Roar Guru
Joined May 2017
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My first memories of watching cricket goes back 20 years when I watched a 18 year old Sachin Tendulkar tonk Mushtaq Ahmed for two consecutive sixes in one over in Sharjah. I have been hooked on to cricket since then. Even though my career has taken me to a monotonous Software Profession, my passion still remains with cricket. In 2005 I decided to write about the sport and have never looked back since. As an avid cricket fan and a passionate Indian team supporter I have been able to keep in touch with the sport through my writing.
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We can all agree that the pink-ball Test in Adelaide is probably Pakistan’s best chance to compete against Australia in Australia. The ball swings…
A middling 2019 World Cup campaign and poor results over the past year in Tests meant Pakistan underwent sweeping changes in management prior arriving…
Ever since the Indian World Cup squad was announced the one constant point of discussion has been the omission of Rishabh Pant. Yes, there…
Test cricket over the last few years has followed a pattern rarely breached by the travelling teams. England’s win over Sri Lanka was phenomenal,…
Wrist spin has been the flavour of limited-overs cricket over the last couple of years, and all top cricketing nations at least have one…
As a cricket fan there isn’t a more frustrating sight than watching Glenn Maxwell throw away the incredible talent he possesses. Despite multiple chances…
Australia’s capitulation against the visiting South Africans at the Perth Stadium might be a disappointment to lots of fans, but this has been the…
India completed a 3-1 win over the visiting West Indies team with a comprehensive nine-wicket win in the final ODI in Thiruvananthapuram. The series,…
Nathan Lyon recently went past Mitchell Johnson and Brett Lee to movie into fourth position in Australia’s all-time wicket takers list. It is a…
The World Cup is just a few months away, so now every series and every game becomes crucial in figuring out the right combination…
MS Dhoni is one of the greats of the game. A great Indian captain, a fantastic limited overs batsman and a great wicketkeeper, Dhoni…
Mitchell Starc has been Australia’s premier bowler across formats for a while now. Since his debut in 2010, Starc has 354 wickets across formats…
The Australian cricket team have struggled in Asia for over a decade now – in the last ten years Australia have played 24 Tests…
The 2019 world cup is just eight months away and, while all the teams are rushing to get their combinations right, Australia’s preparation took…
The England-India Test series is finally over, and it was another disappointing overseas result for the visitors, a team that was expected to topple…
The World Cup is less than a year away and all teams have been busy trying to figure out the combinations for the marquee…
The Australia squad for the tour to UAE was announced and it is nice to see the selectors rewarding good performances with a national…
Australia’s record in Asia over the past few years has been really poor. In the last three years they have played nine Tests in…
The Indian team for Asia Cup was announced recently. Virat Kohli has been rested and rightly so as he was nursing a bad back…
The Indian team's defeat at Southampton followed a familiar pattern, a pattern which is all too familiar if you are an Indian fan. The…
Looking at the Essex game, it does seem like there will be no Pant. If India bat again, Pujara needs to score some runs, if he does not, he is looking at losing his spot as well but again Dhawan hasn’t scored many runs as well. It will be interesting to see which two among, Dhawan, Pujara and Rahul will make the X1. Vijay seems to have taken the other opening slot.
Team combination crucial for Test success
This will most probably the team Virat will pick. The only change he will do is to play Karthik instead of Pant. He will not make the changes until India are down in the series and are desperate to make something happen. He did the same in South Africa when he left out Rahane for the first two Tests where a good 30-40 runs could have made a huge difference in the outcome of both the Tests.
Team combination crucial for Test success
Yup. Pandya is a good addition to the team in the games played in the sub-continent as he does not have to do much with the ball. The spinner take care of the same and his batting is a bonus as he can get some important runs against the spinners. I am not sure of his suitability on overseas tours. His SA tour wasn’t that impressive. His 93 in the first Test was brilliant but he did not follow up that innings with few more important knocks. India rely on him and Ashwin to contribute with the bat and if they fail, they struggle. With Bhuvneshwar Kumar missing, India’s tail isn’t that great.
Vijay Shankar is a good batting all rounder. Possibly can be tried in the future. There are no other good bowling or batting seam up all rounders in India at the moment. So Hardik is here to stay.
Team combination crucial for Test success
Pandya is selected because Virat Kohli likes to have a pace bowling all rounder in the team. Pandya as a bowler and a batsman has been a disappointment in all forms of the game. Unfortunately India don’t produce too many seam up all rounders which is the reason the Indian camp is stuck with Pandya. India wants to play 5 bowlers and at the same time, don’t want to sacrifice a batter, which is the reason for him to feature in the X1.
Team combination crucial for Test success
Know Virat, I agree the line up you mentioned. I don’t think Virat will do much experimentation. But with dry conditions and hot weather, India should be open to playing two spinners if the conditions warrant.
Team combination crucial for Test success
Rahul needs to play in the first couple of Tests. The only reason Dhawan might make the X1 is because India don’t have a left hand batter in the top order.
Team combination crucial for Test success
Rishabh Pant has had a great A tour to England. So I am hoping that Kohli will make the right choice and give the youngster some confidence. If at all he gets picked I hope the captain gives him couple of Tests to prove his talent. Dropping young players after 1 failure will be a huge dent in confidence.
Team combination crucial for Test success
English bowling is lesser of their two skills. They are a batting heavy team. They do struggle if their batting flops, similar to the Indian team. When they score 300+, their bowling is as good as any. As we saw in the first game when India had to chase just 260 odd, English bowling looked pedestrian. I am not saying they are not good as every ODI side in the world have similar issues on these pancakes with short boundaries.
It’s top three or bust for team India
Manish Pandey was give a good run in the team at number 4. He just wasn’t cutting it. He just seemed like a player with no higher gear and got stuck in the middle without accelerating the scoring rate. He had a great start to his career but has deteriorated over the last year or so.
It’s top three or bust for team India
Yup Raina and Dhoni need to go from the ODI team. I am all for KL Rahul but again I want him to be little bit more consistent that’s about it. He came into the England series in tremendous form but just played one good innings. I just hope he realises the potential he has and justifies the same. There is lots of competition for a spot in the Indian cricket team and KL might not get too many opportunities.
It’s top three or bust for team India
Thanks Anindya. The biggest problem for India is that when Bhuvi and Bumrah are missing, the bowling looks pedestrian. The back up pacers aren’t that good at the moment. Also Virat needs to realise that Hardik Pandya isn’t a third pacer, he is at best a 6th bowler, who will give you 10 overs once in a while. The Indian batting at the moment starts and ends with the top 3 in ODIs, which is little concerning.
Suresh Raina needs to go and sadly for him, this might be the end of the road for him as far as the national side is concerned. The Indian selectors need to take the bull by the horns and blood some young players for the upcoming Asia cup in UAE. The selectors also need to have a chat with Dhoni to let him know that things aren’t working out for the legendary cricketer. I hope that Dhoni realises this himself and makes way for the youngsters. So this leaves us with two spots in the batting. Rishabh Pant is an obvious choice and I hope he gets picked in the Test team.
The batting spot is still a concern, I hope the selectors pick young batsman and do not go back to Kedhar Jadhav. The reason I wanted Krunal Pandya in the X1 is because of the long tail India has in the LOIs. Replacing Chahal with Krunal will give us a spin bowling option and also will give us a extra batsman. The UAE series will be a great place to test out some young players. The A tour has thrown in some very good names and I hope the selectors are taking a note.
It’s top three or bust for team India
Thanks Paul. I agree, India needs to come up with solutions quickly in the batting department. Also regarding MS Dhoni, the selectors need to have a chat with him and discuss his future in the team. I understand that he wants to play the 2019 WC but that shouldn’t be on the expense of the team itself.
England though look the most settled of the teams at this point. Their bowing is suspect but they are playing at home so they will be okay. Their batting though is extremely good and long. They were missing Chris Woakes as well.
It’s top three or bust for team India
Good to see Renshaw coming back in to the side. Who will be partnering him at the top? Since Warner has been sent home as well? Do Australia have a third opener in the squad already? Will it be Joe Burns?
Matt Renshaw must replace Cameron Bancroft permanently
ICC were never going to give any harsh punishment for ball tampering, They have never done that in the past. Remember Afridi’s ball biting incident? Faf’s zipper incident? England’s mint on the ball in 2005? But CA seems to have been hurt a lot and I am expecting harsh punishments to both Warner and Smith. Bancroft might get a few months for his involvement and probably will never make a comeback to the national side. strangely Australia don’t have a ready made captain at the moment with both Smith and Warner facing bans. It will be interesting to see who will take over after this series.
Has Steven Smith damaged his legacy as a player?
It will be really interesting to see how they go in the final test. Tim Paine would not be able to believe how the world has changed upside down for him. During the ashes people were questioning his selection and now in few months he is leading the Australian team albeit temporarily but a huge responsibility. Not sure who will take over the long term captaincy for the Australian team, would it be one of the bowlers? Is Nathan Lyon up to it? Or will it be Mitch Marsh?
Has Steven Smith damaged his legacy as a player?
If the CA bans Smith for a year as the reports suggest, it will be really interesting to see how he comes back after the ban. Whatever may be the ban, his comeback will be really interesting as he will be returning as just a player and not the captain anymore. Australia also are in a conundrum right now with the captaincy choices, with Warner also likely to be banned, they are only left with the bowlers who are experienced. If Glenn Maxwell had established himself as a test player, he could have taken the reigns over. Lets wait and see what happens with Smith and how he adjusts to cricket post the ban. The year long ban meted out to Shane Warne in 2003 did not affect him too much when he made a comeback.
Has Steven Smith damaged his legacy as a player?
Yup Warne’s doping controversy happened right before the WC 2003. So yes Smith will still remain as one of the best test batsman to have played the game but again there is a tag which gets attached to you forever which Smith could have done without.
Has Steven Smith damaged his legacy as a player?
The fourth test will be good for Burns, Maxwell and Renshaw to stake their claim in the test team. Australia will still be competitive but it will be difficult for them to beat South Africa after this debacle. The non participating players would be mentally shot and it will be interesting to see how they go in the final test.
Has Steven Smith damaged his legacy as a player?
Seems like both of them are looking at a long ban and all three of them have been sent back to Australia with immediate effect.
Has Steven Smith damaged his legacy as a player?
Seems like Lehmann is going to resign as well. Not looking good for the Aussie touring party. The problem is that the series is still underway with the Aussies still with a chance to get level. Not sure how they would be able to do the same with Captain, Vice-Captain and coach gone.
Has Steven Smith damaged his legacy as a player?
Yup in the little I have seen of him, he does play responsibly when needed. He did hold the innings together in the record 240 chase against NZ. He wasn’t his fluent best but still hung around almost till the end.
Australia now have the team to defend the World Cup
I think D’Arcy short will do well in ODIs as well. He looks a fantastic player and needs to be persisted in the team for ODIs. I have my reservations about Chris Lynn as well but again, he need to get few more games before he can be discarded. Once Smith & Travis Head return, he will lose his spot anyways. Short, Head, Maxi and Carey need to be tried in the top/middle order.
Australia now have the team to defend the World Cup
Yup Agar was brilliant in the T20 series and for sure has earned the right to be selected ahead of Zampa in ODIs as well.
Australia boss Kiwis in T20 tri-series final
Good series for the Aussies and nice to see a good core of players identified for the shorter format. Extremely impressed with D’Arcy Short and Ashton Agar. Good to see Maxwell back in form as well. Australian limited overs side now looks good.
Australia boss Kiwis in T20 tri-series final
It will be interesting to see what team India plays. There are lots of permutations and combinations possible. I hope they take the right calls. I wouldn’t want to be part of the Indian think tank at the moment.
Shaky Indian batting gives England the edge