Category Archives: Match Analysis

Has ‘Team-India’ become ‘Indian-Team’ again?

What is the difference between ‘Team-India’ and ‘Indian Team’ ?
India team
Both are the nick names of Indian cricket team.The Indian cricket team -when they were nicknamed as ‘Indian Team’- consisted of many great players like Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly, Srinath, Kumble etc. All of them were able to win matches themselves and the team was the strongest on paper, but the weakest in reality. It’s because during those days, India had a habit of winning all matches except the final or the Tie-breaker match. We can clearly see it in the 2003 world cup, the tri-series that came after that. Anyway, the concept of ‘Team’ didn’t had much value at that time.

Then comes the ‘Team India’ under MS Dhoni. We can understand the importance of ‘Team India’ from the name itself. This concept gives importance to the team. Under Dhoni, a clevert captain, India attained new heights during this period. India had a lot of gain which included the T20 world cup, #1 ranking in ICC ODI Rankings and many other foreign series. The team was full of youngsters and rather than a ONE MAN SHOW, they had a TEAM WORK SHOW. Instead of individual performance, they concentrated on the victory of team.

But recent results shows that India is going back to its old ‘INDIAN TEAM’ concept. They losses in T20 cup, ICC Champions Trophy etc.. shows it. With the recent loss to Australia, it clearly shows us that the glorious times of Dhoni and his friends are coming to an end. We can only pray to God to not to let it happen like that.

What is your Opinion about this ? Is ‘TEAM INDIA’ going back to the INDIAN TEAM ? Let me know through your comments here.

[Editor’s Note: This post is submitted by our guest blogger Rajeelkp, alias Reji. He is a teen blogger who blogs at labofweb. He loves web, blogging and social sites.

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Review – ODI Match 1: India defeat West Indies by 20 runs

Match Details

India in West Indies 2009| ODI #1

Date: 26 Jun, 2009

Venue: Kingston, Jamaica

Toss: India won the toss and elected to bat first.

First Inning (Max: 50 overs)

India score 339 for a loss of 6 wickets in 50 overs.

  • Low: Indians, who opened with Dinesh and Gambhir, were 32 for 2 in 7.2 overs with the loss of Gambhir and Rohit’s wickets. Both exposing the inability to handle the short balls with perfection.
  • High: 135 runs partnership in 128 balls between Yuvraj and Dinesh for the third wicket.
  • High: 86 runs partnership in 57 balls between Yuvraj and Dhoni for the fourth wicket.
  • High: 131 (102) by Yuvraj, 67 (77) by Dinesh, 41 (46) by Dhoni, 40 (53) by Yusuf and a handy 21(13), including 2 sixes, by Harbhajan in the end.

Second Inning (Max: 50 Overs)

West Indies got out scoring 319 runs in 48.1 overs, falling short of the target by 21 runs.

  • High: Balanced start, posting 65 runs before Gayle was out by Nehra in the tenth over.
  • High: All 4 batsmen at the top of the order: Gayle – 37, Mortaon – 42, Sarwan -45, Chanderpaul- 63, kept the chase alive till the loss of Chanderpaul’s wicket, at the score of 224 (5th Wicket) in 35.4 overs.
  • Low: The score read 250/7 in 39.3 overs and it looked like Indians were heading for an easy victory, but it was still not all over.
  • High: The addition of 68 runs in the next 48 balls for the loss of only one wicket.
  • Low: Loss of the ninth wicket at 318 in the 48th over.

End

West Indies required 21 runs in the last 12 balls with one wicket in hand. After a long discussion, Nehra was handed over the ball and got the required wicket on the first ball of the over, leaving West Indies with 20 runs trail.

Dhoni was not very excited over the victory that the team should have gotten easily and did not miss to mention that the players got too relaxed after the fall of the seventh West Indian wicket. He also praised Yuvraj’s knock and his consistency in last two years.

Result

India defeated West Indies by 20 runs

Man of the match: Yuvraj Singh

Series Status: India leads the 4-ODI series by 1-0

IND, IRE, WI, SL, NZ, SA and ENG reach Super 8: AUS out of the contest!

This seems like action packed thriller, so much happening at such a fast pace! India, Ireland, West Indies, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and South Africa have played only one match each but results of other matches have helped them secure their place in the Super8. No one would have predicted this, only eight matches have been played and seven teams have reached the Super8 stage. 🙂

The battle remains between Pakistan and Netherlands for the last spot…

Group standings

Before getting into the details, let us have a look at the group standings after the end of Australia vs. Sri Lanka match on June 8.

Group A:

Bangladesh having lost both its game is out of the tournament, thus the other two teams from the group- India and Ireland have automatically qualified for the Super8.

Group B:

In case Pakistan beats Netherlands in the final match of the group, there will be a 3 way tie… but in no case Netherlands, even after losing to Pakistan, can improve their net rate. This means that England is safely into the Super 8.

The comparison of the NRR between Pakistan and Netherland will decide which team out of them qualifies for the Super8

In case, Netherlands beat Pakistan in the final match of the group, Netherlands will qualify to the Super8 along with England.

In case the match ends in a tie or as ‘No Result’, Ireland will end up topping the group with 3 points and will qualify for the Super8 along with England.

What ever the result of the match between Pakistan and Netherlands may be, England has definitely qualified for the Super8.

Group C:

Australia having lost both its games is out of the tournament, thus the other two teams from the group- West Indies and Sri Lanka have automatically qualified for the Super8.

Group D:

Scotland having lost both its game is out of the tournament, thus the other two teams from the group- New Zealand and South Africa have automatically qualified for the Super8.

Upset No.2!

Can you believe it… two teams at the bottom of the point table in IPL1 are playing for the cup in IPL2!!! This is beauty of cricket. Nobody could have predicted this. (Not ever Imran Hashmi from Zameen… hahaha) But a real stunner. Super Kings are simply outplayed! Dhoni should be worried about his game plans and strategies. There are several questions that should be asked…Why Murali was introduced so late? Where is Dhoni’s powerful stroke play? He must be answerable (to himself at least) for the sake of upcoming T20 World cup.

Chennai started very well and they were playing almost 10 per over till 5-6th over and after that they started loosing wickets regularly. They were definitely 15-20 runs short.

With less than 150 runs to chase Royal’s start was solid with new rising star of Indian cricket…. Manish Pandey. He kept on going with confidence after 100 in the last game he played against Deccan Chargers; first scored by an Indian in both IPL sessions and only second in this session. He must be thinking of repeating same performance against them in the final. And Mr. Dependable played like Mr. Dependable with ease and elegance.
Stage is set now…. Royals Vs Chargers!
Unpredictable…!

Gilli stunned Delhi and played as if playing in a Gully!

Pradip Sangwan’s body language was showing every fear of a rookie bowler bowling against a gifted player. Viru did a costly mistake to introduce him when Nannes was punished for five consecutive fours in the very first over.

Full credit goes to Gilli. He put all his experience of playing finals and winning them. He not only scored runs but killed opponents attitude to play the game to win from the very first over. Even Viru seemed confused when Gilli was in full flow. Only Nehra was looking confident and positive.

With the record of fastest fifty in IPL in just 17 balls, he is also having height strike rate and score (85). This player is unstoppable in full flow. This style of hammering down the ball was introduced by West Indians in early 70s. Richards, Lloyd, Sobers played with the hammer in hand. Recently, Lara had that magic in his bat. In late 80s and early 90s, Aussie era started and won three world cups. Gilli was integral part of the team and Aussies success.

Now, morals are charged up and opponents must be thinking of tightening the screws against him. Another Aussie making his mark with quick 24 in 15 balls was Symonds. A player out of Gibbs, Symonds, Rohit, Gilli and others with quick fire 40-50 runs can make 250+ runs possible. And yeah, this total seems very very difficult for any team in finals.

It’s all ifs and buts but, with such a stunning performance, Deccan Chargers has become strong contender for holding the shining IPL trophy.

And… the Heat is ON!!!

Now all the league matches are over. Semi finals are fixed (!?! I mean which teams are playing against each other….)
Dare-DEVILS will be very happy as they are on the top. And cricket lover DW’iens too 🙂

Icing on the cake for Daredevils is, Sehwag’s back in form with flashing fifty in the last league match against poor Bombay (Sorry Mumbai).

Delhi and Chennai are favorites and why not, they have performed good enough. But keep in mind guys, Deccan Chargers is Dark Horse.

Rohit, Gilli, Roy (Symonds), Gibbs all are hard hitters and will be hunting for bad balls… But Rohit has proved he can hit any good ball over the ropes. Remember the close match against Punjab, yorker-length ball with 143K by Bret Lee is DFL’ed over mid wicket for six! (Professionalism @ its max… DLF Maximum was converted into “DFL’ed”  from the commentary box !!!) Awesome hit…. Truly RO-HIT….!

This guy certainly has huge future. He’s got tremendous temperament… And none other than Sachin praised his batting… Remember two finals against Australia on their home ground.

Well… Vijay Mallya will be happy for his team… but still lots of hustle bustle going inside the team.
Dravid sacked… KP in as a leader… still team was drowning… Dravid’s India trip in middle of the series… KP went back… Dravid performed… and now Anil is leading… so many things happening!!! Well… Kingfisher has less colors than things happening inside… hahahaha.

Does anybody have a doubt on Dhoni… the fox? But still bowing is weak link for them. Part time bowlers have done a good job for them though.

Cricket is a game of full of uncertainties… anybody can win and anybody can loose… (exception Sponsorers!)
The only unhappy man would be SRK… After all, he is the only man after Gandhji who has returned India from South Africa after getting insulted…!!!

John Buchanan get ready to be kicked off!

After all… every game is all about the will to win it and that’s important… but the will to prepare is vital!

How can Deccan Chargers reach the IPL-2 Semifinals?

Beat Royal Challengers Bangalore and secure a place in the semifinals with a total of 16 points.

If Kolkata Knight Riders beat Rajasthan Royals (who would then be at 13 points) and Chennai Super Kings beat Kings XI Punjab (who would then be at 14 points), Royal Challengers Bangalore can afford to lose the game but with a net run rate better than that of Kings XI Punjab.

Bottom-Line: Win the virtual knock-out against Royal Challengers Bangalore and get to play the semifinal.

How can Royal Challengers Bangalore reach the IPL-2 Semifinals?

Beat Deccan Chargers and secure a place in the semifinals with a total of 16 points.

If Kolkata Knight Riders beat Rajasthan Royals (who would then be at 13 points) and Chennai Super Kings beat Kings XI Punjab (who would then be at 14 points), Royal Challengers Bangalore can afford to lose the game but with a net run rate better than that of Kings XI Punjab.

Bottom-Line: Win the virtual knock-out against Deccan Chargers and get to play the semifinal!

How can Kings XI Punjab reach the IPL-2 Semifinals?

Beat Chennai Super Kings and end up with 16 points to secure a 2nd/3rd place on the point-table.

If in the earlier match, Kolkata Knight Riders beat Rajasthan Royals, and Kings XI Punjab lose this match, Kings XI will still stand at par (14 points) with the losing side of the match between Deccan Chargers and Royal Challengers Bangalore. But in that case, the losing team would know in advance what they need to do to keep their run rate better than Kings XI Punjab.

Bottom-line: Beat Chennai Super Kings and secure the semifinal ticket!

How Chennai Super Kings WILL reach the IPL-2 Semifinals?

The ‘Rajasthan Royals Vs Kolkata Knight Riders’ match would be over by the time Chennai Super Kings get to play against Kings XI Punjab.

If Rajasthan Royals win the match, they will end up with 15 points. Chennai Super Kings, in this situation will have to beat Kings XI Punjab to end the marathon with 17 points, sealing the 2nd place for themselves on the table.

The second situation would be… even if Chennai Super Kings lose the match to Kings XI Punjab, they will have to keep their net run rate better than Rajasthan Royals, as a result matching Rajasthan Royals at 15 points. Chennai Super Kings will have an advantage here as they would know in advance what they need to do to keep their net run rate better than Rajasthan Royals.

Now even in this situation, they will have to assume that the match between Deccan Chargers and Royal Challengers Bangalore is not canceled due to rain. In an unlikely event that “Deccan Chargers Vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore” match is declared as a “No result”, there will be a 4 way tie between DC, RCB, CSK and RR with each having 15 points.

Bottom-line: Beat Kings XI Punjab and celebrate!

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