CricDigs Blogs

I might be wrong but it seems as if the Indian Cricket team always starts a new series (home or abroad) very poorly and then tries to catch and make amends. Barring a much superlative batting effort or even more importantly, some washed-out day (s), India would lose the first test against Sri Lanka. If you look at India’s 2007-2008 away Test series against England & Australia and home series against South Africa, you can see that the Indian team started badly and did better as these series progressed.

In the England Series, but for the bad weather and some rear-guard action by Dhoni, India would have lost their first test at Lords. They managed to win the series 1-0 in the end. Even in Australia they lost the first Test at MCG, could have pulled off a win or at least a draw at SCG and ended up beating the Aussies at Perth. Even against SA at home after a drawn first test, India lost the second test and pulled off a win in the third to level the series.

Why is that the case? Does the team has a lot of inertia or need a lot of time to acclimatize? In any case it needs to pull-up its socks and demonstrate some guts and fighting spirit if it wants to survive this very precarious situation in the first test against SL.

At their own backyard, Srilankan’s are a formidable team to beat. England would have to play outta their skins to cause an upset. The first test match looked very much a Srilankan victory. Prior & Bell staged a brilliant fight back which almost saved England the test match. Unfortunately for England the magician struck at the closing hours of the test match and won Srilanka the test match.

England team was a lot more confident lot this time around. One could see a big improvement in their batting ranks and no wonder they managed to draw the test match quite convincingly. Well saving a test match was the best possible thing England could think off, because Srilankan’s were too good aswell.

Any chances of England staging a comeback and drawing square this series were totally ruled out with a famous England batting collapse. Scoring 81 runs in less than 31 overs, well there is nothing to write home about. England’s best hope to draw this test match is to pray for rain. Their prayers are working out, and let us wait and watch if it will take them home tomorrow aswell. Looks very unlikely though. Whatever happens, this test series has been a walk round the park for the Srilankans. England has some positives to take off, and a lots of negatives to take off aswell. Hopefully they learn from their mistakes and come back strongly in the years to come !! Good luck England !!

This series started off with a bang. Muthiah Muralitharan became the highest wicket taker in the history of test cricket. He followed that up with a typical 10 wicket haul in the first test match. Sanath Jayasuriya masaccred a brilliant 78 crucial runs and announced his retirement. He signed off test cricket in great style. Kumar Sangakkara showed the world what consistency is all about. He continued his rich vane of form and scored back to back 150+ scores in the first two test matches. Mahela J’dena played a captains knock by following up his 195 with a breathtaking 213*. Chaminda Vaas destroyed the England batting line up and helped Srilanka bundle out the England team for just 81 runs. Vaas followed up this brilliant bowling spell quickly after his calculative 90 in the final test match. Well it has indeed been a brilliant series for Srilanka !!

Mathew Prior struck form with his bat. Mathew Bell is a revelation this series as he has always been. Peterson wasn’t really at his best. Mathew Hoggard started off the test match with a mindboggling spell of swing and seam bowling. Vaughan & Cook played a gutsy knock. England also have some positives to take home and they really missed Andrew Flintoff.

To sum it up, this series has been a real pleasant one to J’dena and boys. They played good cricket and deserve every bit of what they achieved this series. !!

Srilanka might not have put on a massive total in their first innings to give them a hold on the proceedings. But they have the magician at business to give them a realistic chance of still winning the match eventhough they are pitted against the wall due to their batting collapse. If it was not for the rain today, Srilanka would have bundled out the English tail. Murali is at his ultimate best today, and its very likely that he will continue bowling with the same rythm tomorow as well.

Srianka need to bundle out England as soon as they possibly can. Even if England continue to bat on and accumalate a 70-100 run lead in the first innings, Srilanka should fancy their chances. But for this happen, Srilankan’s have gotta make sure they don’t faulter in their second innings aswell. Any target above 200 should be a winning target. This pitch seems to be favouring the spinners a lot and no one needs to say what Murali can do. Batting last on this crumbling pitch will never be an easy task. Srilanka has gotta somehow bundle out the England team quickly tomorrow, bat considerably better and put on a lead of atleast a 200. And i think if they do that, the game is very much in their grasps. Magician Muralitharan would do the rest, wat say guys ? Good luck Srilanka

Aleem Dar took the wicket of Sachin, the in form Indian batsman and India lost the match.

India did a commendable job against England in the recently concluded series. It won the test series convincingly. Though the test series score reads 1-0, India really ruled in the series making England almost crawl. England huffed and puffed to wriggle out of humiliating situations with much difficulty. The mammoth totals that Indian princes on the first innings of the matches were too big for the England knights.

India beat England in England - an event that didn’t happen for more than a decade or so. England are a strong test side, more so in their own country. So the victory is laudable.

In the ODI series too India did well. Going down 3-4 is not bad. There were signs of fighting.

India could have easily won the last match had England played 11 players instead of 12. England fielded it’s playing 11 and then umpire Aleem Dar joined their team. India couldn’t measure up to the 12 England players. Aleem Dar took the wicket of Sachin, the in form Indian batsman and India lost the match. Unofficially, India actually won the ODI series.

So, good work boys. Just improve the fielding. Reconcile to the fact that Aleem Dar is a good wicket taker. There is nothing you can do about it.

The series is special for Indians as they would cherish the glorious shots of the maestro Sachin Tendulkar. Scahin was in full form and blazed his way to the nineties many a times. Then the umpires got him.

Mascarenhas is regarded as a batsman who could bowl. In cricketing terms, he’s the so called utility player. The second one day match that was played between India and England, not many would have known how close the match did eventually get. England were down in the dumps, and there comes the new batsman Mascarenhas. He stays as cool as a cucumber and suddenly opens out his long handles with no caution to the wind. Alas the ball went flying to all parts of the ground. This lad has got some real awesome power, and he hits they stay hit He actually managed to smash as many as 5 sixers in his innings of 58. England lost that match because they left it too late, and even Mascarenhas couldn’t make it for his team. But not to mention, he did play a mesmerising knock.

The next couple of one day matches, he disappears. I was wondering why. The 6th ODI did come up, and there came in Mascarenhas. This time around, India should really have known what this guy can really do. Mascarenhas did get his chance in the ending stages of the game, and i was disappointed to see him taking a lil longer time to settle down, when scoring runs was the inevitable need of the hour. It was the last over, Yuvraj was given the ball. That indeed was quite a brave decision especially given the fact that Indians know how dangerous Mascarenhas can be. The first ball was a dot ball. There were just 5 balls to go, but actually those 5 balls that were to follow did actually make what should have been a chaseable target to a very difficult target to chase. What i like about this lad is, he hits bang and stays there, chewing his bubble gum and gives absolutely no expression. Well thats the last thing any bowler would like to see.

Mascarenhas is a definite find for England. Especially when the 20 overs world cup is round the corner, these are dangerous signs for bowlers. Mascarenhas just knows one way of hitting, and you guys know what..lol…Its time to sit back and enjoy the action. If i remember right, Mascarenhas has now scored 10 sixers in his last two ODI’s. Let us see, what has he got for us this time around.

Prior offered what i should call as one of the easiest , if not the easiest catch to the slip cordon. It was Sachin’s turn to make a mockery of it. What was really funny about it is, not Sachin dropping the catch but his justification for dropping it. Ofcourse the ball swung a little by the time it reached Sachin, but this ain’t a reason to drop catches. Atleast not a reason for someone who has played 383 ODI’s.

Ian Bell has now made it a habit to offer a catch before he starts his innings. Indian’s have been so liberal to him, that everytime he offers the Indians don’t oblige and rather grant him the permission to go ahead. how sweet ?..lol..This time it was Saurav Ganguly’s turn to drop the catch. Well catches can never be easily given like the one Bell offered to Ganguly. What better way to demoralise your bowler, and Saurav Ganguly did just that. What is so amusing is the fact that, one of the worlds best slip fielder Rahul Dravid wasn’t in the slip cordon. I wonder what support he would give standing at mid off to an experienced bowler like Agarkar. He did return back to his slip position, but wasn’t it too late ?

Then comes Ganguly again. Bell again was lucky. He offered them the catch, neither did Dhoni nor did Ganguly make any attempt to catch the ball that passed just between them.It wud’ve been worth an attempt.

Last but not the least, Agarkar’s drop catch. He not just dropped the catch, but also helped the ball scroll through to the boundar to give the opposition the extra four runs. If it wasn’t for the high score put up by India, with as many as four droppped catches i am not sure if India would ever have won this match.

Let us hope they get better atleast in the next matches to come. Good luck guys !

England Team, under the leadership of Paul Collingwood, has taken a new shape. England is all of a sudden playing exceptional cricket. They are playing consistent cricket. Even the two matches they lost against India, one musn’t forget they went down fighting.

Ian Bell has been a revelation this tour. He’s come off ages, and every knock he plays is not just doing him good but the team good. 3-2 is still a comfortable lead to have. However the much expected Kevin Peterson is yet to fire in this ODI series. Although he has had some good solid starts, he’s not yet there. We know what kinda innings this tall lanky right hand bat is capable of. India can only wish, Kevin doesn’t fires. If he does, there is just one way this series is heading.

Ian Bell played a splendid knock in the first ODI against India. And that probably set him up for this series. He followed that up with consecutive half centuries. One rare failure in the previous match. He almost made it up today, but just couldn’t go the distance. Overall, his performance has simply been magnificient. He not just adds stability to the English team, but also keeps the scoreboard ticking at a fair enough pace. It is just a matter of time, for Kevin to fire. I guess a big one is due from him soon !!

From India’s point of view, Bell & Kevin should ideally be their danger man. If they can stick to their basics and hold on to the catch Bell gives them (initially )every innings, the series is well open. Lets see how it goes from here !

Sachin Tendulkar, for once has shown glimpses how destructive a batsman he could be. His innings today, reminds me of the Sachin of the yester years !. Where did all this aggression go for almost more than half dozen years now ?. I wish he continues playing his aggressive cricket, and do himself & the nation proud before hanging up his boots. wat say guys ?. Well played Sachin & India.

To be fair to the English team, they put up a gallant effort amidst a wavery climatic conditions. They might now repent their decision to field especially having won the toss. Nothing to take away from Indians thou. They really played with a purpose and came out all guns blazing. Yuvaraj is just getting better and better. These are ominous signs for the Indian cricket team. However, the fielding department really needs a total turn over. Apart from a few players like Karthick, Yuvi, there is nothing special about the others efforts in the field. I believe in the next crucial matches to come, they better tighten up their fielding. wat say guys ? Not many times would they get away with dropped catches.

Tendulkar set up the tone of the innings. Ganguly & Gambhir paced their innings exceptionally well. Yuvaraj gave it the perfect finish. Not to mention the cameo played by the captain & Dhoni. Bowling lacked the firepower, and to be fair to them the fielders let them down on many occasions. But fortunately for them, the total was too good for the English team that kept losing wickets in a hurry. Else apart, it was a clinical performance by the Indian team. Now the series is really on. 3-2 is no big lead fr the English team and i am sure they will be all geared up for the next match. We guys can expect a cracker of ODIs to come .

326/9 and just a wicket standing in the first innings. Things arent’ looking ominous if you are an English fan. Trailing India by 338 more runs. A really big daunting task ahead.

There should be no doubts in Rahul’s mind but to just ask the England team to follow on. If he thinks otherwise, then he is probably giving England a better chance to draw the test match, which i am sure will never happen. Assuming England gets bundled out for 330 tomorrow. This gives them atleast 180 overs to bat on to draw the test match and salvage some pride. Nothing is impossible in cricket, and if the England batsman apply themselves they can probably stage a fightback. Ofcourse rains can chip in with their help. But what one can never deny is, England might always have this feeling of an outside chance of winning this test match to somehow deny India a series victory. This might sound very funny to anyone hearing, but deep down inside Vaughan’s heart i am sure he will have this feeling running over.

To me, Strauss , Vaughan and Peterson are the key players. They have gotta play it session by session. The key here is not to get too defensive. They still have to punish the bad balls and that is the best possible way to keep the scoreboard ticking and some runs behind to give them the much needed confidence. Zaheer should be the lethal weapon they should confront with. It is no easy task. If England can manage to end tomorrow with a max of 4 wickets down and around say 250 on the board. This should possibly mean they trial India by 85 odd runs.

Final day with wickets in hand they can probably accelerate a little and by the end of the second session declare at around 500. This would mean India require 160 odd runs to win from the remaining 30 overs or soo. Indians might give it a calculative shot chasing, but hold back if they lose wickets. Well if things go for England as i optimistically predict, we are in for an exciting test match finish. But i am pretty sure this can happen in one’s wildest dreams. But if this happens, its gotta go down as one of the best fightbacks in the history of test cricket. Lets see how it goes !!