Tuesday, August 30, 2011

India look for rejuvenation in limited overs series

Having suffered a humiliating whitewash in the Test series, a resurgent India aim for a better show in the limited leg of the tour, getting underway with a T20I at Old Trafford.

It was a tired and jaded Indian side that played the Tests and the effects were devastating. The visiting side were plagued with injuries from the first day of the series and could never recover. Result - A hammering in the Tests, resulting in a 4-0 whitewash.

But with the limited overs series approaching, India find themselves on a familiar ground. The rotation policy adopted by the Indian board, courtesy some injuries occurring to the players have given plenty of experience to upcoming players. To start off, India would be without Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, but the slot seems to be well replaced by Parthiv Patel and Ajinkya Rahane.

It was a heartening display by the Indians in the three warm-up games and they would hope to maintain the same form in the limited matches. The batting line-up looks a strong one and the spinners did well in the practice matches but the fast bowling options look bleak. Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be desperate for a turn-around and forget the humiliation in the Tests.

England have gone in for a new-look side against the mighty Indians which seems a bit surprising. The squad looks young in experience and Stuart Broad will have his hands full. The host have gone in with the traditional approach of ‘horses for courses’ and taken players who reveled in the domestic circuit this season. 

The bowling attack still looks strong but not as the one which played in white clothes. The batting has a lot of issues and might well be exposed if India bowl to a plan. This is the first bilateral T20I series between the two teams and in terms of head-to-head comparison, both teams have won a game each in two outings during the World Cup.

This venue has been the host for 3 T20I games of which, only one has produced a result - England vs New Zealand in 2008 which went in the Brits’ favour. The hosts will aim to carry forward the momentum into the limited overs series, though it looks difficult with the squad chosen to play the World Champions. India, on the other hand, will look to settle the scores in the upcoming series.

In spite of the drubbing given to India, England start off with a value of 184 on the Castrol Index leading only by 7.

Real test begins for Michael Clarke

With the ODI series under his belt, Australian skipper Michael Clarke gets ready for his first official Test as a captain with the Kangaroos taking on Sri Lanka in the first of the 3-match Test series at Galle.

It is a new-look Aussie side which is touring the island nation with majority of its players visiting this place for the first time in international arena. Clarke himself is playing his first game on this soil and apart from Ricky Ponting, there is no one experienced in the side. The men in yellow did well to win the ODI series after a humiliating loss in the T20Is but Tests in Sri Lanka are a different proposition.

Australia have been nowhere near their best since the retirement of the greats like Gilchrist, Hayden, Warne, McGrath and co. with the results clearly showing. Their last series win came in 2009/10 against the Kiwis but they have not won a series against a top-ranked Test nation since South Africa in 2009. That was the series which gave them back their number 1 ranking in Tests but now, after 2 years, they have slipped to number 5, winning just 2 out of the 9 Tests played in the last 12 months.

The reason has been the overall failure of batting and bowling. The batsmen have struggled to adjust to alien conditions while the bowling lacks depth. Interestingly, with the sub-continent tour underway, Australia would most likely be going in with two spinners, a theme which they usually do not follow.

The side contains plenty of youngsters with a few experienced players in Ponting, Hussey, Watson and Clarke. The skipper’s leadership skills will come under question as he gets set for a barricade of spin bowling in the coming few weeks. The Aussies had a good outing in the warm-up game with Trent Copeland and Khawaja impressing but this will be the real Test.

Talking about Sri Lanka, irrespective of their form, they are always a formidable side at home. They too, have not won a Test series since 2009 where they beat New Zealand at home, but compared to Australia, their results have been much better. The Lankans have won just 2 matches in 9 games but lost just 2 as well.

Having said that, the volume of Test matches played by the Island nation is far less as compared to that of the Aussies. Tillakaratne Dilshan will relish the conditions at home in leading a fairly experienced side as compared to that of the visitors. With the Aussies thinking of going in with two spinners, the Lankans might also adopt the same strategy.

The main reason for the loss in the ODI series was some abject batting by the Lankans, which is a cause of concern. They would be reminded time and again about the recent capitulation in England where they struggled to bat out 25 overs in a Test match. Dilshan is the key as his quickfire starts unsettle the opposition. 

The Lankans will know that the first match is always the key to a series and will come out in full force to win the game. They have played 17 games at this venue, winning 9 of those. Interestingly, in the two games played against Australia, the Kangaroos have won a match and drawn one, with the victory coming in 2004, the last time Australia toured Sri Lanka for a complete tour.

The Lankans start off with a value of 194 on the Castrol Index while the Aussies are on 184.