The year (or decade too, in this case) is about to come to a termination point. For the Indian who also happens to be an ardent fan of cricket, this year can only end well if the national cricket team can turn out to be victorious in the upcoming ODI match after having won the T20 series with a dominating 2-1 game score, whilst being dominant in all the three matches. While extensive analysis can be put forth about the T20 match where West Indies won (in order to learn from their mistakes and take the upper hand in the ODIs), there is a lot more to understand than the average armchair analyst can fathom. Continue reading “Tips for India vs West Indies- 3rd ODI”
Category: One Day
Five Talking points from the first ODI between India and West Indies
If we look into the first game of the ODI between India and the West Indies in Chennai, we saw decent performances from the likes Rishabh Pant, Kedar Jadhav and Shreyas Iyer after a rare failure for the Indian top order. Team India made a total of 287 for loss of 8 wickets- skipper Kohli seemed satisfied with his batsmen, but the fans would’ve expected more, especially given the position India were in when Pant and Iyer had both got their eye in. Continue reading “Five Talking points from the first ODI between India and West Indies”
India Squad for West Indies ODI & T20 Series Announced- ODI call up for Dube, Samson axed
The Indian selectors on Thursday officially announced the ODI and T20I squads for their upcoming series against the West Indies at home next month.
Shivam Dube’s fine performance in the T20 decider against Bangladesh has earned him a maiden ODI call up, but Sanju Samson has bizarrely been axed despite not featuring in even a single game against the Tigers. Samson and Dube were the only two new call ups to the squad when India squared off against their neighbours last month.
How different are India’s ODI and T20 squads?
Interestingly, India’s ODI and T20 squads for the West Indies series are virtually identical. Fourteen of the fifteen players named feature in both squads- the only difference comes in the form of Kedar Jadhav (ODI’s) and Washington Sundar (T20’s). This is almost a full strength T20 squad for the Men in Blue- perhaps an indication of how highly regarded the Windies are regarded in that format.
Talking Points- West Indies vs India 3rd ODI 2019 Port of Spain Trinidad
Virat Kohli lost his first toss of the tour, but it didn’t stop India’s winning run in the Caribbean as they comfortably beat the West Indies by six wickets in Trinidad on Wednesday. It was another masterclass with the bat from Kohli and Shreyas Iyer as the visitors chased down the revised DLS target of 255 with more than two overs to spare.
Here are our talking points from the game.
The West Indies sorely missed Sheldon Cottrell
Not only has Cottrell been the West Indies’ best bowler in this series, he also made Shikhar Dhawan his bunny of sorts. In Cottrell’s absence, Dhawan made a quickfire 36 that ensured India had a good start to a tricky chase. Without Cottrell, Jason Holder didn’t really have a strike bowler to turn to when he needed wickets or wanted to stem the flow of runs, which made this an easy chase for India.
Another batting masterclass from Kohli and Iyer
They were instrumental in India’s victory at the same venue a couple of days ago, and Kohli and Iyer again came to the party here in Trinidad.
The duo came together with India in a slight spot of bother at 92/3, having lost Dhawan and Rishabh Pant in successive deliveries, but brought the chase back on track with a fine 120 run stand in 15 and a half odd overs.
Iyer hit five sixes in his 41 ball 65 while Kohli struck his second consecutive century as India cruised home in the 33rd over.
Shai Hope’s slow start with the bat hurts the West Indies
We had mentioned this several times in the World Cup as well- Shai Hope tends to start too slowly for the modern game. He made 24 today off 52 balls- effectively eating up a quarter of the Windies’ overs for one tenth the score. He’s a talented player, but if he’s going to start so slowly, he needs to make them count.
Hope drops Kohli catch
Not only did Hope rob the Windies innings of momentum in the middle phase, he also dropped a relatively straightforward catch Continue reading “Talking Points- West Indies vs India 3rd ODI 2019 Port of Spain Trinidad”
End of an era- Hashim Amla and Dale Steyn retire from cricket
It’s officially the end of an era. With the retirements of Dale Steyn and Hashim Amla, all members of the South African side who scripted that famous series victory Down Under against Australia in 2008 have called it a day.
That Proteas team was also the first one since readmission to beat Australia in Australia, and they didn’t lose a single away test series between 2007 and 2015- quite an amazing statistic given the variety of conditions that prevail in test cricket today. Amla and Steyn were both key members of that squad as was AB de Villiers, who also hung up his international boots last year. Interestingly, the trio were the 295th, 296th and 297th players for South Africa and made their debuts in the same year- will the Proteas ever have a more impactful troika of players in the future? Continue reading “End of an era- Hashim Amla and Dale Steyn retire from cricket”
India vs West Indies Second ODI Match Report 11 August 2019 Port of Spain- Gayle’s 300th ends in defeat
Virat Kohli led from the front with a masterful century- his 42nd in ODI’s, as India defeated the West Indies by 59 runs on DLS in a rain affected clash at Port of Spain on Sunday.
The Indian skipper also took three catches, including a stunning one hander to dismiss the dangerous Evin Lewis, as the visitors continued their winning streak in the Caribbean. Continue reading “India vs West Indies Second ODI Match Report 11 August 2019 Port of Spain- Gayle’s 300th ends in defeat”