Would India be Able to Take a Sweet Revenge?

The nation which was still basking in the glory of World Cup 2011 triumph got a rude awakening when the India team toured England. If the five nil drubbing in the test series was not enough, then came the 4-0 drubbing in the one-dayers. Though India missed many key players all through the tour and at a time the team looked like a hospital, with most of the first team players nursing some injury or the other, yet that was no reason for the number one team in the world to lose so heavily. Many comments flew in from the English press and the ex-English players and the Indian team had to contend with that.

Indian Team After Scalping an English Wicket in Hyderabad

Now it is time to take a sweet revenge. We are back at our home turf and in conditions that suit our players. Many English experts had started strewing the plot even before the English team arrived the Indian shores. They blamed India for preparing slow and spin friendly pitches. But my argument in this regard would be: when we visit England don’t we have green and seamer friendly pitches to contend with? So what is the issue, every team tries to reap home advantage. With the exception of Gautam Gambhir most of the other players are yet to recover from their injuries and thus it would be a second chance for the young talents to show their skills on the big stage. One of the things that baffled me with the team selection was the exclusion of Yusuf Pathan and Harbhajan Singh. We know both these players have under-performed over the last few months, but they are talents that can win you matches.

Dhoni on his Way to a Match Winning Innings at Hyderabad 

But the series has already got underway and you can easily name it the revenge series. Indian team is out to prove a point against a fiercely competitive English side. The series has started with the one-dayers which are being played under the new ICC rules. In both the matches India have mastered over their opponents. The first one-dayer played at Hyderabad was won by India by a thumping margin of 126 runs. India batted first and amassed a total of 300 for the loss of 7 wickets thanks largely to the crucial knock from skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni who top scored with 87 from 70 balls. He was ably assisted by Suresh Raina scoring 61 of 55 balls and Ravindra Jadeja who scored 27 of 22 balls. When England came in to bat they had very little to boast about apart from the innings of their skipper Alistair Cook who scored 60 of 63 before succumbing to Ravindra Jadeja. Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin went on to claim 3 wickets each as England were bowled out for 174 in 36 overs and one ball.

Vinay Kumar after Claiming the Wicket of Trott

The second one-dayer at Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi brought similar joys to the home team as well. India beat England by 8 wickets in this rubber. Opting to bat first England got to a total of 237 with forties from Kevin Pietersen and Samit Patel. There were no large partnerships all through the innings largely thanks to Vinay Kumar’s bowling heroics. Vinay Kumar ended up getting 4 English scalps. When batting Indian team got off to a dodgy start and at one stage they were 29 for 2. But this time around Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir washed out the English opposition with their master-class stroke play. They featured in an unbroken partnership of 209 runs. While Virat Kohli got his seventh hundred in ODIs (112 from 98 balls), Gautam Gambhir on the otherhand remained unbeaten at 84 of 90 balls. All the English bowlers were taken to the sword as the match ended in just 36.4 overs.

Kohli & Gambhir During their Unbeaten Partnership

During these matches I saw many fielding blemishes and even missed catches in the outfield from the English team. So whom does Nasser Hussain want to call a monkey now? Or does Michael Vaughan have some new conspiracy theory against the Indian team? We can only hope that India completes its revenge in style to silence all their critics.

What Future Holds for Duncan Fletcher in India?

After the World Cup 2011 win it was time to bid adieu to the cool and calm coach of Indian cricket team, Gary Kirsten. Under his guidance the Indian team reached the pinnacle of success winning the World Cup 2011 and reaching the number 1 spot in Test cricket. But due to his personal reasons the BCCI had to let him go. But he has set a benchmark hard to reach. Though the BCCI officials reported that they were in no hurry to appoint a new coach for Indian team still they have already made up their made. So after the exit of Kirsten it is time for the Fletcher era to begin.

Will Success Embrace Him in India?

Yes Duncan Fletcher, who was the former coach of the English cricket team has been appointed the new coach. As ever there are reactions coming in from all parts of India. When it comes to cricket it seems everyone has an opinion. While eminent players like Kapil Dev have criticized the move, other eminent coaches such as John Buchanan have lauded the appointment of Duncan Fletcher. Let us analyze some of the criticisms that are doing rounds at the moment:

• He is not Renowned: Kapil Dev said in an interview he has never heard of Duncan Fletcher as a player. Well paaji he played in your times, though for the budding nation Zimbabwe and was the first one day captain of the nation. Under him Zimbabwe recorded an astounding victory over Australia in the 83 World Cup. He was also very successful in his stint with the English team and led them to the famous Ashes and Commonwealth Bank Trophy victories. Ask some of the eminent English cricketers and they will rate him highly as a coach. Moreover we have already seen the miseries of hiring the services of a renowned player like Greg Chappell as coach. We do not want face any such miseries over again.
• He is Aged: First of all he is not a player, he is a coach who will be setting strategies and it is known to all that older heads can create best strategies. Bob Woolmer was a top coach and he was 59 when he was still coaching with glory. If you are looking for a young coach like Gary Kirsten then it is a risky business that does not come off every time. Young coaches are bound to have least experience in coaching international sides and understanding the needs of the international players.
• He will not Gel in: The same statement was made when Gary Kirsten was appointed for the top post. Experts said that a player of Sachin's stature will find it hard to work under Kirsten's guidance, but see results, we have won the World Cup folks! No one can predict how the players will react to Duncan's presence.
• Dhoni-Kirsten Magic can not be reproduced: Trends in cricket show that the most successful teams (barring Australia) have risen with the captain coach partnership and similar was the case with Indian cricket team. Dhoni and Kirsten put their heads together to reach the peak of success. We can only hope the Dhoni-Fletcher is not a disaster as the Ganguly-Chappell one.

No one can predict what the future holds, so we can only wait to see if BCCI have taken the right decision or not!

IPL 4: Country or Franchise?

Though Sachin Tendulkar's 140 not out at Bristol in 2009 World Cup was just another century amongst many, but it won him many accolades. It is not because of the inings but the soel fact that only a few days ago he had lost one of the most loved persons in his life. His father Ramesh Tendulkar had died and after finishing off the ceremonies back home he rushed to serve his country. This elevated his stature in the minds of the cricket lovers. This is the kind of patriotism you would expect from a player representing their country. Now let me come to the last soccer World Cup where there was much talk of Rooney, Messi and Christiano Ronaldo magic, but hardly did these players deliver to their hype. Why? Even the players admitted that they were too tired after a full season with their respective clubs. So does country come first in todays date or the clubs/franchises?

Isn't This Glory Enough?

Indian cricket team gave the best gift possible to the nation by winning the much craved for World Cup. All the players admitted that they had a draining time (both physically and emotionally) on their path to glory. But the BCCI paid no heed to it. They had to pull up their socks over again and participate in the glamorous IPL 4, which by the way is organized by the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Indian Premier League barring the presence of the Indian players would not be a crowd puller, thus the BCCI had to involve the Indian cricket stars. Its great that they are performing well in this searing heat, but the cause of concern comes next. Most of the players have opted out of the West Indies tour that India will soon undertake. Let me remind the readers Indian teams have never fared well in the Caribbean Islands, so this was a great occasion to win a series in Windies. But with the exhaustion of World Cup and IPL 3 the players need rest and time for their families. Thus their demand for rest are valid. But does this mean the BCCI is encouraging the players to choose franchise ahead of their nation? The IPL could be dropped this year as we have already had a dose of great cricket with the World Cup 2011 being organized in the sub-continent. But the cash rich Indian cricket board just crave on for more money, at times at the sake of their star players and nation's pride.