WELL PLAYED TEAM INDIA

A FAIRY TALE JOURNEY COMES TO AN END

Courtesy: Times of India

Days before the Men in Blue took on their arch rivals across the border in their World Cup opener, most of the fans and former cricketers had virtually written them off. In the aftermath of the disastrous tour Down Under where India lost the Border-Gavaskar trophy 2-0 to Australia and then failed to qualify for the finale of the ODI tri-series, not many would have expected the Indians to finish as one of the four semi-finalists in this edition of the Cricket World Cup. However, as they say, "Cometh the hour, cometh the man". In this case though, it was not one man, but a team of 15 men who brought joy to a cricket crazy nation of over a billion. The Indians dominated the Pool B vanquishing all their opponents including a mercurial Pakistani side, routing pre-tournament favorites South Africa and seeing off the challenge posed by the West Indies. Though the quarter-finals against Bangladesh was mired in controversy thanks to umpiring blunders, there was no doubt as to which was the better team on that day. Though the fairy-tale ended with a massive 95 runs defeat against a strong Australian team, the Indians could still hold their heads high; after all, they had played superb cricket throughout the tournament.

Perhaps, the biggest revelation of the series, from the Indian perspective was our bowling. What was suppose to be our Achilles heel turned out to be the most potent weapon in our arsenal. Mohammed Shami was the pick of the bowlers for me, finishing with 17 wickets in the 7 matches that he played with an enviable average of 17.29. Umesh Yadav who bagged 18 scalps in the tournament, including a four wicket haul against the mighty Australian line up ended as the third highest wicket taker in the series. One aspect that the pacer from UP can improve upon is his tendency to bowl at least one 'bad' ball per over. Meanwhile Mohit Sharma who got a break after Ishant was ruled out of the world cup due to an injury, justified his selection into the side by maintaining the pressure that the strike bowlers had built up during their opening spell. Ravi Ashwin too was spot on; he was amongst the top three spinners of the tournament behind Vettori and Tahir. In fact, India was the only team to take all the wickets in the first seven matches they played. Moreover, two of our fast bowlers or as the critics call them 'medium pacers', namely Yadav and Shami feature amonsgt the top five wicket takers of the series. And for your information, there was just one Indian batsman in the list of top five batsmen in the 2015 edition of the World Cup. Surprising, isn't it?

Apart from our bowling, our fielding during the course of the world cup was spectacular to say the least. Diving, sliding and direct hits have never been our forte in the past. However, one of the reasons for us to make it so far in the tournament was our excellent fielding. Perhaps, the one moment that epitomizes the high standards that the Indians displayed throughout the tournament was the run out of A B de Villiers due to an bullet like throw from Mohit Sharma along the boundary line in our second group match. Other highlights during the world cup include Jadeja's run out of Imrul Kayes and Dhawan's juggling act to send back the in-form Mahmudullah in the quarters.

India has always been known for producing some of the best batsmen in the world. Be it the textbook of batting - Sunil Gavaskar or the Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar, our batting has been our USP and has won us a lot of matches. Coming to the 2015 World Cup, four of our batters - Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli scored centuries in the tournament. Serious questions were raised over the form of Shikhar Dhawan before the tournament; however, the southpaw answered his detractors by finishing as the fifth highest run getter in the tournament, scoring 412 runs at an average of a little over 51, including two centuries. Raina's century against Zimbabawe and his innings against Pakistan were a treat to the eyes. Though there is no doubt that our batters did well, in my opinion, they did not realize their full potential on the big stage. Rohit took ages to finally break free, Virat failed to live up to the expectation after that century against Pakistan in the opener whereas Rahane too could have done much more.

MSD, possibly playing in his last ODI world cup proved why he is the greatest captain in the history of Indian cricket. He marshaled his troops well. To be frank, I think that the team that won the holy grail in 2011 was far stronger than this one. In spite of this, Dhoni led from the front and his tactics were largely responsible for us doing so well in this series. Again, one aspect that he could have done better was team selection. It was heartening to see the likes of Ambati Rayudu, Axar Patel and Stuart Binny just warming the benches throughout the tournament. I mean, these guys could have at least got an opportunity against the lesser teams like UAE or Zimbabwe, especially after it was pretty much clear that we were sure to finish at the top in our pool. With Rohit Sharma failing to make an impact, Rayudu should have got a call whereas Jadeja's indifferent performance should have led to the selection of Binny, a player who was picked ahead of Yuvraj.

There are a list of the things that the team could have done better. But then, the big picture is that we played well, just like the defending champs. Of course, we failed to make it two times in a row. However, the good part is that we did not surrender the trophy tamely, as many expected. There were lots of people who said and wrote a lot of things of how the Men in Blue had let the country down. However, the truth was that team played some very exciting cricket and tried their very best against a well balanced Australian side which was far better than us. Moreover, an overwhelming majority of the fans felt this way. Well played, Team India! We are still proud of you guys!

CHASING THE HOLY GRAIL

SUMMING UP TWO WEEKS OF EXCITING ODI CRICKET

As we were watching the opening ceremony of the Cricket World Cup 2015 at a restaurant at the ITPL Mall, a colleague of mine asked my views about India's chances at the tournament. "The chances of India retaining the world cup are even lesser than that of the Congress winning the Delhi polls", I quipped, much to the amusement of my team members. Two weeks down the line though, I am happy to eat the humble pie. The 'Men in Blue' who had failed to win a single match in their three month long tour of Australia prior to the start of the series, have peaked at the right moment and their performance so far has been fabulous to say the least.

The Indian team made short work of their arch rivals - the Pakistanis in their opening game, handed one of the tournament favorites - the South Africans their worst ever defeat in World Cup history and then crushed the UAE by nine wickets earlier in the day. With 6 points in their kitty, India are at the top of Pool 'B' and are expected to finish at the numero uno position, thereby avoiding both Australia and New Zealand in the quarters. Delhi lads Virat Kohli and Shikar Dhawan who looked lack luster in the tri-series have stuck form at the right time with both batters notching up a century each. Particularly, Dhawan's ton against top quality South African pace attack boasting of the likes of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel has been the best performance by an Indian batsman in this world cup so far. Rahane and Raina too have played their part exceedingly well, piercing the gaps, rotating the strike, thereby helping the team in the middle overs by scoring at more than run a ball. Our fast bowling, which was considered by many to be our weakling, has been a 'revelation'. The pacers - Shami, Yadav and Sharma have bowled in the right areas and reaped huge dividends, sharing 15 wickets amongst themselves whereas Ashwin has taken eight scalps. The highlight though has been our fielding with the boys dropping just 1 of the 22 chances that came their way. A large share of the credit for this transformation must also go to captain M S Dhoni who has marshaled his troops well so far.

Meanwhile, the co-hosts Australia and New Zealand are comfortably placed to enter the knock out stages of the tournament. The match between these two teams has been the best match of the World Cup 2015 with the rivals exposing each others weakness, especially in the batting department. This was one of those matches which reassures you that in spite of the rules being heavily in favor of the batsmen, we still have some quality bowlers at the international level who can turn a game on their own. Though Brendon McCullum and David Warner notched up quick fire half centuries whereas Boult and Starc produced amazing bowling spells, the difference between the two teams was Kane Williamson's innings of 40 odd runs in which he played some good cricketing shots, taking minimal risk. In this era of T20 cricket wherein batsmen go all guns blazing right from the start, the Kiwi batsman might come across as a 'misfit'. However, to win ODIs, you need supremely gifted players like him. After this one wicket victory over the Aussies, the Kiwis are all set to top their group just ahead of their rivals across the Tasman Sea provided Australians manage to beat the Lankans.

1996 winners Sri Lanka and pre-tournament favorites South Africa have not exactly set the stage on far, at least the way they would have liked to. The Proteras who have one of the most well balanced side in the series were thumped by India before they registered a 257 run win over the boys from the Caribbean courtesy a 66 ball 162 from their skipper De Villers. With consecutive wins over Afghanistan and Bangladesh, the Lankans have collected four points but the big test will come when they face off against the English and then the Aussies. Meanwhile, the performance of teams like Pakistan, West Indies and England has been disappointing. The boys from Caribbean were shocked by the Irish whereas the Pakistanis are yet to register a single win. England who are chasing their maiden World Cup have managed just one win in three games. Ireland on the other hand, need to beat Zimbabwe and register one win over a Test playing nation to go through the quarter finals. Oh boy, what an achievement will that be. That would be a tight slap on the faces of all those who want the series to be restricted only to full ICC members which would essentially make it a Commonwealth event rather than a 'World Cup'.

It is extremely important that the World Cup 2015 witnesses high level of competition played with the realm of the spirit of the game. I say this because, with the advent of T20, the 'sword of damocles' seems to be hanging over the fate of the ODIs with several former greats speaking in favor of doing away with this format altogether. For fans like me who have spent a great deal of their childhood watching this format, that would be nothing less than a personal tragedy. The 50 over game though a little longer when compared to T20s provides an unique opportunity for players across both the major disciplines to show case their skills while testing their temperament. Unlike the 20 over game which is based on the principle of 'Hit out or Get out', having a decent technique and holding on to the nerves are the keys to succeed in the ODIs. Though I would like either India or New Zealand to walk away with the trophy, I would be very happy if the real winner at the end of the two month long series is top quality ODI cricket.

THE PLAYERS WE WILL MISS...

AT THE 2015 WORLD CUP

The 2011 World Cup is extremely special for all Indian cricket fans, me being no exception. With India winning international cricket's most coveted title after a gap of 28 long years, the scenes of captain M S Dhoni sealing the victory in the finals over the Lankans with his trade mark 'helicopter shot' or that of Harbhajan Singh and Virat Kohli carrying batting legend Sachin Tendulkar post the prize distribution ceremony on his home ground at the Wankhede in Mumbai still fill our chest with pride. Overall, the entire 45 day tournament hosted by three Asian countries was hailed as a major success, generating millions of dollars in revenue apart from the display of quality cricket from players of the 14 participating nations. As the next edition of the series co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand is all set to kick-off in the next couple of weeks, here is a look at the five players who we will miss at the 2015 Cricket World Cup.

(5) Muttaih Muralitharan: For the legend that he is, the spin wizard from Sri Lanka did not set the stage on fire, at least in the manner that he and millions of his fans would have wished, four years ago. With the world cup being held in the Sub-continent which is known to favor the spinners, a lot was expected from him considering that he had already announced his retirement from international cricket at the end of the tournament. Of course, that does not mean that the Lankan spinner did not leave his mark on the 2011 edition of the tournament. In the nine matches that he played for in the series, he picked up 15 wickets at a bowling average of 19.40. His best 4 for 25 came against New Zealand in a group match. Facing a confident Indian side at the finals, he was expected to turn the match in favor of the islanders by destroying the Indian middle order which was known to have problems with the turning ball, after Malinga had sent back openers - Sachin and Sehwag. However, Dhoni who was Murali's team mate in the IPL side Chennai Super Kings, negotiated him well, thereby helping India lift the cup. The highest wicket taker in both ODIs and Tests, he called it a day at the end of the world cup, a tournament that he had won way back in 1996. Truly, for the kind of bowler that Murali was, Rangana Herath has big shoes fill in.

(4) Jonathan Trott: The stylish right handed batsman was England's most prolific run getter in the last edition of the world cup. Having scored five half centuries and ending with an excellent average of little over 60, he was fourth on the list of the highest run scoring batsmen, behind some of the best batters of our generation including Sachin Tendulkar and Kumara Sangakkara. In 2011, he became synonymous with 'consistency'; top scoring in 4 of the 7 matches that England played in the series including a brilliant 86 against Sri Lanka in the fourth quarter finals that saw the end of English efforts to win their maiden world cup. Possibly, the only thing that Trott could have done was that he failed to convert his starts into big scores. Battling stress-related issues since 2013 that even saw him pull out of the Ashes midway, the 33 year old was left out of the list of 30 probables for the tournament in a move that surprised many. It is now up to the young guns - Morgan, Root and Ballance to shoulder responsibility of the English batting order in absence of ace performers including Trott and his then captain Andy Strauss.

(3) Zaheer Khan: At 32 years, the left-arm pacer was in peak form in the summer of 2011. Spear heading the relatively mediocre Indian bowling attack, he proved to be a match winner, snapping 21 wickets, finishing as the joint highest wicket taker along with Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi. He bowled about 81 overs in the tournament, the highest by any bowler, showing how fit he was back then. An average of below 19 and a strike rate of 23.2 portray his ability to pick up scalps on the 'dead' pitches of the Sub-continent that are considered to be the 'graveyard' for fast bowlers. Apart from striking early, he also displayed the unique ability to get scalps with the old ball when he came in for his second or third spell in the death overs. In the course of the tournament, he was Dhoni's go-to guy whenever a partnership was going strong. He took three wickets against four different teams in the qualifying stages - England, Netherlands, Ireland and West Indies. He produced another brilliant spell in the finals, taking three wickets in spite of conceding 60 runs in his 10 over quota. Though he won a lot of praise for his role in India's world cup triumph, his slump began immediately after the tournament when he injured his hamstring in first test in the disastrous tour of England. To be frank, we have still not found a replacement for the old war horse as yet; Yadav, Kumar and Shammi still have a long way to go.

(2) Sachin Tendulkar: There is hardly a list which the batting maestro from Mumbai does not top. Still, I rate him the second on this count down. Anyway, international cricket's greatest batsman who like Murali was playing his final world cup always has a penchant for delivering on the biggest stage of them all. Featuring in all editions of the tournament since 1992, he is the highest run scorer in world cup history having amassed a staggering 2278 runs. Of this, 482 came in 2011 when Sachin emerged as the second highest run getter behind Dilshan. The batting legend scored two centuries, both of which came against quality oppositions. An innings of 120 against England and another ton versus South Africa, the only match that India lost in the series. Besides, he went past the 50 mark on two occasions. Playing the final in front of his home crowd in Mumbai, he was out cheaply. Nonetheless, appreciating his contribution to Indian cricket as a whole and for inspiring a generation of Indians across different streams, the young brigade honored Sachin by carrying him on their shoulders in the post match celebration while he waved the tricolor. With this win, he achieved the only laurel that had eluded the Little Master for so long, silencing his few remaining critics. There is no doubt that India is going to miss its greatest cricketing son in this edition of the world cup.

(1) Yuvraj Singh: Battling bad form, inconsistency and mostly importantly - Cancer, Yuvraj fulfilled his true potential in world cup 2011 where he was adjudicated as the 'Man of the Series'. He scored 362 runs in the series at an outstanding average of over 90, the next best only to Kumara Sangakkara. This included a ton against West Indies and four half centuries. His innings of 57 against Australia saw the Indians show the door to the defending champions. It was his bowling performances though that played a crucial role in India's triumph. With 15 wickets in his kitty, he was fifth on the list of highest wicket takers in the tournament. His best bowling performance of 5 for 31 came against the minnows Ireland. However, that in no way belittles his superlative performance in the series. In every match, he chipped in either with the bat or the ball, justifying his tag as an 'All-rounder'. In a team comprising of match winners like Sachin, Gambhir, Sehwag and Zaheer, Yuvi shone like the Pole Star. Unfortunately, he was over-looked in the squad for this world cup with the selectors preferring young Stuart Binny over him.