Saurashtra won their first Ranji Trophy title earlier this month as they got the better of Bengal at the SCA stadium in Rajkot. It was perhaps fitting that the trophy returned to the home province of the man who gave it his name- the legendary Maharaja Ranjitsinhji, after all these years. Continue reading “A look at Saurashtra’s path to their maiden Ranji Trophy Title”
Month: March 2020
Five Talking points from India Women vs Australia Women T-20 World Cup Final 2020
Australia women’s cricket team continued their dominance by registering an emphatic 85-run win over India to clinch the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup for a record fifth time in their history on Sunday.
India had entered the final after a semifinal wash out against England in Sydney, but crumbled under pressure against the hosts in front of a record 86,174 strong crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Here are our talking points from today’s game.
1. Dropped catches cost India dear.
Alyssa Healy was on 9 when she was given a reprieve by Shafali Verma in the very first over of the game. The opener took full advantage as she went on to score the fastest half-century in an ICC final, smashing 75 off just 39 balls. Her innings comprised of seven fours and five sixes, and by the time she was done, India’s shoulders had visibly drooped.
Healy’s partner Beth Mooney was also dropped early in her innings, with spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad guilty on that occasion. Mooney’s composed innings of 78 took Australia to 184 and ensured she walked away with the Player of the Series award.
2. Rare failure for Shafali Verma.
The teenager has been instrumental in India’s road to the final, but suffered a rare failure here, dismissed for just 2. For many Indian viewers it was a sense of deja vu- this felt very much like Sachin Tendulkar’s dismissal in the first over of the 2003 World Cup final by Glenn McGrath. Continue reading “Five Talking points from India Women vs Australia Women T-20 World Cup Final 2020”
India ODI Squad for South Africa Series March 2020- First by new Sunil Joshi selection committee
Shikhar Dhawan, Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have made a comeback to India’s 15 man ODI squad for the South Africa series that was announced earlier today. The trio had missed the recently concluded tour of New Zealand, which the visitors lost 3-0, due to injury.
This is the first Indian squad to be selected by the country’s new selection committee, headed by Sunil Joshi.
What changes have India made from the NZ ODI series for the South Africa games?
Rohit Sharma is injured- he has not fully recovered from the calf injury he suffered during the fifth T20I against New Zealand, but Shikhar Dhawan, as mentioned above, has returned. Mayank Agarwal, who replaced Sharma in NZ, is not part of the 15, with Shubman Gill included in the side.
Also missing out are Kedar Jadhav, Shivam Dube, Mohammed Shami and Shardul Thakur. Shami has been rested as a precautionary measure following his shoulder injury in the second test. Continue reading “India ODI Squad for South Africa Series March 2020- First by new Sunil Joshi selection committee”
Heinrich Klaasen’s first ODI century, ODI debuts for Janneman Malan & Kyle Verreynne on Leap Day & more- Talking Points from Proteas vs Australia Paarl 1st ODI
A fine century from Heinrich Klaasen, the first of his ODI career, helped South Africa stun Australia in the first ODI in Paarl. The Proteas, thrashed in the T20 series, prevailed by 74 runs against Aaron Finch’s men at EuroLux Boland Park.
Here are our talking points from the game.
A maiden ODI century for Heinrich Klaasen: The Titans star has shown plenty of promise, but unfortunately not quite lived up to it after that knock vs India two years ago. However being dropped from South Africa’s World Cup squad seems to have given him a wake-up call, and he played a fine innings here at Boland Park.
Klaasen scored 123* from 114, the only top six batsman on either side to score at over a run a ball, and his 149 run partnership with David Miller was a Proteas record for the fifth wicket against Australia.
De Kock fails, but South Africa win: Since the retirement of AB de Villiers, South Africa’s batting has been fragile and appeared to be overtly dependent on Quinton de Kock. When he fires, they stand a chance of winning, but when he doesn’t, the Proteas crumble like a pack of cards, as it happened in the two sub 100 scores in the T20’s against Australia. Continue reading “Heinrich Klaasen’s first ODI century, ODI debuts for Janneman Malan & Kyle Verreynne on Leap Day & more- Talking Points from Proteas vs Australia Paarl 1st ODI”
Talking points- Black Caps vs India Second Test Christchurch 2020
New Zealand continued their dominance at home as they thumped India by seven wickets in less than three days to complete a memorable series win at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Monday. The victory ensured a whitewash for the Black Caps across both ODI and test formats after they had been blanked 5-0 in the T-20’s.
Here are our talking points from the second test.
Uncharacteristically poor tour for Virat Kohli.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli’s woeful run with the bat continued as he was dismissed cheaply yet again in both innings here. In the test series, Kohli had scores of 2, 19, 3 & 14 respectively. He was dismissed leg before wicket twice here, with Tim Southee accounting for him in the first innings and Colin de Grandhomme claiming his scalp in the second.
Kohli’s tally for the series was only 38 runs- even tailender Mohammed Shami (44) scored more than him.
Kyle Jamieson’s handy runs down the order hurt India.
India’s bowlers roared back on the second morning, reducing the Black Caps to 153/7 shortly after lunch. However Kyle Jamieson again rescued the hosts by scoring 49 very handy runs to lift the home side to 235. He also claimed a five wicket haul in the first innings, including the key wickets of Cheteshwar Pujara and young Prithvi Shaw, both of whom had scored half centuries and were looking threatening for more.
Jamieson was also excellent at the Basin Reserve, and this has been a fine debut series in the longest format of the game for the lanky pacer. Continue reading “Talking points- Black Caps vs India Second Test Christchurch 2020”