SA, they will seize this chance to get back into the game, like they did today. Also, this causes confusion in the minds of batsmen like Virat Kohli and Yuvraj, who will try to be a Yusuf when they get a chance at bat.
Also, I keep harping on predictability being a thing for teams to avoid in this World Cup. By always bringing in Yusuf when India has a huge total and the potential for an even bigger score, Dhoni is being predictable and teams will exploit that. In such situations, having Yusuf in the hut still to come, is a huge psychological matter for India and the opposition and that alone could result in some pressure bowling from the opposition, which will help India. Also, it is worrying to see no contribution in this WC yet from the bowlers and also the form of Dhoni is a worry.
At all times, but especially in World Cups where teams bring their A game at all times, it is absolutely criminal to not bat out 50 overs and India have done this twice already in this WC, against both the top teams they have played so far. That is another thing that needs to be addressed immediately.
Indian bowling
This Nagpur track this time actually suited India more. It was not the absolute belter that it was expected to be. There was some turn and bounce and the ball was stopping a bit. So 296 was very defendable on this track. I thought India bowled quite well early on and did not allow SA to get off to the flier that they wanted to. That pressure even resulted in Smith giving away his wicket. Kallis and Amla batted well, but I thought they could have asserted themselves a bit more. They seemed content to get 4 runs an over. Anyway, things were even almost right through the chase and fortunes fluctuated both ways often, making for a good game of cricket overall.
As I had mentioned in my preview, Harbhajan proved to be the difference for India as he looked like taking a wicket every over. That is one big plus for India from this match. If he can carry this form to the rest of the tournament, India will be in much better shape with the ball and this, along with the return of Ashwin and the form of Yuvraj and of course Zaheer, will help India to look like a decent bowling side, which is much more than was expected at the start of the tournament.
Things looked in India's favor even going into the last over. Zak had bowled a fantastic penultimate over, giving only 5 runs and left SA to get 13 from the final over. At this stage, I was shocked and absolutely outraged to see Nehra get the last over. In my opinion, giving it to Bhajji was a no-brainer. In cricket, especially in ODIs and 20-20, the form of the bowler on the day is the most important thing. To any viewer, it was obvious that Nehra had had a bad day till that point and Bhajji had had a very good day. Any sensible captain would have gone with the bowler that looked better on the day. I cannot for one moment buy Dhoni's argument that a pacer would have been the better choice at that time. A left-hander was on strike at the start of the 50th over, so an offspinner was the logical choice as well. Any way you look at it, Dhoni got it wrong big time when he gave the final over to Nehra. I was almost sure at that time that India would lose, and that is exactly what happened.
India's future in this World Cup
India is still at the top of Group B, but that will change quickly over the next few days. The task for India is pretty simple. They need to beat WI and if possible, by a comfortable margin to give them some confidence ahead of the quarter finals. I think India will go through to the next round even if they lost to WI, but they could end up being fourth in that situation, which means they may play Australia in the QF.
I will be watching the England-WI game with interest, not just because it is a match between 2 of the top sides, but because that could be a factor towards India's position in this group. England need to win that one to help them qualify for the next stage, but that would also help India in my opinion.
My next post will be after the England-WI game on Thursday, where I will post a preview of the India-WI game. Stay tuned.
Let me leave you guys with a final thought. My wife, who watched most of the game with me, had one comment about the Indian batting after the collapse that I think I should mention here. She said, after all these years, Indian batting still revolves around Sachin and after he departs, Indian batting still looks brittle and she was reminded of the 90s. It is definitely food for thought.
Cheers.
Out of the two wishes that I had posted in the preview of this match, one got fulfilled and one did not. It was a very good match, but India lost. Let us look at a few aspects of this game.
Indian team selection
I cannot understand the reluctance of Dhoni to bring Ashwin into the playing eleven. Today was a good chance to brng him in. The only acceptable reason for his exclusion would have been Dhoni going into this game with 3 pacers, and he did just that, so I reluctantly agreed with that tactic.
For SA, it must have been difficult to leave out their form bowler, Imran Tahir. I also thought they would give a chance to Tsotsobe, given that he did very well against India just before this World Cup. But they chose to go with 2 full spinners in Botha and Peterson, to complement the pace of Steyn and Morkel, and I was ok with that.
Indian batting
Dhoni got it right with his call to bat first after winning the toss. As I had mentioned, India's best chance lay in batting first in friendly conditions and posting a big total. They started very well, Veeru and Sachin got out of the blocks in a hurry, no doubt boosted by the fact that Steyn and Morkel did not get any help from the conditions.
Veeru got out a little earlier than he should have, a hundred was there for the taking, but he fell when India had SA on the mat. But it was nice to see Gambhir get a decent outing in the middle and converting his 20s and 30s to a good score. Sachin batted excellently as usual, not taking too many risks and just riding the great batting conditions to notch up another hundred.
Even after what happened in the batting powerplay, I dont have any complaints regarding the timing of it. I still believe the batsmen were right to take it around the 38th-39th over when the changed ball was still a little hard and giving themselves 7-8 overs after the powerplay to really push the pedal to the floor. But what followed was pathetic, and very similar to what happened against England. Batsman after batsman came, tried to be a hero, and perished early. As Dhoni mentioned in his post-match interview, batting powerplay and slog overs are not about pleasing the crowd, but doing what is best for the team. Not one batsman seemed to think in that direction, and fell trying to hit every ball to the boundary. Dhoni himself did not try to be a hero, but in my opinion, went to the other side too much and actually looked and played defensive, which is also a crime given the situation.
I feel that this trend of taking the foot off the pedal when the opposition is down and out, especially when India is batting, is going to cost us very dearly in this World Cup. This needs to be rectified ASAP. How that is going to happen, is anyone's guess. But today, I felt Dhoni made another bad decision by sending in Yusuf at the fall of the second wicket. I understand that the powerplay was on, and he probably saw this as his chance to shut the opposition out of the game. But Yusuf is like a lottery, he cannot and will not click every time. More often than not, this will give another quick wicket to the opposition and against a team like SA, they will seize this chance to get back into the game, like they did today. Also, this causes confusion in the minds of batsmen like Virat Kohli and Yuvraj, who will try to be a Yusuf when they get a chance at bat.
Also, I keep harping on predictability being a thing for teams to avoid in this World Cup. By always bringing in Yusuf when India has a huge total and the potential for an even bigger score, Dhoni is being predictable and teams will exploit that. In such situations, having Yusuf in the hut still to come, is a huge psychological matter for India and the opposition and that alone could result in some pressure bowling from the opposition, which will help India. Also, it is worrying to see no contribution in this WC yet from the bowlers and also the form of Dhoni is a worry.
At all times, but especially in World Cups where teams bring their A game at all times, it is absolutely criminal to not bat out 50 overs and India have done this twice already in this WC, against both the top teams they have played so far. That is another thing that needs to be addressed immediately.
Indian bowling
This Nagpur track this time actually suited India more. It was not the absolute belter that it was expected to be. There was some turn and bounce and the ball was stopping a bit. So 296 was very defendable on this track. I thought India bowled quite well early on and did not allow SA to get off to the flier that they wanted to. That pressure even resulted in Smith giving away his wicket. Kallis and Amla batted well, but I thought they could have asserted themselves a bit more. They seemed content to get 4 runs an over. Anyway, things were even almost right through the chase and fortunes fluctuated both ways often, making for a good game of cricket overall.
As I had mentioned in my preview, Harbhajan proved to be the difference for India as he looked like taking a wicket every over. That is one big plus for India from this match. If he can carry this form to the rest of the tournament, India will be in much better shape with the ball and this, along with the return of Ashwin and the form of Yuvraj and of course Zaheer, will help India to look like a decent bowling side, which is much more than was expected at the start of the tournament.
Things looked in India's favor even going into the last over. Zak had bowled a fantastic penultimate over, giving only 5 runs and left SA to get 13 from the final over. At this stage, I was shocked and absolutely outraged to see Nehra get the last over. In my opinion, giving it to Bhajji was a no-brainer. In cricket, especially in ODIs and 20-20, the form of the bowler on the day is the most important thing. To any viewer, it was obvious that Nehra had had a bad day till that point and Bhajji had had a very good day. Any sensible captain would have gone with the bowler that looked better on the day. I cannot for one moment buy Dhoni's argument that a pacer would have been the better choice at that time. A left-hander was on strike at the start of the 50th over, so an offspinner was the logical choice as well. Any way you look at it, Dhoni got it wrong big time when he gave the final over to Nehra. I was almost sure at that time that India would lose, and that is exactly what happened.
India's future in this World Cup
India is still at the top of Group B, but that will change quickly over the next few days. The task for India is pretty simple. They need to beat WI and if possible, by a comfortable margin to give them some confidence ahead of the quarter finals. I think India will go through to the next round even if they lost to WI, but they could end up being fourth in that situation, which means they may play Australia in the QF.
I will be watching the England-WI game with interest, not just because it is a match between 2 of the top sides, but because that could be a factor towards India's position in this group. England need to win that one to help them qualify for the next stage, but that would also help India in my opinion.
My next post will be after the England-WI game on Thursday, where I will post a preview of the India-WI game. Stay tuned.
Let me leave you guys with a final thought. My wife, who watched most of the game with me, had one comment about the Indian batting after the collapse that I think I should mention here. She said, after all these years, Indian batting still revolves around Sachin and after he departs, Indian batting still looks brittle and she was reminded of the 90s. It is definitely food for thought.
Cheers.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Preview of India-South Africa match
Hello friends,
This weekend's game is a big one in the World Cup and for both the teams involved. India plays SA at Nagpur. It promises to be a cracker, 2 of the top teams playing in batsmen-friendly conditions in front of a huge crowd. Lets look at a few things about the game and the teams.
Indian team selection
Ashwin needs to play in this game. I mentioned in my post after the Netherlands game that playing Piyush against the strong SA lineup could be expensive for India. Also, I had mentioned 2 reasons why I think Piyush was preferred over Ashwin till this time. There is an article on Cricinfo by Sharda Ugra and that also mentions the reasons I gave for this. If Dhoni really reckons Ashwin is his big-match player, then Ashwin should play this game since this is about as big as it gets for India in this WC. If Ashwin plays, he should get the new ball. With his variations and a hard new ball in hand, he could get us an early wicket. If he can get Amla, that would be one big obstacle removed for India.
Another change from the previous game would most likely be the return of Munaf in place of Nehra. Ashish did not have a bad game, but Munaf definitely is a better bet, especially since he is bowling well at the moment.
SA team selection
I think they are going to play Tsotsobe in place of Tahir. Tahir has broken his left thumb, and though it is not his bowling hand, I think they will choose to rest him for this match. Also they seem to believe that Tsotsobe has the handle on the Indian batsmen given his performance in SA before this WC. But, in my opinion, it could work to India's advantage, since Tsotsobe will not be near the force he was in SA, in Indian conditions. So I would be happy if Tsotsobe plays.
Indian strategy
As I said, India should look to open with Ashwin and take early wickets. The danger men for India are Amla and De Villiers. Kallis and Smith are very good too, but Kallis has not been the same player since he came back from injury and Smith has a weakness against Zaheer, which I am hoping Zak will exploit and pick him up early.
SA's lower middle order looks a little vulnerable after De Villiers. There is Duminy, but I believe he can be controlled and taken out with good spin bowling. The others like Du Plessis and the allrounders Peterson and Morne Van Wyk dont look too threatening in my opinion. So India should look to get past De Villiers as that could put pressure on the SA lower middle order.
Regarding Indian batting, India did not play a full strength batting side in SA, so it should be a more even contest between this full Indian batting lineup and the SA bowling.
Nagpur is a pretty flat track, so we could see a high scoring game. In my opinon, India should win the toss and bat first. The main reason for this is to minimize the threat of Dale Steyn with the new ball under lights. I want to see Steyn and the other bowlers against the Indian batsmen in the afternoon session with little or no help from the conditions. That would make India slight favorites in this match.
Prediction
If India bat first, I would back India to win this game. If they bowl first, it would be 50-50 or maybe 55-45 in favor of SA.
Key performers
For India, my pick is Harbhajan. The reason for this is the fact that Bhajji has not done much in this WC so far and he is a big-match player. I expect him to take a few wickets in this game. With the bat, it could be any of the top 7, so I am not going to make a prediction there.
For SA, my pick is De Villiers with the bat. With the ball, Steyn is the obvious threat. Morkel will not be the dangerous bowler in Indian conditions, that he was in SA.
So tell me what you think. I am enjoying writing these pieces, I hope you all are having a good time reading them.
Lets hope for a good game and an Indian win. My next post will be after the India-SA game, so stay tuned.
Cheers.
This weekend's game is a big one in the World Cup and for both the teams involved. India plays SA at Nagpur. It promises to be a cracker, 2 of the top teams playing in batsmen-friendly conditions in front of a huge crowd. Lets look at a few things about the game and the teams.
Indian team selection
Ashwin needs to play in this game. I mentioned in my post after the Netherlands game that playing Piyush against the strong SA lineup could be expensive for India. Also, I had mentioned 2 reasons why I think Piyush was preferred over Ashwin till this time. There is an article on Cricinfo by Sharda Ugra and that also mentions the reasons I gave for this. If Dhoni really reckons Ashwin is his big-match player, then Ashwin should play this game since this is about as big as it gets for India in this WC. If Ashwin plays, he should get the new ball. With his variations and a hard new ball in hand, he could get us an early wicket. If he can get Amla, that would be one big obstacle removed for India.
Another change from the previous game would most likely be the return of Munaf in place of Nehra. Ashish did not have a bad game, but Munaf definitely is a better bet, especially since he is bowling well at the moment.
SA team selection
I think they are going to play Tsotsobe in place of Tahir. Tahir has broken his left thumb, and though it is not his bowling hand, I think they will choose to rest him for this match. Also they seem to believe that Tsotsobe has the handle on the Indian batsmen given his performance in SA before this WC. But, in my opinion, it could work to India's advantage, since Tsotsobe will not be near the force he was in SA, in Indian conditions. So I would be happy if Tsotsobe plays.
Indian strategy
As I said, India should look to open with Ashwin and take early wickets. The danger men for India are Amla and De Villiers. Kallis and Smith are very good too, but Kallis has not been the same player since he came back from injury and Smith has a weakness against Zaheer, which I am hoping Zak will exploit and pick him up early.
SA's lower middle order looks a little vulnerable after De Villiers. There is Duminy, but I believe he can be controlled and taken out with good spin bowling. The others like Du Plessis and the allrounders Peterson and Morne Van Wyk dont look too threatening in my opinion. So India should look to get past De Villiers as that could put pressure on the SA lower middle order.
Regarding Indian batting, India did not play a full strength batting side in SA, so it should be a more even contest between this full Indian batting lineup and the SA bowling.
Nagpur is a pretty flat track, so we could see a high scoring game. In my opinon, India should win the toss and bat first. The main reason for this is to minimize the threat of Dale Steyn with the new ball under lights. I want to see Steyn and the other bowlers against the Indian batsmen in the afternoon session with little or no help from the conditions. That would make India slight favorites in this match.
Prediction
If India bat first, I would back India to win this game. If they bowl first, it would be 50-50 or maybe 55-45 in favor of SA.
Key performers
For India, my pick is Harbhajan. The reason for this is the fact that Bhajji has not done much in this WC so far and he is a big-match player. I expect him to take a few wickets in this game. With the bat, it could be any of the top 7, so I am not going to make a prediction there.
For SA, my pick is De Villiers with the bat. With the ball, Steyn is the obvious threat. Morkel will not be the dangerous bowler in Indian conditions, that he was in SA.
So tell me what you think. I am enjoying writing these pieces, I hope you all are having a good time reading them.
Lets hope for a good game and an Indian win. My next post will be after the India-SA game, so stay tuned.
Cheers.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Thoughts on India-Netherlands match
Hello friends,
Today's game against Netherlands did not provide too many surprises for India, who won comfortably with overs to spare. Here are some quick thoughts on today's game.
As I mentioned, India's best chance for this game was in bowling first and restricting the opposition to a small score. They did just that, though Dhoni mentioned he would have batted first had he won the toss. I was surprised to find Ashwin missing from the playing eleven yet again. I cannot understand this stubborn persistence with Piyush Chawla, especially knowing that Ashwin will play in some of the future games. So instead of bringing him in from the cold for the big games against SA and WI, India should have given him a chance here. I can think of 2 possible reasons why Dhoni chose to not play Ashwin so long into the WC. One, he has too much confidence in Ashwin and is not concerned about his ability to deliver the goods when he gets the chance. Another reason could be that he did not want Piyush to be rotated out of the eleven when he was low on confidence, so he decided to give him one more chance to get his confidence back by playing him against a smaller side.
Anyway, I dont see Piyush playing against SA as that would be taking too much risk since Piyush could go for a lot of runs there. So maybe Ashwin could have got his feet wet in this game and taken the confidence from his good performance here, in the matches against the bigger opposition.
It was nice to see Ashish Nehra get a game today. Though, I think that by not resting Zaheer for this game, India is taking a chance with his fitness since the next game is only 3 days away. Once again, Dhoni brought on Yusuf for the 4th over, which was nice. It will be interesting to see whether Ashwin is given the new ball when he plays.
Also, sending Yusuf at number 3 when chasing was a good idea, even though it did not click this time. It shows that the think tank is prepared to think out of the box and is flexible with their batting lineup, which is good since predictability is one thing all teams should look to avoid, whether with bat or ball, in this World Cup.
The chase was pretty comfortable, though they lost 5 wickets and had to depend on their last specialist pair to see them home. They achieved the objective of a significant increase in the net run rate, so no complaints there. One more heartening aspect is the form of Yuvraj with bat and ball. I have always maintained that Yuvi is one of the most important members of this side, not withstanding the presence of Sachin, Sehwag and other stars. He has quietly notched up 3 half centuries and also provides an attacking option with the ball in the middle overs. This is helping to mask the fact that Harbhajan has hardly taken any wickets in this WC so far, and has been restrictive at best, which is not his role. But Harbhajan needs to discover the art of taking wickets soon, otherwise it will affect the Indian performance at some stage.
With the matches against the lesser teams out of the way, it is now time to focus on the bigger games against SA and WI and trying to win both so that India can end up at the top of the group.
Lets chat about the SA game and the WI game.My next post will be before the SA game.
Cheers.
Today's game against Netherlands did not provide too many surprises for India, who won comfortably with overs to spare. Here are some quick thoughts on today's game.
As I mentioned, India's best chance for this game was in bowling first and restricting the opposition to a small score. They did just that, though Dhoni mentioned he would have batted first had he won the toss. I was surprised to find Ashwin missing from the playing eleven yet again. I cannot understand this stubborn persistence with Piyush Chawla, especially knowing that Ashwin will play in some of the future games. So instead of bringing him in from the cold for the big games against SA and WI, India should have given him a chance here. I can think of 2 possible reasons why Dhoni chose to not play Ashwin so long into the WC. One, he has too much confidence in Ashwin and is not concerned about his ability to deliver the goods when he gets the chance. Another reason could be that he did not want Piyush to be rotated out of the eleven when he was low on confidence, so he decided to give him one more chance to get his confidence back by playing him against a smaller side.
Anyway, I dont see Piyush playing against SA as that would be taking too much risk since Piyush could go for a lot of runs there. So maybe Ashwin could have got his feet wet in this game and taken the confidence from his good performance here, in the matches against the bigger opposition.
It was nice to see Ashish Nehra get a game today. Though, I think that by not resting Zaheer for this game, India is taking a chance with his fitness since the next game is only 3 days away. Once again, Dhoni brought on Yusuf for the 4th over, which was nice. It will be interesting to see whether Ashwin is given the new ball when he plays.
Also, sending Yusuf at number 3 when chasing was a good idea, even though it did not click this time. It shows that the think tank is prepared to think out of the box and is flexible with their batting lineup, which is good since predictability is one thing all teams should look to avoid, whether with bat or ball, in this World Cup.
The chase was pretty comfortable, though they lost 5 wickets and had to depend on their last specialist pair to see them home. They achieved the objective of a significant increase in the net run rate, so no complaints there. One more heartening aspect is the form of Yuvraj with bat and ball. I have always maintained that Yuvi is one of the most important members of this side, not withstanding the presence of Sachin, Sehwag and other stars. He has quietly notched up 3 half centuries and also provides an attacking option with the ball in the middle overs. This is helping to mask the fact that Harbhajan has hardly taken any wickets in this WC so far, and has been restrictive at best, which is not his role. But Harbhajan needs to discover the art of taking wickets soon, otherwise it will affect the Indian performance at some stage.
With the matches against the lesser teams out of the way, it is now time to focus on the bigger games against SA and WI and trying to win both so that India can end up at the top of the group.
Lets chat about the SA game and the WI game.My next post will be before the SA game.
Cheers.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Preview of India-Netherlands match
Hello friends,
Here are my thoughts on the upcoming India match with Netherlands.
Team Selection
As I mentioned in the review of the Ireland match, Ashwin should have played in that one. Anyway, now that Dhoni gave another chance to Piyush and he failed badly, it is looking very likely that Ashwin will play against Netherlands. Another change I would like to see is Raina in place of Sachin or Sehwag. It would be nice to see what Raina can bring in to this side, and though he did not play well in SA and might be short of confidence, this is the perfect time to try him out and get him match-fit and ready if he is needed in the future. He also provides an extra bowling option to Dhoni and will improve the fielding as well.
One other change I would like to see is Nehra in place of Zaheer. Zak needs a rest and Nehra can be tried out for the same reason as Raina, to get him match-fit and ready to play if needed. Practice in the nets and hanging out with the team will never replace actually bowling in the middle and it is important that all our players are ready to play, so trying all of them out is good.
Strategy
Once again, bowling first is the way to go for India, in my opinion. The Delhi track plays slow and low of late, so it would be a good idea to bowl first, and keep Netherlands to a low score using the many spinners at our disposal. Then once we have a target, the batsmen can look to have a dash to get there as quickly as possible and improve the net run rate. The NRR is going to have an important part to play in Group B, which looks very open at this point. So numbers 1 and 2, and possibly 3, may be decided on the NRR. So India should definitely have an eye on that if they want to finish in the top 2 among the group.
Also, if Ashwin plays, Dhoni should look to give him the new ball. He is an attacking bowler and could get us early wickets, which will put more pressure on the Netherlands team. Also, this is the match to try out this strategy since it appears to be the way forward for India in this World Cup. When a lot of other teams are trying it with success, I cannot understand why India has not tried it yet. Anyway, it was nice to see Dhoni try out the strategy somewhat in the Ireland by giving Yusuf the 4th over. Also, in Ashwin, they have a bowler who likes bowling in the first powerplay and is suited to do so as well. If Dhoni can give Ashwin the super over in the IPL (remember the match against KKR in IPL 3 which went to the super over and instead of giving it to Bollinger or Murali, Dhoni chose to give it to Ashwin who went for lot of runs and cost Chennai the match ?), then it is a no-brainer to open with him in Indian conditions.
Netherlands players to watch
Ryan ten Doeschate is the one world-class player they have. He got a hundred against England in this WC and Netherlands ran them pretty close in that match. They also have a couple of decent spinners, Peter Seelaar is a good one to watch, a left-arm spinner with a good economy rate over about 25 matches. Bas Zuiderant is a talented batsman. I remember him playing for Netherlands in the 1996 World Cup in the sub-continent as a very promising 18-year old.
Summary and prediction
India should win this one comfortably. I would be keenly watching the performance of Ashwin and also Raina and Nehra if they play. If India can improve their NRR and get a good performance from Ashwin, it would be a completely satisfying game.
Lets hear it from you all out there. I know this is one of the less important games for India in this WC, but we can still chat about it and discuss about the other, bigger games coming up.
My next post will be after the Netherlands game. So stay tuned.
Cheers.
Here are my thoughts on the upcoming India match with Netherlands.
Team Selection
As I mentioned in the review of the Ireland match, Ashwin should have played in that one. Anyway, now that Dhoni gave another chance to Piyush and he failed badly, it is looking very likely that Ashwin will play against Netherlands. Another change I would like to see is Raina in place of Sachin or Sehwag. It would be nice to see what Raina can bring in to this side, and though he did not play well in SA and might be short of confidence, this is the perfect time to try him out and get him match-fit and ready if he is needed in the future. He also provides an extra bowling option to Dhoni and will improve the fielding as well.
One other change I would like to see is Nehra in place of Zaheer. Zak needs a rest and Nehra can be tried out for the same reason as Raina, to get him match-fit and ready to play if needed. Practice in the nets and hanging out with the team will never replace actually bowling in the middle and it is important that all our players are ready to play, so trying all of them out is good.
Strategy
Once again, bowling first is the way to go for India, in my opinion. The Delhi track plays slow and low of late, so it would be a good idea to bowl first, and keep Netherlands to a low score using the many spinners at our disposal. Then once we have a target, the batsmen can look to have a dash to get there as quickly as possible and improve the net run rate. The NRR is going to have an important part to play in Group B, which looks very open at this point. So numbers 1 and 2, and possibly 3, may be decided on the NRR. So India should definitely have an eye on that if they want to finish in the top 2 among the group.
Also, if Ashwin plays, Dhoni should look to give him the new ball. He is an attacking bowler and could get us early wickets, which will put more pressure on the Netherlands team. Also, this is the match to try out this strategy since it appears to be the way forward for India in this World Cup. When a lot of other teams are trying it with success, I cannot understand why India has not tried it yet. Anyway, it was nice to see Dhoni try out the strategy somewhat in the Ireland by giving Yusuf the 4th over. Also, in Ashwin, they have a bowler who likes bowling in the first powerplay and is suited to do so as well. If Dhoni can give Ashwin the super over in the IPL (remember the match against KKR in IPL 3 which went to the super over and instead of giving it to Bollinger or Murali, Dhoni chose to give it to Ashwin who went for lot of runs and cost Chennai the match ?), then it is a no-brainer to open with him in Indian conditions.
Netherlands players to watch
Ryan ten Doeschate is the one world-class player they have. He got a hundred against England in this WC and Netherlands ran them pretty close in that match. They also have a couple of decent spinners, Peter Seelaar is a good one to watch, a left-arm spinner with a good economy rate over about 25 matches. Bas Zuiderant is a talented batsman. I remember him playing for Netherlands in the 1996 World Cup in the sub-continent as a very promising 18-year old.
Summary and prediction
India should win this one comfortably. I would be keenly watching the performance of Ashwin and also Raina and Nehra if they play. If India can improve their NRR and get a good performance from Ashwin, it would be a completely satisfying game.
Lets hear it from you all out there. I know this is one of the less important games for India in this WC, but we can still chat about it and discuss about the other, bigger games coming up.
My next post will be after the Netherlands game. So stay tuned.
Cheers.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Thoughts on India-Ireland match
Hello friends,
It was a hard-fought win for India against Ireland, but there were a few positives to take away from this game, which will stand them in good stead for the tougher matches ahead. Lets look at the India-Ireland match in some detail.
India in the field
First of all, it was nice to see Dhoni get it right with his call of bowling first on winning the toss. As I had mentioned in the preview, India's best chance for this match was in bowling first and restricting Ireland to a chase-able total and using the strong and deep batting lineup to get to the target. They did just that. It was also nice to see India give Yusuf Pathan the ball as early as the 4th over. So they still did not open with spin, but at least introduced spin very early in the game to take the pace off the ball on the slow afternoon wicket.
I wanted to see Ashwin get a chance in this game and in hindsight, I am sure Dhoni also must be thinking that this would have been a good move. Well, Ashwin for the next game now looks a certainty. Piyush looks down on confidence at this point, and that is affecting his bowling. He is giving away too many runs and is not even using his googly, which is his wicket-taking delivery, that well. So a break will do him good and will be definitely better for the team. Harbhajan bowled well, and looked like taking a wicket, at least in his first spell, but they played him out cautiously. Zaheer bowled well as usual, and his delivery to take out the opener was fantastic, a dream ball and wicket for any left-armer. Munaf bowled ok, I thought he could have bowled a bit better and tried out a few variations in his length. The fringe bowlers, like Munaf, Ashwin, Nehra, should use these 2 games against lesser sides, to try out any variations in the middle. For example, it would have been nice for Munaf and India if he had tried out a few yorkers and bouncers, just to mix it up and get the confidence to bowl them in bigger games. As I have mentioned, Munaf is a little predictable and could go for runs against bigger sides and needs to try out a few variations so that the batsmen cannot predict where he will bowl.
Yuvraj, I have always mentioned, is a key component in this World Cup for India with the ball. He proved me right today and bowled very well. He is becoming a very useful bowler because he is able to think while bowling and bowls according to pitch conditions. It was nice to see him bowl very slow through the air because the ball was not coming on and he used the straight one quite well today. Yuvi does not turn the ball much, but he spins it just enough to put the doubt in batsmen's minds, so that his straighter one becomes a potent weapon for getting the batsmen lbw.
Indian batting
The batting was tested a bit today by the pitch and the fielding of the Irish. Like Dhoni said at the presentation, the 208 that Ireland got, looked like 240 bcos of their excellent fielding. But, I am not going to panic and say that even our batsmen look shaky, just because they struggled to get 208 against a minnow side. If u look at the dismissals, only Dhoni got out because of decent bowling. Sehwag got out to the slowness of the pitch, which I am sure he will be more careful of next time, Gambhir's was a freak dismissal and he probably did not see that the fine-leg fielder had come inside the circle, so he will fix that as well. Sachin got out to a very bad shot and Kohli got run out. So the Indian batting still looks ok in my opinion and there is no need to worry about that aspect as of now. Once again, Yusuf came out and played like he was batting on a different pitch. What I like about this Yusuf is the fact that he does not look to slam ever ball to the boundary. I saw him take some good singles and even the winning hit was a risk-free shot. So he appears to have reduced the risk element in his game by a fair bit, which can only be great news for Indian team and us fans.
Yuvraj looked good from the start of his innings and looked determined to finish it off and not let his bowling effort go to waste. It will be great news for Indian fans if this innings gives him confidence to play like the Yuvraj of 2005-2006 when he and MSD used to chase down huge totals in home conditions with ease.
On the whole, India will gladly pocket the 2 points and look to the Netherlands game with more confidence as a chance to increase their net run rate.
Lets hear it from you guys. What do u think about this Indian performance ? Do you feel better about our chances, or do u feel they should have won with more comfort and are now more concerned about India's chances against the bigger teams ?
My next post will be a preview of the Netherlands game. So stay tuned.
Cheers.
It was a hard-fought win for India against Ireland, but there were a few positives to take away from this game, which will stand them in good stead for the tougher matches ahead. Lets look at the India-Ireland match in some detail.
India in the field
First of all, it was nice to see Dhoni get it right with his call of bowling first on winning the toss. As I had mentioned in the preview, India's best chance for this match was in bowling first and restricting Ireland to a chase-able total and using the strong and deep batting lineup to get to the target. They did just that. It was also nice to see India give Yusuf Pathan the ball as early as the 4th over. So they still did not open with spin, but at least introduced spin very early in the game to take the pace off the ball on the slow afternoon wicket.
I wanted to see Ashwin get a chance in this game and in hindsight, I am sure Dhoni also must be thinking that this would have been a good move. Well, Ashwin for the next game now looks a certainty. Piyush looks down on confidence at this point, and that is affecting his bowling. He is giving away too many runs and is not even using his googly, which is his wicket-taking delivery, that well. So a break will do him good and will be definitely better for the team. Harbhajan bowled well, and looked like taking a wicket, at least in his first spell, but they played him out cautiously. Zaheer bowled well as usual, and his delivery to take out the opener was fantastic, a dream ball and wicket for any left-armer. Munaf bowled ok, I thought he could have bowled a bit better and tried out a few variations in his length. The fringe bowlers, like Munaf, Ashwin, Nehra, should use these 2 games against lesser sides, to try out any variations in the middle. For example, it would have been nice for Munaf and India if he had tried out a few yorkers and bouncers, just to mix it up and get the confidence to bowl them in bigger games. As I have mentioned, Munaf is a little predictable and could go for runs against bigger sides and needs to try out a few variations so that the batsmen cannot predict where he will bowl.
Yuvraj, I have always mentioned, is a key component in this World Cup for India with the ball. He proved me right today and bowled very well. He is becoming a very useful bowler because he is able to think while bowling and bowls according to pitch conditions. It was nice to see him bowl very slow through the air because the ball was not coming on and he used the straight one quite well today. Yuvi does not turn the ball much, but he spins it just enough to put the doubt in batsmen's minds, so that his straighter one becomes a potent weapon for getting the batsmen lbw.
Indian batting
The batting was tested a bit today by the pitch and the fielding of the Irish. Like Dhoni said at the presentation, the 208 that Ireland got, looked like 240 bcos of their excellent fielding. But, I am not going to panic and say that even our batsmen look shaky, just because they struggled to get 208 against a minnow side. If u look at the dismissals, only Dhoni got out because of decent bowling. Sehwag got out to the slowness of the pitch, which I am sure he will be more careful of next time, Gambhir's was a freak dismissal and he probably did not see that the fine-leg fielder had come inside the circle, so he will fix that as well. Sachin got out to a very bad shot and Kohli got run out. So the Indian batting still looks ok in my opinion and there is no need to worry about that aspect as of now. Once again, Yusuf came out and played like he was batting on a different pitch. What I like about this Yusuf is the fact that he does not look to slam ever ball to the boundary. I saw him take some good singles and even the winning hit was a risk-free shot. So he appears to have reduced the risk element in his game by a fair bit, which can only be great news for Indian team and us fans.
Yuvraj looked good from the start of his innings and looked determined to finish it off and not let his bowling effort go to waste. It will be great news for Indian fans if this innings gives him confidence to play like the Yuvraj of 2005-2006 when he and MSD used to chase down huge totals in home conditions with ease.
On the whole, India will gladly pocket the 2 points and look to the Netherlands game with more confidence as a chance to increase their net run rate.
Lets hear it from you guys. What do u think about this Indian performance ? Do you feel better about our chances, or do u feel they should have won with more comfort and are now more concerned about India's chances against the bigger teams ?
My next post will be a preview of the Netherlands game. So stay tuned.
Cheers.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Preview of India-Ireland match
Hello friends,
This World Cup was supposed to provide the life support to the 50 over format, which was dying quickly. And the last few games have not only made it stand up on its feet again, they have made ODIs run like Usain Bolt !!
When the WC started, the India-Ireland was supposed to provide no more than practice to the mighty Indian team and there was little interest in the contest itself. Now, after what happened in the last 2 ODIs at Bangalore, this match is being looked at in some quarters as a match between almost equally matched teams and I am sure there are several people who are praying that Ireland dont beat India and hope that India can somehow eke out 2 points from this game. Let us look at the upcoming game in more detail.
Indian team selection
One change I would definitely make is, bring Ashwin in place of Chawla. Ashwin deserves to be tried out to see what he can bring to this weak bowling lineup and this is the right time to do it. If India had beaten England comfortably or if England had won easily over Ireland, I would have recommended resting Zaheer for this game. But since both events did not happen, I think Zak needs to play this one. He is due for a rest, but we can rest him for the game against Netherlands. In any case, there has been 1 week of rest after the previous game, so his body should be ready to go. The Netherlands game is 3 days after this one, so it makes sense to rest him for that one instead.
The other change I recommend would be to bring in Raina for Sehwag if Viru is even at 90% fitness. He has gone to Delhi to consult a doctor regarding some rib injury, so it makes sense to rest him for this match and try out Raina.
Strategy
India should look to win the toss and bowl first. Having seen that teams batting second are chasing down totals of 330-odd pretty easily, we should look to bowl first, use the slowness of the pitch and try and restrict Ireland to a total around 250-270. If we bat first, I dont think any total looks safe at the moment. This Indian team may probably get another score around the 350 run mark, but then we need to change things a little in the bowling that was done badly in the England match.
One thing that should be tried out, is opening the bowling with a spinner. If Ashwin comes in, he is the obvious choice to open the bowling. He bowls well in the powerplays and has a few variations that can be useful. Besides, he is an attacking bowler, so there is a good chance he will get us a couple of early wickets.
Also, the field placements have to be spot on. Dhoni faltered badly in that department in the England match. Here, he should look to have the inner ring fielders close to the bat so that the batsmen cannot take singles every time. If Raina and Ashwin come in, we will have 7 good fielders and only 3 slow movers, unlike the England game where we had 5 and 5. I hope Indian think tank would have closely watched the England-Ireland game, so that they can learn about the Irish batsmen and make plans for each batsman in terms of where to bowl and what fields to set.
One more thing I would like to mention is the timing of the batting powerplay. I have noticed that a lot of teams have not taken this at the right time. They have either taken it a little later than the ideal time, or simply taken it blindly after the ball change in the 34th over. In my opinion, the best time to take the batting powerplay is between the overs 30 and 40, especially when you have two batsmen who are set and middling the ball well. If you enter the 32nd or 33rd over and have 2 batsmen who are middling the ball well, that is the best time to take the powerplay. Teams should not think too much at that point, just go ahead and take it.
Ireland players to watch
Kevin O Brien is definitely one to watch, especially after his blistering hundred against England. His brother Niall O Brien is also a good batsman who is the keeper as well. The openers are Porterfield, the captain and Stirling. Porterfield is a solid bat and Stirling is somewhat of a basher. So they could be dangerous. Ireland bat deep, with Trent Johnston at number 8 also being a capable bat who can get a few quick runs.
Among bowlers, Boyd Rankin is a very tall guy who will get bounce, but has not been having a great WC so far. Their main spinner Dockrell is a pretty good left-arm spinner who appears to have a good loop and varies his lengths well.
Summary and prediction
India should win this one, but Ireland cannot be taken lightly and could give a tough fight. However, sometimes the smaller teams perform miracles in one game and then tend to relax a little, because they are still floating in air with the previous performance. India should look to pounce on Ireland if they start off a little relaxed and should really attack them hard from ball one, whether it is with bat or ball.
My next post will be after the game, hopefully after an Indian win.
Lets hear your comments.
Cheers.
This World Cup was supposed to provide the life support to the 50 over format, which was dying quickly. And the last few games have not only made it stand up on its feet again, they have made ODIs run like Usain Bolt !!
When the WC started, the India-Ireland was supposed to provide no more than practice to the mighty Indian team and there was little interest in the contest itself. Now, after what happened in the last 2 ODIs at Bangalore, this match is being looked at in some quarters as a match between almost equally matched teams and I am sure there are several people who are praying that Ireland dont beat India and hope that India can somehow eke out 2 points from this game. Let us look at the upcoming game in more detail.
Indian team selection
One change I would definitely make is, bring Ashwin in place of Chawla. Ashwin deserves to be tried out to see what he can bring to this weak bowling lineup and this is the right time to do it. If India had beaten England comfortably or if England had won easily over Ireland, I would have recommended resting Zaheer for this game. But since both events did not happen, I think Zak needs to play this one. He is due for a rest, but we can rest him for the game against Netherlands. In any case, there has been 1 week of rest after the previous game, so his body should be ready to go. The Netherlands game is 3 days after this one, so it makes sense to rest him for that one instead.
The other change I recommend would be to bring in Raina for Sehwag if Viru is even at 90% fitness. He has gone to Delhi to consult a doctor regarding some rib injury, so it makes sense to rest him for this match and try out Raina.
Strategy
India should look to win the toss and bowl first. Having seen that teams batting second are chasing down totals of 330-odd pretty easily, we should look to bowl first, use the slowness of the pitch and try and restrict Ireland to a total around 250-270. If we bat first, I dont think any total looks safe at the moment. This Indian team may probably get another score around the 350 run mark, but then we need to change things a little in the bowling that was done badly in the England match.
One thing that should be tried out, is opening the bowling with a spinner. If Ashwin comes in, he is the obvious choice to open the bowling. He bowls well in the powerplays and has a few variations that can be useful. Besides, he is an attacking bowler, so there is a good chance he will get us a couple of early wickets.
Also, the field placements have to be spot on. Dhoni faltered badly in that department in the England match. Here, he should look to have the inner ring fielders close to the bat so that the batsmen cannot take singles every time. If Raina and Ashwin come in, we will have 7 good fielders and only 3 slow movers, unlike the England game where we had 5 and 5. I hope Indian think tank would have closely watched the England-Ireland game, so that they can learn about the Irish batsmen and make plans for each batsman in terms of where to bowl and what fields to set.
One more thing I would like to mention is the timing of the batting powerplay. I have noticed that a lot of teams have not taken this at the right time. They have either taken it a little later than the ideal time, or simply taken it blindly after the ball change in the 34th over. In my opinion, the best time to take the batting powerplay is between the overs 30 and 40, especially when you have two batsmen who are set and middling the ball well. If you enter the 32nd or 33rd over and have 2 batsmen who are middling the ball well, that is the best time to take the powerplay. Teams should not think too much at that point, just go ahead and take it.
Ireland players to watch
Kevin O Brien is definitely one to watch, especially after his blistering hundred against England. His brother Niall O Brien is also a good batsman who is the keeper as well. The openers are Porterfield, the captain and Stirling. Porterfield is a solid bat and Stirling is somewhat of a basher. So they could be dangerous. Ireland bat deep, with Trent Johnston at number 8 also being a capable bat who can get a few quick runs.
Among bowlers, Boyd Rankin is a very tall guy who will get bounce, but has not been having a great WC so far. Their main spinner Dockrell is a pretty good left-arm spinner who appears to have a good loop and varies his lengths well.
Summary and prediction
India should win this one, but Ireland cannot be taken lightly and could give a tough fight. However, sometimes the smaller teams perform miracles in one game and then tend to relax a little, because they are still floating in air with the previous performance. India should look to pounce on Ireland if they start off a little relaxed and should really attack them hard from ball one, whether it is with bat or ball.
My next post will be after the game, hopefully after an Indian win.
Lets hear your comments.
Cheers.
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