Where do we go from here? Will we EVER learn?

The new year is a few days away and all that can mean, is that we are moving closer and closer to the start of the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup. Team India are as most you know already in Australia playing a 4 Test series followed by an ODI series with both the hosts and England. Basically, this is India's attempt to acclimatise to the conditions and be ready to defend the title they rightfully won 4 years ago. 

Will I dwell on the ODI series and the World Cup right now? No. I'd rather take my sweet time and put in few words to rightly share my two cents about the ongoing Test series that is now into the 3rd instalment. 

India are at this point at the end of Day 3 on 462 for the loss of 8 wickets, with King Kohli getting out in the last over of the day on 169 - great effort but the timing of losing one's wicket does have to be questioned not for the 1st time but actually the second time in this series. India are of course 2-0 down and to be honest, I do believe a draw is what is going to happen with respect to this test but then again I could be wrong. 

I am what people call - a very passion cricket lover and more than anything I love payig the game and if I am not playing then watching Team India is my next love and for some reason and like the many millions of Indian fans that exist world wide, I just can not explain - WHY IS IT THAT OUR MOODS ARE COMPLETELY BASED ON THEIR PERFORMANCES?

When the team does fantastically well, like Rohit Sharma scoring another double hundred then everyones FACEBOOK status has exactly the same thing but when India lose then then either people are too upset to announce it on FB and the handful of people (such as myself) make it a point to vent my frustrations out in the open otherwise I'll come home and people will tell me - IT'S ONLY A GAME. Well its not!

This current Test series has pretty much put me all emotions I can have when it comes to cricket and after the end of today's play, I thought it was high time to just write it out. India could have potentially been 2-0 up at this point but if you had to be slightly cautious the scoreline would have either read 1-1 or 0-0 and worse case 0-1 NOT 0-2 and you never 0-3 if our performance continues in such a way. 

Fine.. I can understand the lost of the 1st test, with Kohli getting out at the time he did, the selection of Karn Sharma over Ashwin and in my opinion playing Saha over Naman Ohja. India were attacking all the way and that was a loss I honestly didn't mind seeing as that was India going down fighting. Kohli had actually not done a bad job as captain for the first time but enter Dhoni back into the fray as incoming captain. To try and understand how India lost that second test just escapes as I fail to understand that how can a team that 1. Scores 311/4 on the Day 1. 2. Has Australia at 121/3 and 230 odd for 6 to eventually allow them to make 505 to then be bowled out for 224 and lose the test by 4 wickets. If India hadn't collapsed the way they did or even hadn't allowed the Aussie tail to pile on the runs, India would have cruised to the win and squared the series yet as usual Mahi let the game meander on and what has become a common for this team, allowed the tail to add invaluable runs to total that should have never been possible against any other attack. 

Yes, India did also have a number of bad decisions go their way in both tests but then the question arise - WHY SAY NO TO DRS??? And Mahi's reaction to this makes absolutely no sense what so ever. You are disappointed with umpires decisions and you want them to be more consistent but do not forget about human error and when DRS is there on offer, why not take it? Just because of Ian bell being given not out in the 2011 World Cup? You have to move forward and stop looking back.

What will happen in the remainder of the series I do not know but things have to change. India have to learn to close out the tail. India have to learn to take responsibility. India have to think of the idea of whether Dhoni is the right man to lead the Test side. We have to be as ruthless as our opposition and we just are not at that level by a long way. We show glimpses but that is just not enough - CONSISTENCY IS THE KEY!

Time to stand up & be counted!

It's India vs England and to be honest up until the start of play of Day 1 of the 3rd test, I was in fact quite a happy camper, but now is a completely different story.

You have now gone 1-0 in the test series after a fantastic win, that too at the Home of Cricket after 28 years and now you let it slip straight away. SO FRUSTRATING!

We have not performed to our potential but then to be 1-0 up was an amazing achievement without any assistance from Dhawan, Kohli or Pujara in the batting department and Ashwin on the bowling side. Stand out perfromances from Rahane, Bhuvi, Vijay & Ishant had brought us to where we are and now, over a week later, we are staring down the barrel with 1 FULL DAY to go and 6 wickets left and over 300 runs to score. Even though, I will always believe in the chance of a miracle, I am not so hopeful this time.

Before the 3rd test, I really thought I had Mahi figured out when it came to team selection for the upcoming test; yes I understand that no one expected Ishant to be injured at the last minute but then why do we have an 18 man squad??? I was pretty sure when speaking to friends that when it came to team selection, that changes would be as follows:

• Dhawan REPLACED by Gambhir
• Binny REPLACED by Ashwin
• Shami REPLACED by Pandey or Aaron

But then again, Mahi has his own way of doing things - you don't replace Dhawan, who failed yet again and then replace Binny (an all-rounder) with Rohit Sharma (a batsman who can bowl a bit (1 wicket in his handful of tests)) and then bring in debutante Pankaj Singh for Ishant when Pandey would have definitely been a better pick. I agree that Pankaj has been unlucky with his first innings spell where he had Cook dropped early and an LBW appeal against Bell turned down but we just haven't done enough with either bat or ball this test match and England took advantage with Balance (already in sublime form) and then allowing Bell & Cook to get into form again (how typical of Indian bowling). I do not know why but whenever batsmen need runs and need to get into form - I think the answer is usually to face India at home.

Today is the last day and will the rest of the Indian batting line up be able to stand up and be counted? I wonder. I do not have high hopes but if we save this test, I do not know what expect for the 4th test. This test was set up for us to consolidate the lead we worked so hard to get and what we have done is just put in on a platter for England to nicely take out of our hands without even the smallest of fights. People like Pujara (whom I expect a lot out of) and Kohli need to buckle down and start making larger contributions (significantly larger) so as to put India in better positions going forward.

If we save this test match, will Mahi stick to the same squad? Will the changes happen? They should as people like Gambhir, Aaron and Pandey are probably itching to have a go and why not try something different?

My legs and fingers are now crossed and hoping for a positive outcome - only a few hours to go.

Asia Cup 2014 Review - Team India

So, India's participation at the Asia Cup is now done and what does everyone think? Good? Bad? Positive? Negative?

I think this Asia Cup can be pretty much be summed up in two words - OPPORTUNITY LOST!

This tournament was supposed to be used by the team to test out the bench strength and did we? Not at all. Ishwar Pandey showed some skill in New Zealand on tour game and after that he's been bench warming. Reminds me of Rahane's initial situation. Pujara averages of 58 in Ranji games and yet he has not got a look in when he shows the sort of solidity India needs and even though he might bat on the slow side, he has shown in his previous test innings that he can up the ante when he's in. Our last game was the a last chance to play a completely different side and who cares if we lost as like Virat said - WE ARE IN TRANSITION and these hiccups will happen - better now then the World Cup.

One person I have felt bad for has been Stuart Binny for the following reasons:

• Having played the ICL many years ago to getting fitter and through the IPL making a name for himself, he has barely got a look in.
• Even Jadeja was given more opportunities and failed and now look at him - he has got a lot better and he can be a good fit in the side.
• Binny has barely played and to be honest even though I am giving him the benefit of the doubt he has bowled on dead pitches in Bangladesh when in Australia he could prove effective and it is not like he can not bat given the licence.

I said it before and I will say it again - I think Ashwin needs to re-visit his action. An off-spinner starts off by bowling the off stump line and then once he is in a groove then the experimentation starts in order to look for wickets. What Ashwin does is try everything straight away and when he gets hit which has been a constant, he starts with his darts and bowling around the wicket. Why be so negative - be persistent and wickets will come - PATIENCE IS THE KEY!

What a difference Amit Mishra made to the squad - finally a good call by management and he has been solid in his performances and maybe his results can push Ashwin to improve - food for thought. 

Brett Lee made a statement a few days ago that to win the World Cup, India will need bowlers who can put a fright in a batsmen's mind and therefore bowl over 140kmph and we have two at this point in time - Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav. Aaron had a poor tournament and maybe he'll get better in time but to be banned from the attack is not impressive to the eye at all but dew did play a factor and I do not see that being the case in Australia and New Zealand. Where has Umesh Yadav gone? He is quick ad gets wickets - yes he is expensive but that's all our bowlers. They have to be worked. Our death bowling has let us down over and over again and what do we do to fix it? NOTHING! No yorkers (except Shami), obvious slower balls but so thought has to be put into this. This is the only we will be able to defend totals . In oredre to wim games going forward, Team India needs that killer instinct to finish off team when they're on top rather than what they normally do is let the game move slowly forward until a partnership has developed and then who suffers? WE DO!

Back to the batting:

I personally do not see Rohit Sharma opening the batting. I think he has always been better down the order and given a licence to go for his shots. Rahane does seem like a better option even though he feels number 4 is where he should be but then I start back on the Pujara argument - doesn't everyone feel Pujara is best suited at number 4. I do not want Pujara to open but if that's the only was for him to play then so be it. Rayudu I am still not too sure about and that is a discussion I will continue some other time.

Fielding:

Our fielding has been a disappointment since New Zealand and I have thought that this has been a strength especially when we won the World Cup but we have let catches spill and Karthik really surprised me with this performances behind the stumps as well as his batting when he shown so much promise in previous matches and the last IPL. What other keep batsmen do we have in the cupboard? Once again - food for thought.  

Time is ticking to the next World Cup - ARE WE GOING TO BE READY???

Can we defend the World Cup?

Doesn't seem that long ago, but my first ever blog talked about whether the men in blue were actually ready for the 2011 edition of the World Cup, and they proved me wrong. I'm hoping for the same again because from what I have seen so far, there is so much talent at our disposal but are we managing it correctly? I don't think so. 

I will agree to the fact that if we were playing at home or even in subcontinent conditions, I would blindly back the Team getting far in the tournament but at this point with it being playing in both Australia and New Zealand, I have my concerns.

In the 1992 edition of the World Cup, I remember Team India losing two close games to both England and Australia, with Sachin playing his first World Cup and of course we didn't progress to knockout stages. Our bowling wasn't great and our batting was decent but overall we probably weren't good enough on those conditions. Now, 12 years later, I honestly feel that we have, the batting, bowling and fielding to go far but how well are resources being used. In my opinion, what should be done is try and test out different team compositions to come up with a balanced squad.

At this point in time, I am unsure that this is being done, actually I know it isn't being done. We still play Ishant Sharma and our attack spinner is Ashwin. Ishant's economy rate is not to die for and to be honest, I never feel comfortable him bowling at the death as he is unbelievably predictable as his only change up is the slower off break which most times gets carted out of the park. Why was Ishwar Pandey taken on tour if he wasn't going to get a shot. We had everything to lose but a lot to gain if he had put in a decent performance. There is no one who at this point can lead the attack. This is why I raise the following questions:

• Could Zaheer Khan last another World Cup? Yes I know his fielding isn't the best but he has worked on his fitness and in such conditions, I definitely think he's an asset.
• Where is Umesh Yadav - he's in the Test squad but does he not deserve a place in the ODI side?
• Stuart Binny was selected and what did he do? Bowled one over for 8 runs - how fair is that?
• What you need to avoid getting hit for 300 every game, is bowlers who can get the job done during the death overs, that is, not give width, bowl slower balls, slower bouncers, cutters and of course yorkers (which I barely anymore in games).

When it comes to the spin department, we have Jadeja who has proved his worth as a relatively containing bowler, a fantastic fielder and has batted well as well (FINALLY). But Ashwin - I really don't see him in our side. Yes he has batted well but his bowling is the problem - he tries too many variations and he is an off spinner, but he is regular delivery isn't that great and over that last set of games, he has just bowled flat to contain and that is not what spinners supposed to do - they have to try and get wickets. To be honest, I would rather try the likes of Harbhajan (who can bat at times), Amit Mishra or even the one time pick Pervez Rasool. What do we have to lose as this gives us options.

With the bowling done, what about the batting? I feel that in New Zealand and in South Africa for that matter, we did not have the stability I am used to seeing in an Indian lineup. SHikhar Dhawan plays too many shots and need to curb his aggression while Rohit Sharma is the opposite as he takes a while before getting going and more often than not, in New Zealand, he played just to many dot balls for my liking. What a lot of people seem not to realize that there is one batsman not picked yet in the ODI side, who in my opinion could be our trump card - Cheteshwar Pujara. At the U-19 World Cup some years ago, Pujara was voted Man of the Tournament for his 349 runs at an average of 116, which included 1 hundred and 2 fifties. He has shown his stable side in the Test arena and has also shown that he can accelerate as well so why not? He is the Rahul Dravid we need to add that oomph to the team. THINK ABOUT IT! Rahane was impressive in spells and I think he should keep his place, where as Raina is going to have some work to do as he has not had a big score in a long time and it's time management picks up on this. Replacements in the batting department I am unsure of but there is still a year to and you never know - we might just unearth a talent out of the blue - UNLIKELY BUT YOU NEVER KNOW!