Archive for the ‘India in England 2011’ Category

Match Report: 3rd ODI,The Kia Oval

Posted: September 10, 2011 by The CouchExpert in Cricket, India in England 2011
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Goutham Chakravarthi

For a brief while, India were on top on Saturday evening. Two spinners bowling in tandem, ball stopping on the batsman occasionally, ball turning occasionally, it looked as though the moment for a win over England had arrived. Ashwin had the ball on a leash, dropping it on a full length, luring the batsman to have a drive at it. Every ball dipped and turned.

Jadeja made an impressive comeback to the side with both bat and ball

Trott played for spin when it went the other way and Bell kept getting hit on the pad. India liked the conditions and sensed a win. The heavens opened up and overs and time were lost. When they came back, it was a greasy outfield and the ball became wet. England batted deep enough and sensibly enough to ensure India wouldn’t go back home with any series victory.

A green wicket and another lost toss ensured that India had to bat first for the third game in succession. Bresnan and Anderson found holes in the Indian top-order by moving the ball both ways. Though the pair would have liked to pitch it up a bit more given the conditions, they sliced through the top in their opening bursts to have India four down within an hour.

Raina fought hard, but threw it away with an ugly swipe to leave India 5 down for 58. As much as Raina is comfortable in the shorter format, he needed to show the restraint the situation demanded. His shot was reckless and disrespected the situation India found itself in.

Dhoni played the rearguard action well. With the ball moving less and less as the afternoon wore on, he opened up to play some bold stokes. Jadeja, after having finally landed inEngland, played a splendid innings. He was fluent through the off side and England obliged by bowling to his strengths. His fluency on the off-side backward of point off either foot stood out. In the company of an equally impressive Ashwin, he took India to a total that looked beyond their reach two hours earlier.

Ashwin and Jadeja were the biggest gains for Indian from this game. Both have been around on the fringes for quite sometime now. They first gave India a chance by putting on a rapid partnership of 59, and then put the brakes on England with their spin. Jadeja is a restrictive bowler who looks to choke the scoring of runs. With the wicket offering occasional turn, he became doubly effective.

Ashwin looked menacing. Often, he is criticized for trying out too many of his variations – offies, offies with round-arm action, top spinners, arm balls and carom balls. Today, his offies drifted, gripped and bounced. He looked threatening and left Trott clueless when he set him up for his carom ball. Stokes looked ill at ease against spin and seemed relieved when Ashwin finally bowled him.

Bopara held the innings together with an impressive innings

On the other hand, it was an important knock for someone like Bopara. He didn’t resort to panic sweeps when the ball started to spin. He kept waiting for loose deliveries and the Indian seamers, who were a big let down for Dhoni in this game, kept giving him a full toss or a short ball every over to relieve the pressure built by the spinners. He finally fell done in by the impressive Ashwin right at the finish line. But, he looked the part though he might be a better option at 5 than at 6.

How England will find the right slots for their first choice players might indeed prove to be a jig-saw puzzle over the course of the remaining two ODIs in England and the 5 ODIs in India. Kieswetter looks a powerful option at the top, but his defensive game is suspect. It might not be a bad idea to bat Bell and Cook at the top and have the option of Kieswetter at the back-end of the innings to take advantage of the bowling powerplay. He has proved to have the game to take advantage of fielding restrictions. They are unlikely to do that especially with him getting good runs at the top and might like batting at the top of the order in India as well.

On the positive side for India, many of their youngsters have shown promise. It will be a surprise if Varun Aaron doesn’t get a game on Sunday given the poor show of the seamers that practically cost them the game on Friday. England will look to seal the series with a win on Sunday.

Preview: 3rd ODI, The Kia Oval

Posted: September 8, 2011 by thecognitivenomad in Cricket, India in England 2011
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Chandrasekhar Jayarama Krishnan

Head of Cricket – The CouchExpert

8 September, 2011


India’s battle with England this summer, thus far, has hardly possessed any dramatic interest. In the past, when Indian cricket had been through plenty of such phases, there would always be an instance of one player whose image would bring to mind a personal battle of absolute resolve. The truth, however in this series, is more prosaic; while there were a few performances that had glimpses of excellence, the overall picture, though, was seemingly fogged.

With absolutely nothing to lose henceforth, it would make sense for India to adopt Admiral Farragut’s ‘damn the torpedoes’ approach during the Battle of Mobile Bay. The influx of youth has helped the unit remove scarred egos, with Rahane’s good run of form being a huge positive. He has looked comfortable for someone who’s just arrived in to International Cricket. Coupled with Parthiv’s blitzkriegs at the top of the order, there have been plenty of positives to derive from the approach.

While some of the players handled the English attack with grace, the overall result has been the same – odd emotional moments in a failing quest that few people are taking seriously. The seriousness debate could have half a point – there were always going to be questions about the crowd that otherwise would have been generated had injuries not affected the celebrity stars.

The success of Rahane would surely give young Aaron a boost in confidence. He must be handed his debut soon.

Despite various signs that indicate a depleted level of interest, thanks more to the weather than the lack of stars, the battle might not be joined until the reverse fixtures commence in India later this year. But what can currently generate interest is to expose some of the young stars and offer a glimpse of what the future has in store for Indian cricket. The failure, to say hand a debut to young Varun Aaron would end up demonstrating the chronic weakness of Indian selection.

It is easy to forget that change in fortunes can still fetch silverware for the Indians this series. The Indian cricket fan’s substantive liability is to forget the opportunities that still lie ahead when times are bad – he becomes besotted with pessimism. The response so far from the team has been forceful, but grossly inadequate.

England, on the other hand has lost its One Day talisman with Irish roots to injury. Morgan’s injury could prove a blessing in disguise for ex outcast Ravi Bopara, who is trying is hardest to cement a place in a side which once struggled to pick a squad on credit alone. It is strange to observe how a chunk of past memories are formatted when times change for the good.

England must ride on this wave while it still lasts, and their current opponents are prime examples of what dark times can do. With a bunch of youngsters being given a fair run this series, Dernbach and Stokes have opportunities to pose additional headaches to the English selectors.

Bopara will slot in to fill the injured Morgan's place in the England XI

Alastair Cook’s doubted limited over skills were put to rest with the innings at Southampton, additionally backed by a few good performances in the same format against the Sri Lankans prior to the Indian series. His success has set a predicate that Cook, as a batsman, can now be relied on in the shorter formats of the game and practically, on incommodious leadership issues, if they may exist, along the way to definitive deal.

The trouble is, success will not always walk into the hands of the Englishmen. If England’s new found aggression is about ruthlessly wiping out enemies, as they’ve demonstrated in the recent past, it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea for even Captain Cook to take a leaf out of Admiral Farragut’s book: Damn the Torpedoes, full speed ahead! Weather permitting, of course.

2nd ODI: Problems aplenty for India as bowling flops again

Posted: September 7, 2011 by Editor in Cricket, India in England 2011
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Goutham Chakravarthi

It is hard to judge the quality of the English one-day batting given the appalling standard of Indian bowling. None of their front line bowlers had a clue in a shortened game, flat tract, with the night chilly winds and near freezing temperature. There was no swing on offer for Praveen Kumar and Kieswetter and Cook took the Indian bowling apart – walking inside the line and tucking it over fine leg, or giving themselves room to smash it over the off-side. Given what was on offer, England romped home chasing a stiff target with plenty to spare. They were close to 60 without loss after 5 overs and close to 100 after 9 overs. The game was over!

India’s reluctance from moving from their preferred combination of 7 batsmen and 4 bowlers is hurting them more with none of the part-time bowlers good enough to bowl more than a couple of overs unless the conditions favour them. India’s best hope with this combination is to chase.

Bell feasts on Raina's part time offies

Dhoni’s reliance on the skill of Ashwin is coming to a nought in these conditions with the wickets greasy and not providing enough bite for the Chennai spinner with the new ball. Kieswetter went after him straight away and tonked him for 16 in his first over and with it Dhoni seemed short of bowlers and ideas as all bowlers and combinations he tried didn’t work. Perhaps, it is time he played Jadeja in the side at seven for it gives him some tight overs from the left-armer in the  middle overs and he is a fair tonker of the cricket ball down the order.

The sameness of the Indian bowling in their seam department in terms of pace (or the lack of it) is making it easy for batsmen to line them up on good wickets. There is little chance this bowling side will bowl decent batting sides out on good wickets. It may not hurt them to give the leg-spinner and Varun Aaron a go in the remaining matches as they tend to be wicket taking options.

There is no such problem in the batting. Parthiv Patel looked poised for another big score as he went after the English bowlers who can’t seem to shed their love for short-pitched bowling. Parthiv cut and pulled with great relish. For second time in successive games, Anderson got him on the drive. Perhaps there is a lesson in it for Bresnan and Broad.

Ajinkya Rahane is doing his reputation no harm. There are enough talks going on back home that he should be the reserve Test opener going forward with Cheteshwar Pujara being the first choice no.6 batsman. He has looked at ease playing swing, pace and spin and again showed why he is rated so highly in the Indian domestic scene. He has made the most of his opportunity at the top of the order. In this form, it will be difficult to leave him out even in a full strength Indian side. It has been quite an impressive start.

Suresh Raina has to be among the most impactful limited overs players. To do what he does and with such consistency at the end of the batting innings takes for great confidence and skill. His cover drive for six off Bresnan is testament to his skills of ball striking and improvising abilities. There is little doubting his reputation or his future in this format.

It is a case of issues for both teams. England’s victories will for the moment hide their light batting with their middle order not being tested as India continues to find it difficult to get their batsmen out. England’s bowling lacked planning and imagination it showed in the Tests.

Truth is to say that Indian batsmen would fancy their own attack and England’s bowling attack would definitely test their own top order. Two teams working out a combination for the moment and the future might still churn out a tight series. Only if India pick enough bowlers to pose a challenge.

2nd ODI Preview: Play Manoj Tiwary and Varun Aaron

Posted: September 6, 2011 by Editor in Cricket, India in England 2011
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Goutham Chakravarthi

England have moved on from the world cup with a new captain and are investing in a new set of ODI specialists in the hope to build for the next world cup in 4 years’ time. India, on the other hand, would put their world cup winning team on the park if they had the option. Injuries have forced them to try out some youngsters. It cannot be bad from that stand point.

Manoj Tiwary can be an explosive player on his day.

Expectedly, Tendulkar is advised rest and India are another two men down. It is a call up for Tiwary who made the whole of India stand up and take notice of him in a Ranji final in Mumbai against Mumbai few years ago. He took on Zaheer at his peak and had the better of him and a lot was expected out of this youngster. He was ahead in the pecking order that constituted names like Raina, Rohit Sharma and Badrinath back then. Virat Kohli hadn’t yet taken India to the U-19 world cup win. He was the next big thing. He had lost his way a bit and had even become a movie producer once. Times change, and with consistent runs in the domestic competition last year, he landed a spot in the Emerging Players’ Tournament in Australia. He made his debut there and Brett Lee knocked him back several years with the two card trick – bouncer followed by a searing Yorker. He has taken a good 3-and-half years to get back from that set back.

A confident Tiwary is a sight to behold. He has tremendous range of strokes and is a dominating batsman. He rolls his sleeves up and goes after the bowling. He likes center stage and wants success. He wants to be the aggressor and can be a bully when on top. He will walk down to quicks, move inside the line and hit over the leg-side and will go after the spinners with sweeps and will also step out and hit over the top. In short, he is the ideal limited overs player who can control the middle overs with his tempo. If he gets into the team and settles in, he can be quite a sight in full flow. He will be tested by bumpers by the English bowlers of course.

It might not be a bad thing for India if they give Varun Aaron a game at some stage. There is not much of an unknown factor with the Indian seamers. While the top-order is still coming to grips with Praveen Kumar’s swing with the new ball, there is little left once the ball is old. No Zaheer Khan either to reverse the old ball. It puts too much pressure on Ashwin to control the middle overs if there is nothing in the wicket for the seamers. The extra pace of Varun is hope for a captain to force for a play in the middle overs. He tends to be expensive when it is not his day, but he can also be a handful when he gets it right for a couple of overs. Those might be the match-turning overs. Dhoni might punt on him especially with Vinay Kumar not proving to be effective in the two games he has played so far.

It is still a land of unknowns for both teams. Both teams are trying out combinations for two separate reasons. It might be the unknowns across both teams that might still give us some close contests. India needs all the help it can get from its youngsters to win their first game against England this tour. Let’s hope Tiwary and Aaron make it to the team for the 2nd ODI.

1st ODI: Rain robs India their best chance of win

Posted: September 3, 2011 by The CouchExpert in Cricket, India in England 2011
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 Goutham Chakravarthi

 3 September 2011

 

Finally a day where India had the better of England and the game was called off! The end result is not that India are yet to beat England but may have lost another player, Rohit Sharma, to injury. It is a tour that simply won’t go right for India. And for DRS!

India were jolted early with news of Tendulkar pulling out after complaining of pain on his big toe. He is to consult a specialist on Monday and knowing the history of the injury, he might be advised rest. It seems there is nothing India can do to stop injuries. Putting eleven fit men on the park seems a bigger issue for the team these days.

Rahane and Patel have given India good starts in successive games

Amid all the chaos, India has stumbled upon an unlikey opening pair who have kept the English seamers at bay for two matches in succession. Rahane is highly rated in the Indian circuit and is a man coming with runs behind him in Australia recently. He has looked confident and in the company of the very gritty Parthiv Patel countered the conditions and the English quicks with aplomb. It was not a quick wicket but did offer enough nip for bowlers with the new ball.

If you looked at the highlight reel of Parthiv Patel’s innings a few years from now, you would think he played a pull or hook to each of the 107 deliveries he faced! England were convinced for whatever reason that he couldn’t play the short stuff for the second game in a row and kept bouncing him and Patel kept pulling them for fours. Closing in on a deserved hundred, he nicked a wide half volley that Anderson bowled which looked like the first delivery they pitched up to him in two games now. All this makes you wonder why he wasn’t chosen as the back-up wicket-keeper and opening batsman for the Tests.

Another positive for India from this game would be the form of Raina. He seems comfortable in this format. He looked confident throughout and controlled the batting powerplay. An astute slow bouncer by Dernbach ended his innings. But he looked in control while he was at the crease.

Rohit Sharma’s loss will be a blow forIndia. It might do India good if Dhoni pushes himself to no.4 for the rest of the series. Once he is in, he controls the middle overs like few can in world cricket. Batting at no. 7, he is doing himself and his team a great disservice. India are out of options and Rohit’s injury might force him to bat at 4.

India looked good with the ball too with Praveen Kumar continuing to mesmerize English batsmen with his swing and nip. He accounted for Cook, who looked ill at ease in his brief stay, and Kieswetter, who couldn’t pick Praveen’s swing. When rain intervened, India had had the upper hand and looked poised to finally put one over England this tour. The long batting line-up would have been tested to chase down the Indian score after a slow start.

India finally look to be hitting their strap with the induction of a new personnel. They will do well to put a couple of people who have played well in Australia recently on stand by even as a final call the injuries of Rohit Sharma and Sachin Tendulkar will be made shortly.

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