Magnificent Gulf
Few teams have made a resurgence into one-day cricket like the Indian team has. Who remembers the gloom that was Indian ODI cricket just a few months back. We were being uncharacteristically demolished by decent ODI teams left, right and center. Our respite came from beating pretenders like UAE and Bangladesh. We qualified to the Asia Cup finals on merit of bonus points and we did not look like we arrived to the last ICC Champions Trophy. It has taken one Greg Chappell and many controversies to pull us out of the well we had fallen into, and what a superb job they have done!
India's record in their last 4-5 series has been impeccable, nay astonishing. They have not lost any of these series (they have drawn 2), and when they have won, they have won more than conclusively. It started with a 6-1 whalloping of Sri Lanka, followed by a toughly contested 2-2 series against South Africa (#2 in the world, currently). It was then off to Pakistan, where we secured a 4-1 result, and then back in India, a 5-1 battering of a weakened England team. Finally, a 1-1 draw in Abu Dhabi means that we have lost just 5 of our last 24 games! Almost an 80% success rate does augur well for the future of Indian cricket.
But enough, then, with the boastful nature of this preview. West Indies, in stark contrast, have managed to win just 2 of their last 16 ODI games (I quote a statistic I read in cricinfo today, from memory). They have further lost their last 16 test matches (not even managed a draw). Hence, the magnificent gulf--one team that is trying to burst into the top of the ODI ladder, and another that is looking desperately for its past glory. Apart from the lack of proper administration in terms of sponsorship and whatnot, West Indies have another problem in terms of the captaincy.
The Indian squad, on the other hand, looks very balanced. Led once again by Dravid, who can concentrate fully on the game since he has been retained till World Cup 2007, our batting line-up boasts of Sehwag, Uthappa, Yuvraj, Kaif, Raina, Venugopal, Dhoni and Pathan. Ramesh Powar has shown his handiness down the order. Our bowling may be a slight worry, as we are riding on three newcomers--Sreesanth, Munaf and RP Singh--in the pace bowling department, touring West Indies. Harbhajan rounds up the squad. India's depth in batting has allowed them to play 5 bowlers, which has been more than a handful for its recent opponents. Even when India take in 4 bowlers, Yuvraj and Sehwag have chipped in with handy spells.
I am not too familiar with WI cricket, so I shall reserve my comment on them. Let us look at the Indian line-up. Virendar Sehwag finally has some competition in Robin Uthappa. The youngster made a good half-century on debut, and Sehwag responded with a 50 in the second game of the DLF cup. It is easy to ignore, however, Rahul Dravid's amazing consistency up at the top. In his last 6 games as opener, he has scored 4 half-centuries. What a performance from a makeshift opener! Our middle order contains a healthy number of match-winners: Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni can all change the game on their day. Mohammad Kaif has been woefully out of form in the international arena, but his brilliant fielding and consistency in the domestic games has kept him up in the selectors eyes. Irfan Pathan is playing the role of pinch-hitter/all-rounder to perfection. It is indeed looking good for the Indian team. Here is hoping for a good ODI series, and hopefully one that is not one-sided. This Indian side has done well to come up to #3, but they cannot become complacent at this point.
Originally appeared in my website, cricket101[/url:1yv4cwz0]
Few teams have made a resurgence into one-day cricket like the Indian team has. Who remembers the gloom that was Indian ODI cricket just a few months back. We were being uncharacteristically demolished by decent ODI teams left, right and center. Our respite came from beating pretenders like UAE and Bangladesh. We qualified to the Asia Cup finals on merit of bonus points and we did not look like we arrived to the last ICC Champions Trophy. It has taken one Greg Chappell and many controversies to pull us out of the well we had fallen into, and what a superb job they have done!
India's record in their last 4-5 series has been impeccable, nay astonishing. They have not lost any of these series (they have drawn 2), and when they have won, they have won more than conclusively. It started with a 6-1 whalloping of Sri Lanka, followed by a toughly contested 2-2 series against South Africa (#2 in the world, currently). It was then off to Pakistan, where we secured a 4-1 result, and then back in India, a 5-1 battering of a weakened England team. Finally, a 1-1 draw in Abu Dhabi means that we have lost just 5 of our last 24 games! Almost an 80% success rate does augur well for the future of Indian cricket.
But enough, then, with the boastful nature of this preview. West Indies, in stark contrast, have managed to win just 2 of their last 16 ODI games (I quote a statistic I read in cricinfo today, from memory). They have further lost their last 16 test matches (not even managed a draw). Hence, the magnificent gulf--one team that is trying to burst into the top of the ODI ladder, and another that is looking desperately for its past glory. Apart from the lack of proper administration in terms of sponsorship and whatnot, West Indies have another problem in terms of the captaincy.
The Indian squad, on the other hand, looks very balanced. Led once again by Dravid, who can concentrate fully on the game since he has been retained till World Cup 2007, our batting line-up boasts of Sehwag, Uthappa, Yuvraj, Kaif, Raina, Venugopal, Dhoni and Pathan. Ramesh Powar has shown his handiness down the order. Our bowling may be a slight worry, as we are riding on three newcomers--Sreesanth, Munaf and RP Singh--in the pace bowling department, touring West Indies. Harbhajan rounds up the squad. India's depth in batting has allowed them to play 5 bowlers, which has been more than a handful for its recent opponents. Even when India take in 4 bowlers, Yuvraj and Sehwag have chipped in with handy spells.
I am not too familiar with WI cricket, so I shall reserve my comment on them. Let us look at the Indian line-up. Virendar Sehwag finally has some competition in Robin Uthappa. The youngster made a good half-century on debut, and Sehwag responded with a 50 in the second game of the DLF cup. It is easy to ignore, however, Rahul Dravid's amazing consistency up at the top. In his last 6 games as opener, he has scored 4 half-centuries. What a performance from a makeshift opener! Our middle order contains a healthy number of match-winners: Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni can all change the game on their day. Mohammad Kaif has been woefully out of form in the international arena, but his brilliant fielding and consistency in the domestic games has kept him up in the selectors eyes. Irfan Pathan is playing the role of pinch-hitter/all-rounder to perfection. It is indeed looking good for the Indian team. Here is hoping for a good ODI series, and hopefully one that is not one-sided. This Indian side has done well to come up to #3, but they cannot become complacent at this point.
Originally appeared in my website, cricket101[/url:1yv4cwz0]