CRICKET VIRAL

The final tussle in the bid to be called the World T-20 championship 2016 has come down to two teams, England and West Indies. And it’s no secret that they have also been the most consistent and balanced side of the tournament which started with ten teams (top eight seeds and two qualifiers.) But before progressing forward let’s have a word about the defeated semifinalists. New Zealand; they are still the perpetual bridesmaids (why persist with pace? and hold Santner, your best bowler of the tournament and allow the opposition to get settled) and India; is still a one man team previously it used to be Sachin Tendulkar and now it is Virat Kohli (some might not agree with the statement.)  The all important final going to be held at Eden Garden, Kolkata will have two opponents that have grown throughout the tournament. The West Indies’s tenacity of bouncing back after the humiliating loss to Afghanistan (their last group match) to beat the host and much favor...

What a master class Virat Kohli served-up; the poise in character, the mental toughness and the sheer willingness to fight. That an emotional Virat himself acknowledged and placed the inning, as his top right now. The significant word here is emotional; as he very well knows that the real tournament starts now. As with New Zealand, England and West Indies we have three very dangerous sides very much capable of winning the trophy.  Let’s start with the second semi final between hosts India and West Indies taking place at Mumbai on 31st March 2016, India can ill afford to take their opponents lightly as the shortest format of cricket suits their player’s six hitting capabilities, couple that with the technical know-how of countering Indian slow and low spin friendly pitches which they learned by plying their trade in the IPL (Indian Premier League.) With Chris Gayle’s powerful hitting, Dwayne Bravo’s cutters, Samuel Badree and Suliem...

Virat Kohli led India to its first test series win in Sri Lanka after a gap of 22 years; kudos to him and the team. But a very difficult challenge awaits them in the form of the South African’s, who visit India for a 72 day tour that comprises of three twenty-20, five ODI’s and four tests. This series also takes historic significance as from here on in all future bilateral series between the two countries will be called Mahatma Gandhi-Nelson Mandela series. And Freedom Trophy is the name given to the 4 test match series being played between the two countries with the first test commencing from 5 th November at Mohali. Now comes to the tricky part; Virat’s playing eleven that takes the field for the first test? The biggest factor that contributed to India’s 2-1 series win in Sri Lanka was up to a number of players that owned up responsibility and made a statement. Actually circumstances and fate played its part in giving them opportunity but full marks to them for making that c...

“After we finished the West Indies tour and went to South Africa in 2013 that was a challenge. If I am not wrong after that we went to England, New Zealand and Australia and we knew that was going to be a challenge with the big names retiring," Rohit Sharma told reporters before leaving for Sri Lanka. "We played some good cricket in Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, so I am sure this unit will do well in Sri Lanka. Our challenge will be to win all the three Test matches there and comeback as champions," Rahane said echoing Rohit’s thoughts. Indian bowling coach Bharat Arun carrying on the team baton stated that speed merchants Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav will take up the challenge to “maintain speed as well as be accurate.” “You don’t come to the ground to draw a match, so you play a brand of cricket where you take the game forward. The role I play is hammering that into their system. We don’t mind losing playing in that fashion. But it is the bra...

No eye was raised when Bangladesh took a 78 runs first innings lead in the recently concluded rain affected drawn out test match against South Africa at Chittagong. Actually it was a reality which every Bangladeshi cricket fan willed to happen sooner rather than later. Individual and one off heroic performances were the norm but it was being consistent as a team day in day out, match after match, carrying performance from one format to the other and building on the success were Bangladesh cricket frailties. All that had changed as Bangladesh cricket is finally looking up after a string of successes in ODI’s against Pakistan, India and South Africa. The Bangladesh one-day juggernaut which started with the win over Zimbabwe has now slain South Africa 2-1. Win is a win , the old adage doesn’t do justice as the complete domination exhibited, audacity of play and knuckling down in pressure situation to fight it out emphasis the level of growth to which Bangladesh cricket has rise...

There was a time when Indian cricket craved for genuine pace bowlers truth be told it had its share of quick bowlers the likes of Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and Ajit Agarkar. But the fixation of selectors and cricket fans with a bowler with raw pace was so overwhelming that each and every upcoming bowler was put through the magnifying glass. The diligence paid off and with the emergence of Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Shami and Varun Arun for the first time India boasted of fast bowlers clocking 145+ kmps on regular basis. There was a sense of euphoria in India with the understanding that batsmen world over will hop on deliveries bowled by Indian bowlers and they can  for the first time give back what their batsmen have been getting all along. The bubble of expectation bursts after India’s 2-0 loss in the 2014-2015 tour of Australia. The loss was more hurting as the young Indian batsmen matched up against the Australian pace battery and succeeded in posting respecta...

The aggressive brand of cricket displayed by the English boys in routing the Australian’s at Cardiff in the first test have raised the English hopes of wrestling back the Ashes and in addition giving a fitting reply to the humiliating 5-0 drubbing they took in the last series played down under. The application demonstrated by its batters and the professionalism of its bowlers never gave the Australian’s a sniff of making a comeback.   The heartening thing is that the win was achieved by the contribution of its young guns be it Joe Root, Ben Stokes,  Jos Buttler and Adam Lyth. No way does the youngster’s contribution undermine Cook’s proactive captaincy or Ian Bell’s stroke full knock in the second innings that helped in taking the game away from the Aussies. Reliving the moments of the first test a question pops in the mind. How such a sudden turnaround is possible?      To answer it lets cast our attention back to the 2015, 50 over world cup held in A...