Thursday, September 08, 2011

Next stop - The Oval. India’s wait for a win continues

With the list of injuries mounting and three games left in the series, team India continue their search for a revival as they enter the must-win phase of the series wherein they need to gain a victory in each and every match to win the series.

After a drubbing in the Test series and a heart-breaking loss in the T20I, India nevertheless approached the ODI series with renewed vigour. Not even half the side which won the World Cup back home were available as they were injured. Still, the young blood repaid the confidence showed in them.

Parthiv Patel and Ajinkya Rahane have been the toast of the nation so far, providing explosive starts in the T20I and both the ODIs. However, they have not been able to make them convert into victories. They probably had the best chance in the first game with England losing 2 quick wickets chasing 280-odd but rain came in the way.

Another problem has been the middle order which has been highly inconsistent. They have provided good knocks but have failed as well. But the biggest problem has been the bowling which has struggled throughout the tour.

The medium pacers have simply not been able to land the ball consistently in good areas while the spinners have struggled to grip the ball, thanks to cold conditions. True, they have been given the worst of conditions but that is something they need to adapt. Credit to the Indian board and the injuries as in spite of so many players missing, the squad looks more experienced than the English.

England, well, are on a roll right now. They survived the second Test and bounced back from nowhere due to Stuart Broad’s hat-trick and then the very same bowler brought them back in the T20I. Broad has been the key factor in this series and he really is looking as an ideal replacement for Andrew Flintoff.

The batting is looking a bit inexperienced and with Eoin Morgan and Kevin Pietersen missing, it does not look even half as daunting as the Test one. However, the side has not been tested due to some poor bowling by the Indians and the batsmen have reveled. It has been a second coming for Ravi Bopara and Samit Patel who, like many Indians are trying to stake a claim in the national side.

No complaints about the bowling. James Anderson has found his form with the white ball while Tim Bresnan and Broad have been superb. Graeme Swann, too, has provided some key breakthroughs and overall, this English bowling attack looks potent, at least in home conditions.

A win in this game will hand England an unassailable 2-0 lead in the 5-match series with 2 matches to go.

The hosts start off with a value of 184 while the Indians are on 177.

Wednesday, September 07, 2011

Zimbabwe aim for tremendous upset

Zimbabwe’s last win against a major cricket-playing nation came against Sri Lanka in a trilateral series in June of last year. India was the third team and hosts Zimbabwe took them down twice, although the team was made up of lesser-known players, not the regulars who would have made for meatier opposition.

But the Sri Lankan team did feature a number of established cricketers, including Thillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Suraj Randiv and Thilan Samaraweera. Being bowled out for 236, the Lankans could not stop Brendan Taylor (now Zimbabwean captain) from scoring a century and leading his team to victory.

In Bulawayo tomorrow Zimbabwe will have to take on the visiting Pakistan team, who are fresh off the back of a good win in the lone Test match against the southern African nation just a few days ago.

Thanks in the main to Tino Mawoyo, Zimbabwe performed more than admirably in their first innings, posting a total in excess of 400 runs. But they then found that the Pakistani batsmen were up to the task of going beyond their total and their bowlers had few answers to them, even the celebrated Brian Vitori, who had a dream international debut against Bangladesh in the ODI series immediately preceding this tour.

Perhaps he will be able to do better in the ODI format, but the home team desperately need a team effort if they want to have any chance of overcoming Pakistan, who are stronger opponents than Bangladesh on a typical day.

The fielding was a particular concern during the Test match and captain Taylor really does need to showcase some of his batting talent; he has been pretty much quiet ever since his Test century against the Bangladeshis.

Pakistan’s bowlers were at their best in the second innings, but letting Zimbabwe reach 400-plus runs would not have been a great feeling. They saw good batting and bowling performances from pretty much the whole team and they will not want to let Zimbabwe to cause them too many problems on the field. Still, Zimbabwe cannot be written off just yet and we should get to see how far they have progressed in their rebuilding.