Sensational Bairstow-Stokes Batting Powers England To Tremendous Win Over India, Paytm ODI Series Level at 1-1!

 Jonny Bairstow

When a team chases a down a massive target of 337 runs with plenty of overs to spare you can only watch wonder-struck at the sensational batting display that has to be the cause of it and cannot really blame the rival team. England have done this tonight, overcoming the Indian target that looked quite formidable very easily at the end thanks to the spectacular batting performances of all the top three: Jason Roy notching up 55 off 52 balls falling to a terrible run-out; Jonny Bairstow registering a magnificent ton of 124 off just 112 balls; and most importantly, Ben Stokes scoring an incredible 99 in just 52 balls, getting out caught 1 run away from what could have been a memorable century. There were 24 fours and unbelievable 20 sixes (10 of those go to Stokes) in their victorious innings. At one stage of the game they were scoring almost 20 runs an over with Bairstow and Stokes firing all cylinders in their partnership of 175 runs. So then, England won the second one-day international match by 6 wickets with more than 6 overs to spare, thus levelling the Paytm ODI Series at 1-1 in Pune today.

 

Ben Stokes

The Indian players on the field, particularly Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, showed their frustration and irritation quite clearly quite frequently as they looked helplessly at most of their bowlers being hit mercilessly by the England batsmen all around the park with consummate ease. Except for Bhubaneshwar Kumar who too got hit at the death overs, all other India bowlers, particularly Kuldeep Yadav, could not make any impression on the English marauding batsmen. The first wicket of Roy came in the form a run-out thanks to a brilliant piece of fielding by Rohit Sharma, after the first partnership of 110 runs with Bairstow in the 17^th over. When India did manage to get three quick wickets in Stokes, Bairstow and Buttler it was too late, because the devastatingly definitive batting left plenty of balls to get the required runs. Curiously for India, both the Pandya brothers continued to play and Hardik Pandya not bowling a single over. Rishabh Pant was brought in replacing Shreyas Iyer who unfortunately got injured in the last match while fielding and was ruled out not only for this series but also for the forthcoming IPL-2021.

 

The batting of the Indians, of a very high order no doubt, goes into oblivion as this failed to win the match for them. Consistent with regained form KL Rahul scored a ton, captain Kohli a half century and Pant and Hardik played explosive innings of 77 (40 balls) and 35 (16 balls) respectively. If one compares the top English batsmen with the Indian counterparts one can see the difference, Indians consuming more balls for the runs scored: Dhawan’s 4 in 17 balls; Kohli’s 66 in 79 balls; and Rahul’s 108 in 114 balls. However, their final score of 336/6 still looked very challenging.

 

There were a few changes in the England team for this match: Liam Livingstone making his ODI debut; Dawid Malan coming in place of injured Sam Billings (I was wondering about him as he was in top form in the T20Is, but the practice of playing only ‘specialized’ players for various formats nowadays leaves out in-form and most useful batsmen in the wilderness on many occasions for many teams); pacer Reece Topley making a comeback after years, replacing Mark Wood; and captain Morgan ruling himself out due to injury. Taking into account the last two T20I matches England have won the toss for the fourth time in a row. English spinner duo Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid bowled much more effectively than the Indian duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Krunal Pandya.

 

Now, 28^thMarch is going to be a super Sunday when the cracker of a decider is going to be played between World Champions and No.1 team England and No.2 India. The pressure at the moment seems to be more on India after their bowlers miserably failed to defend a massive total today. Apart from that there is nothing much to choose from the two teams. However, it’s time Virat Kohli wins a toss!

Australia Crush India To Win The 3-Match Dettol ODI Series 2-0!

 

India have not learnt any lesson from the first match in terms of improving body language, intensity on the field and the basic will to win, despite the second one-day international being the decisive one in the 3-match Dettol ODI Series. The team management reposed full faith on them by fielding the same team, not even replacing anyone in the bowling line-up, prominently Chahal and Saini. To make matters worse Virat Kohli lost the toss again, offering the platter one more time to the hosts to make hay. And they did exactly that.

 

The Warner-Finch opener-duo who posted another 100-plus run partnership and later Steve Smith who notched up his second consecutive century continued to prove to be India’s nemesis. A target of 350+ runs was to be set for India yet again (the average first-innings score being 319 at the SCG for the last five years). The Indian bowlers did nothing better than in the first match: Saini continued to be the most expensive; Bumrah ineffectual as earlier; Shami unable to repeat his earlier length bowling; and the spinners putting up another abysmal show of club-cricket bowling. For a change, Pandya and Agarwal were also tried a bit, but with no results.

 

The formidable Aussies even bettered the target of 375 set in the first match by scoring 389/4 in the allotted 50 overs in the second ODI in Sydney today, with Maxwell coming up again with a quickfire unbeaten 63, and Labuschagne dampening the Indian cause further by scoring 70 odd runs. The Australian batsmen displayed a repeat show of grand batting with effortless ease, making the ball run to the boundary at the slightest touch as often as they preferred and to all sides of the park. Indian fielders were seen mostly running haplessly around, perhaps in a surrealistic frame of mind, not knowing what was happening around them.

 

The Indian reply was nothing much to write home about. Despite Kohli’s 89 , Rahul’s 76 and the Pandya-Jadeja summary fireworks. They finished for 338/9 in 50 overs. For Indian fans the frustration of the first ODI doubled up today having to watch a numbing flop show by their favorite stars, yet again, and the cause lost as Australia have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the 3-match Series, making the third match in Canberra on 2^ndDecember inconsequential. Australia’s tight length bowling almost throughout and super catching should be revelations for the seemingly squeezed-up Indians. Although the margin of victory is only 51 runs, Australia have effectively crushed India in all aspects of the game, and exacted sweet revenge for the home ODI Series loss in 2018-19. Steve Smith was the Man of the Match for the second time for his back to back tons. 

 

Perhaps the three-month long isolation has impacted the spirit of the Indian cricketers, and how they are going to regroup for the T20 and the Test Series is to be seen keenly. Additionally, perhaps the ‘family matters’ of superstars have had some adverse impact on the team too: Rohit Sharma being allowed to attend to his family matters after IPL-2020 (he was injured initially, sat out in a few matches and was not selected for the Indian squads for the Australia tour. But he started playing again till winning the IPL final, and mystery surrounded his case with even skipper Kohli wondering about his status.), and Virat Kohli himself granted leave after the first test to attend to his family matters. In any case, the challenge ahead is mounting for Team India, and we have no option but to hope for the best, and at least to hope for keenly contested matches.

Dettol ODI Series: Australia Beat India As The Fans Are Allowed In At The SCG, Sydney!

 

Photo: espncricinfo.com

Before coming to the match, we must mention the most heartening thing about cricket new normal: for the first time in 8 months crowds were allowed at the Sydney Cricket Ground, of course, up to 50% of the stadium’s capacity. However, some of stands were seen to be packed to the brim, and in general, masks were not being worn nor social distancing kept. It is not clear how the bio-bubble is going to help in this crowded environment. We hope this does not translate into an indiscretion as far as the pandemic spread is concerned as crowds ranging from 50 to 65 capacities are going to be allowed for all the remaining matches of the India Tour of Australia-2020-21 including the Tests.

 

Australia have beaten India by 66 runs in the first one-day international match of the three-match Dettol ODI Series in Sydney today, giving the long-missed home crowds much to cheer. The moment the Aussies put up a mammoth target of 375 runs before India many cynics might have written off the visitors having any chance of winning or even fighting back. However, considering the pitch that was full of runs and India’s fabulous batting depth the match was still full of probabilities, of India winning or giving a tough fight or losing ultimately.

 

Wining the toss and electing to bat first, the Aussies, fresh from IPL-2020, attacked from the word go with Finch and Smith notching up respective super tons, Warner missing one and Maxwell somewhat venting his IPL-frustration with a quickfire 45. For India all the bowlers except Mohammad Shami who captured 3 for 59 were ineffectual and expensive. A few blemishes on the field did not help their cause either. A challenge of a chase was thus set up for India, the only inspiration being that there were lots of blue-jersey supporters too in the half-capacity crowds.

 

India gave a fitting counter to the hosts launching a brutal assault on their bowlers from the opening overs, openers Dhawan and Mayank Agarwal (in absence of Rohit Sharma) going great guns. But it was too good to continue for long. Hazelwood struck in the sixth over to get rid of Agarwal for 22 runs. With skipper Kohli on the field as the no.3 batsman the momentum was not lost though. But then, Hazelwood struck a vital blow in the 10^th over getting Kohli out for just 21 runs, and this possibly was the turning point of the match. Shreyas Iyer came and was gone in two balls, succumbing again to the lethal Hazelwood. While the Indian spinners struggled even to contain the batsmen Aussie spinner Zampa picked up a wicket in his very first over, that too of KL Rahul. India were 4 down for 101 in the 14^th over. The match was as good as over.

 

It wasn’t. Dhawan and Pandya had much better ideas. They went about as if nothing had happened, notched up their respective half-centuries surviving a few chances and kept the chase well ahead of the required run-rate, reaching 200 runs in just 29 overs. The probabilities we mentioned earlier were fast turning into possibilities, and incredible ones at that. After the Hazelwood burst the Australian bowlers looked ordinary, and the Indian duo went on plundering runs with effortless ease. But it was not easy at all to sustain the chase till the winning run with not much batting to come.

 

Australia needed just one wicket to derail the momentum, and when spinner Zampa got rid of Shikhar Dhawan, after a brilliant partnership of 128 runs with Hardik Pandya, the end looked inevitable. India still needed 146 runs to win in 15 overs with the last recognized batting pair on the field, and the required run-rate beginning to rise and rise. Although Jadeja had been in top batting form the challenge ahead was far too daunting. When Pandya got out for 90 the match was finally all over for India. It was Zampa again, he  ended with 4 for 54 runs. Wake up, Indian spinners!

 

In the final analysis the probabilities of the match did threaten to become possibilities, and the cynics were not exactly proved right. And Rohit Sharma was missed sorely. This match would inspire India too in terms of cricketing strategy, and the remaining two ODIs to be played in Sydney on 29^th November and in Canberra on December 2 are going to be real exciting stuff. Keep enjoying, not with fed-in audio, but with real fans in the stadiums! Scorecard:

India Vs Australia: Cricket New Normal, COVID Stress, Pink Ball And Expectations!

 

Photo: rediff.com

India started their tour of Australia in 2018-19 too from November 2018 to January 2019, and created history by becoming first Asian cricket team to beat Australia in a Test Series in Australia. They also became only the second team of the world to beat Australia in Australia in both the formats of ODI and Test. The first test of that series too started in Adelaide in December and in that cracker of a match India won by 31 runs, one of their slenderest of victory margins. Australia won the second test in Perth by 146 runs, and India sealed the series 2-1 by winning the third test in Melbourne by 137 runs with the last match ending in a draw in Sydney. Then they went on to win the ODI Series 2-1 too. Under Australia’s split captaincy regime for different formats Aussie wicket keeper Tim Paine was the captain in the Test series and Aaron Finch captained the Aussies in the ODI and T201 formats, and they met Virat Kohli as the all-format Indian skipper. The rivalry remains the same this time, only with the exception that Virat Kohli is going to go home on paternity leave after the Adelaide test. But India have the advantage of the previous triumph behind them.

 

The major difference this time is obviously the pandemic cricket new normal with empty stadiums and a strict regime of bio-bubble which means that all members of the teams will have to stay put in their hotel rooms except for the designated bus trips to the stadiums for practice sessions or matches, no mixing allowed with anyone, no group meetings and players cannot even dine with their team mates. Now, this means that the Indian players have been continuously under bio-bubble since the IPL-2020 in September after which they were airlifted to Australia the next day after the Final was played on November 10 in which Mumbai Indians became Champions easily defeating Delhi Capitals, to be put under a mandatory 14-day quarantine in Sydney and then to continue under bio-bubble till January 2021. Nearly five months of isolation is bound to affect the mental preparation of the visiting players. However, this factor is also applicable to the Australian players most of whom were also in the IPL-2020, of course, with the exception of having a brief but precious exposure to their home environs. Besides, there will be players for both sides who have joined afresh.

 

In the Adelaide Test of 2018 Cricket Australia had proposed the day/night pink ball match, but the BCCI rejected the idea due to lack of preparation at that juncture, and then the latter organized the first ever pink-ball day/night Test in November 2019 in India, in Kolkata against the visiting Bangladesh side. This time in Australia, the first Test in Adelaide is set to be a pink-ball affair from the 17^th of December. All the factors, swing or no-swing or reverse-swing or the ‘twilight behavior’, will be in full display one more time. With the COVID-19 situation in Australia easing off nicely at the moment the earlier uncertainties about this match are more or less set at rest.

 

The main architects of India’s maiden series victory in Australia in 2018-19 among others were the Indian pacer-trio: Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami, with bits of spinner Ashwin, and the towering batting performance of Cheteshwar Pujara who amassed 550 runs in the four test matches. Uncertainty of Ishant’s fitness continues, but still India have the likes of Bumrah, Shami, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Mohammad Siraj to that of Australia’s Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazelwood, Cameron Green and so on. Ashwin would most probably figure in the final eleven. Cheteshwar Pujara is also there and his form will be of crucial importance. Uncertainty about the fitness of wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha who created a storm as an opener in IPL-2020 and then unfortunately got injured also continues. 

 

Injured Rohit Sharma has been included in the Test squad and his presence will be significant in the absence of Virat Kohli for the remaining three Tests. Ajinkya Rahane, with proven captaincy records, will be captaining the Indian team from the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. Previous statistics also do not support the fears that in the absence of Kohli India perform dismally. No doubt, his absence is set to be a huge psychological advantage for the Aussies who would dearly want a sweet revenge for the loss in 2018-19. India’s tremendous depth in batting has been acknowledged internationally, and with the added advantage of world-class pacers, apart from the classic spinners, India is a formidable side to any opponent. Australians know this well, and therefore, they have been rather cautious so far, not indulging in their usual mind games prior to the contest.

Two of the traditional archrivals of world cricket will unfold the show with the first ODI to be played in Sydney on 27^th November, the next also there on 29^thand the third and final ODI in Canberra on 2^nd December. The three-match T20Is unfold from the 4^th of December. And then the 4-match Test Series. The day/night ODIs will start from 9.10 am Indian time; the night T20Is will begin from 1.40 pm Indian time; the day/night Test starts daily from 9.10 am while the three day-Tests start daily for 5 am Indian time. All the matches are to be telecast live by Sony Pictures on its TEN 1, TEN 3 and Sony Six channels. So then, the epicenters of the great expectations, cheers and support of the fans are to be their homes, exclusively this time. The anticipated excitement would definitely be able to neutralize some of the gloom generated by months of new normal times. Cheers!

Tour of Australia 2020-21: Indian Squads Look To Be A Judicious Mix!

Photo: deccanchronicle.com

The all-India cricket selection committee of the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) has yesterday finalized the Indian squads for the India Tour of Australia 2020-21 to be played from end of next month under new normal rules due to the pandemic. Three squads for the T20Is, ODIs and Tests have been announced with some significant changes of players/specialists. Rishabh Pant, who is reportedly unfit due to weight issues, has been left out of the shorter formats and included in the Test squad as the second wicket-keeper. This is despite he being the hype of the millennium when he was not selected for the ICC Cricket World Cup-2019, initially, and the Board eventually forced to select him due to Shikhar Dhawan’s injury, but largely due to the pressures created by the Pant fans on social media, the mainstream media hooting for him even with editorials and a range of cricket experts and ex-players crying for his inclusion. However, it proved to be a damp squib, and Pant is yet to prove his mettle in the ODIs and the T20Is. The IPL 2020 in UAE has also failed so far to bring out the ‘best’ in him.

 

The BCCI has also been judicious enough by doing away with the selection of injured batsman Rohit Sharma and fast bowler Ishant Sharma instead of taking the risks. Accordingly, KL Rahul has been named vice-captain for the T20Is and the ODIs thanks perhaps to his current rollicking form in the IPL 2020. His inclusion in the Test squad has been contested though by some ex-cricketers since there are already two wicket-keepers included (Wriddhiman Saha and Pant) and Ajinkya Rahane being made the vice-captain. However, with 18 players in the squad there should be a lot of scope for selecting the playing eleven, and it also must be borne in mind that Rahul first came into international fame in the Test format. His co-opener in IPL 2020 for Kings Eleven Punjab, Mayank Agarwal has also made it to all the three formats.

 

Inclusion of the IPL star of recent years, Sanju Samson, in the T20I squad is significant too; because apart from being an attacking batsman Samson is also a wicket-keeper and he would provide relief to KL Rahul whenever required. Promising pacer Navdeep Saini has also made it to all the squads while spinner Yuzvendra Chahal is retained for the shorter formats and spinner Kuldeep Yadav selected for the Test squad only with R Ashwin coming in. Other offbeat selections from IPL 2020 being that of spinner Varun Chakravarthy for the T20I squad and pacer Mohammed Siraj for the Test squad.

 

The Squads:

T20I: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul (vice-captain and wicket-keeper), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, Varun Chakravarthy.

ODI: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul (vice-captain & wicket-keeper), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Mayank Agarwal, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur.

Test: Virat Kohli (Captain), Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Mohd. Siraj.

 

Four additional bowlers, all IPL 2020 finds: Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kartik Tyagi, Ishan Porel and T. Natarajan will travel with the Indian contingent as per the BCCI release. All team management members, coach and players not playing in IPL would join in Dubai, and all the squads are to fly to Australia from Dubai after November 10 IPL final.

 

There is, however, still a lot of uncertainty about the final India-Australia match schedule with different sports sites giving different dates for the matches. The final schedule is to be announced only after all the quarantine and other norm requirements are fixed. In all, three T20Is, three ODIs and four Test matches will be played between November-January 2020-21. While Sydney is believed to host the first few matches covering all formats Adelaide would be the venue for the pink-ball day-night Test match. With the pandemic hopefully coming under perfect control by the month of December in Australia cricket spectators could be allowed for the Boxing Day Test at the MCG Melbourne, that is to say, from 26^th December. In spite of the continuing uncertainty of the final schedule this Series is likely to be very absorbing, considering the fact that the Virat Kohli team had won in the Test series last time against the hosts in Australia. 

Meanwhile the schedule of the tour has been finalized with the first One-Day International match starting on 27th November in Sydney. The fourth and last Test match taking place in Brisbane from the 15th January, 2021. The Final Schedule:

IPL 2020: Super Cricketing Matches Over the Weekend!

Whenever we get to watch cricket of the highest order involving star national and international players we tend to forget about the format of the game and in which ‘type’ it is being played, international Tests or ODIs or T20Is or commercial league T20 matches, and we consider and cherish such games as treats. This exactly has been the case in all of the four matches of the Indian Premier League-2020 (IPL 2020) played over the weekend, that is on Saturday and Sunday, 17-18 October 2020 in UAE, each of the four matches being a humdinger down the wire, and several national and international cricketers displaying tremendous competitive spirit and superlative cricket.

 

Photo: espncricinfo.com

The first game on Saturday was played between RCB and RR in Dubai. RR set a competitive target of 178, and RCB started the chase on a pitch slowing down and found shot-making increasingly difficult. They needed 76 runs off the last 41 balls when Virat Kohli departed for 43 runs off 32 balls, and in came AB de Villiers. Despite his attacking shots from the word go, it came down to needing 35 runs in the last two overs for a win. The incredible prowess of de Villiers unfolded, and he won the match for RCB making 55 runs in just 22 balls, comprising of 6 sixes and with two balls to spare. He thus snatched a victory by 7 wickets from the jaws of an impending defeat, and RCB needed this victory badly, after its listless performance in the game against KXIP on 15^th October when de Villiers was demoted to number six in the batting order with only three overs to play with, this unusual move by Kohli contributed largely to the KXIP, a team on the verge of being ousted from the tournament, getting a new lease of life. More significantly, de Villiers delivered another superlative knock of 73 runs off 33 balls that helped his team win the match against KKR on 12^th October.

 

The second match on Saturday was played between DC and CSK in Sharjah and it also went down to the last over and last-minute fireworks. Again, chasing a competitive CSK target of 180 DC proceeded mostly thanks to a brilliant century by Shikhar Dhawan as wickets on the other end fell in regular intervals slowing down the scoring-rate. 17 runs were required in the last over, and the new batsman Axar Patel had the strike, not the set batsman Dhawan. And what followed was just breathtaking. Axar, as if on a mission, kept on hitting sixes from the first ball, scoring a scintillating 21 in 5 balls and DC winning the duel by 5 wickets.

 

The two matches yesterday, that is Sunday, the 18^th October, were not only close encounters, but both were also tied ones, keeping the viewers riveted with unending twists and turns. The first match was played in Abu Dhabi between KKR and SRH, both teams desperate for the next couple of points. KKR, Russel still not delivering, reached a somewhat respectable total of 163/6 thanks largely to the unbeaten Morgan-Karthik partnership. Chasing a modest target, SRH, despite a rollicking opening partnership between injured Williamson and Bairstow, faltered eventually losing wickets regularly. Finally, skipper Warner still in command, SRH could not get the 30 runs from the last two overs and the match was tied. SRH had also no clue to the incredible bowling by pacer Lockie Ferguson who was playing his first game of the tournament. In came Warner again for the super over, but fell to Ferguson first ball, and KKR had triumphed finally with new skipper Morgan partnering with keeper Dinesh Karthik overhauling the small target easily.

 

Photo: espncricinfo.com

The last match yesterday was played in Dubai between MI and KXIP. Chasing a competitive MI target of 177 runs KXIP, riding on another super knock of 77 by KL Rahul, failed to score the victorious 2 runs off the last ball of the last over in spite Jordan’s last-minute heroics, getting brilliantly run out coming for the second run, and the match was tied. Bowling the super over MI’s main strike bowler Jasprit Bumrah bowled yorker after yorker kept the winning score for the MI at just 6 runs. However, the twists could not be foreseen even by MI’s season openers Rohit Sharma and de Kock as KXIP’s strike bowler Mohammad Shami surpassed the brilliance of Bumrah by bowling a beauty of an over, and Rohit, again for the defining 2-run for victory was run out with classic precision by a diving Rahul, and the super over was also tied. Things were different in the second super over, because batsmen and bowlers in action for the first super over could not feature in the second. So, Pollard and Hardik Pandya came in to bat the second super over for MI while Jordan bowled it for KXIP. They could manage only 11 runs and the final target was 12 for KXIP. MI's pacer Trent Boult proved to be a poor man's Bumrah. And, Gayle coming in as an opener for the first time in IPL 2020, started the proceedings with first-ball six, and then Mayank Agarwal who earlier saved a sure Pollard six followed it up with the fours. So then, finally KXIP got the much-fought two points and still remained in contention with 6 points. A match, forget the IPL format or type, of historical proportions finally ended. Results:

 

Now, DC with 14 points is set to enter the playoffs, followed by MI and RCB with 12 each, KKR with 10 and the remaining four teams locked with 6 points each, leaving the doors still tantalizingly open for IPL 2020. All the franchises have played 9 matches each so far and 5 matches each are remaining. This new-normal IPL 2020 in UAE, has somewhat reversed the pattern of winning-toss-fielding-first-and-mostly-winning in Indian settings, and has also seen batsmen struggling for runs on rather slowish pitches instead of the undaunted rain of fours-sixes in Indian settings. These factors have made the tournament hard-fought, closer and absorbing as we have seen in the last four matches over the weekend.