Our blue-eyed boys in Blue left red-faced in Mirpur after loss of 1st ODI

It was a pathetic display of one day cricket put up by our blue-eyed boys in Blue after they were left red-faced following the loss of the 1st ODI at Mirpur by 79 runs.
This has been reported in ibnlive.com dated 19 June 2015.

Batting first, the young team of Bangladesh began attack from the very first ball and left the Indian bowlers clueless on how to control the flow of runs. The Bangladesh batsmen treated the Indian bowlers with disdain and belted them to all corners of the stadium. Ravichandra Ashwin managed to bag three wickets but Umesh Yadav came in for plenty of punishment.
Anyway, the way Bangladesh was playing, at one point of time it appeared that they would post around 350 runs – but, finally, it was 307 and it was a formidable one as it turned out when the Indians took the field.
The bowling of the home team was superb as was their fielding and they gave nothing away. The Indians had to grovel for runs and it played in their nerves. Rohit Sharma was the highest scorer – he scored 63 runs. Apart from him, others who reached double figures were Shikhar Dhawan (30), Suresh Raina (40), Ravindra Jadeja (32). Bhubaneshwar Kumar (25) and Mohit Sharma(11).
Obviously, the Bangladesh team has matured and Indians cannot take them lightly. They had done their homework while Indians were overconfident. This is a 3 ODI series and with one loss, Captain M S Dhoni would have to rethink his strategies if he wants to win the series. (Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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India-Bangladesh test match ends in a draw

It was the only one test match scheduled between India and Bangladesh scheduled in Fatullah, Dhaka, and it was disturbed by the rains and finally ended in a draw.
This has been reported in ibnlive.com dated 14 June 2015.

India won the toss, elected to bat first and managed to put up a formidable score of 462 for the loss of 6 wickets. All the top order batsmen scored runs – Shikhar Dhawan had 173 to his credit while Murali Vijay added 150 and Ajinkya Rahane, missed out on a century – he scored 98 runs.
In reply, Bangladesh could manage to score only 256 with Ravichandra Ashwin picking up five wickets. India sked hem to follow-on and the game was declared a draw with Bangladesh scoring only 23 for no loss were stumps were drawn.
Harbhajan Singh picked up only one Test wicket – it was after 2 years and 102 days since he was on a comeback mission - the rain gods were not kind to him.
All eyes will now be on the ODI series – there will be three of them and M S Dhoni would captain the ODI series. (Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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IPL8 – Delhi Daredevils win against Sun Risers Hyderabad at Vishakhapatnam

#IPL8 #DDvsSRH #jpduminy #coulternile #mayankagarwal #vishakhapatnam It was another thrilling finish to the IPL8 encounter between Delhi Daredevils and Sun Risers Hyderabad at Vishakhapatnam when Coulter-Nile, one of the best death bowlers in the world, conceded just 5 runs when the SRH needed 10 runs to win.
SRH fell four runs short of the target of 168 and DD won the encounter even though Yuvraj Singh failed to click yet again.
This has been reported in cricbuzz.com dated 18 April 2015.

It was actually J P Duminy, captain of DD, who helped his team to their second straight win. He had powered Delhi Daredevils to 167 for seven hitting a 41-ball 54 and backed that up with four wickets for just 17 runs in his three overs.
Chasing 168 to win, the SRH raced to 50 without loss in six overs before Duminy removed Warner (28) and Dhawan (18). However, Ravi Bopara (41 off 30 balls) was playing superbly when Duminy removed him and, later Eoin Morgan. Then it was Coulter-Nile to apply the finishing touch to give DD its second win. The fantastic saving by Mayank Agarwal also played a significant role in the win.

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IPL8 – fourth win on the trot for Rajasthan Royals at Vishakhapatnam

#IPL8 #SRHvRR #dhawalkulkarni #pravintambe #vishakhapatnam It was the fourth win on the trot for Rajasthan Royals as they beat Sun Risers Hyderabad at Vishakhapatnam by 5 wickets in the last over of the match. Facing a target of only 128 runs, it appeared to be a cake walk at the beginning of the RR innings but the bowlers of SRH ensured that the tension was kept alive till the end.
This has been reported in cricbuzz.com dated 16 April 2015.

After winning the toss, Rajasthan put the Sun Risers in to bat and Dhawal Kulkarni led the Rajasthan Royals attack. He not only keep the explosive opening pair of Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner quiet but also pick up early wickets. Dhawal picked up two wickets and along with left-arm spinner Pravin Tambe who also picked up two wickets, ensured that the STH never really got going.
However, even though the target finally set was just 128 runs, RR had to struggle in spite of a fairly good start given by Ajinkya Rahane's 62 (56 balls) and Sanju Samson (26) who provided a 64-run opening stand.
Ultimately, with five runs needed off the last over, Praveen Kumar bowled superbly before James Faulkner took his team home by hitting a boundary to cover.

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India breaks the World Cup jinx – beats South Africa convincingly in CWC 2015

#CWC2015 #INDvsSA #Dhoni #Proteas #MCG India had never beaten South Africa in any Cricket World Cup matches till it finally happened in Melbourne when India beat them convincingly by 130 runs as reported in zeenews.india.com dated 23 February 2015.
It was a wonderful win coming on the back of the win against arch rivals Pakistan and with twin wins under his belt, captain M S Dhoni is a much relieved man – thanks to his team delivering on all fronts. While the batsmen put on the runs on the board to reach a huge score of 307 runs, his bowlers kept chipping off at the South Africans till their miseries ended by the 41st over. They could not last for the full 50 overs.
Shikhar Dhawan’s 170 coupled with 79 by Ajinkya Rahane happened in the morning session when Dhoni chose to bat after winning the toss. And, in the afternoon it was Ravichandra Ashwin with his 3 wickets followed by 2 wickets each by Mohit Sharma and Mohammad Shami that brought the win for India. The Proteas were left wondering what had hit them!!
Before the start of the game, there were fears that Dale Steyn would create havoc but, the fears were unfounded because Indian batsmen played him to perfection and he managed to bag only one wicket for 55 runs.

India lose in Brisbane – beaten hollow by England in Carlton Mid tri-series ODI

#INDvsENG #carltonmidtriseries #gabba #2015CricketWorldCup It was yet another collapse of India at the Gabba in Brisbane when England beat them hollow by 9 wickets to earn a bonus point in the Carlton Mid tri-series. It was England’s biggest win against India. One wonders why the captain opted to go in for batting after winning the toss when it is a fact that Indians are good at chasing targets instead of setting targets.
The poor form at the top order continued with Shikhar Dhawan raising doubts of whether he would find a place in the playing eleven of the 2015 Cricket World Cup. Virat Kohli, India’s test captain failed yet again and this was strange.
As to Suresh Raina, he wanted to blast off from the word go to prove a point that he had arrived but was stumped – he had gone way outside his crease and committed suicide.
Captain M S Dhoni with Stuart Binny tried to mend the innings but could not and India crumbled to end at 153 runs – it was at least 100 runs short – and could not even complete the quota of 50 overs and finished in 39.3 overs. This score of 153 was their lowest ever ODI score against England – the previous low was 158 at Headingley in 1996.
Such display of attitude and irresponsible play is not what India would have wanted as the World Cup draws near and it would require complete attention of the captain, the team manager as well as the director to work out better strategies.

India seal Sri Lanka ODI series at Hyderabad – thanks to Dhawan and Umesh

As one of the commentators has said – Sri Lanka won all three tosses but not any of the ODI matches. It was a reflection on the non-performance of the top order batsmen who appeared to be struggling to get bat to ball.
Shikhar Dhawan has missed a century by 9 runs and has not only scored 283 runs from three games in the series but has led India's batting effort in the series, and his return to form is a positive sign ahead of a grueling tour of Australia and the World Cup.
Sri Lanka won the toss at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad and chose to bat but Umesh Yadav foiled their plans with two quick wickets – he removed opener Kusal Pereira with the last ball of his first over and then in the first ball of his second, he sent Kumar Sangakkara for a duck. However, Mahela Jayawardene’s century saved them the blushes and allowed them to post a score of 242 which was insufficient.
With this knock, Mahela also crossed 12,000 ODI runs. He and Dilshan put on a 105-runs partnership but much more was needed.
This home series would help the probable squad to get match practice and Virat Kohli, as captain, has shown that he has the capability to handle situations. Of course, noting drastic happened and it has been plain sailing till now. With two more matches to go and with Virat Kohli determined to make it a 5-0 series win, one only hopes that the Indian team is not peaking too early. The road to the 2015 World Cup trophy is a long one, that too away from home.

Cuttack cuts Sri Lanka down to size – visitors beaten by Virat Kohli & Co

It was a literal run feast in the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack as India beat Sri Lanka by a huge margin of 169 runs to take a lead in the 5-match ODI series timesofindia.indiatimes.com. With the Indian openers scoring centuries each and with Ishaant Sharma’s haul of four wickets, the visitors had no answer to the Indians. They could not bat beyond 40 overs and were all out for 194 runs.
The Indian openers Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane scored 113 and 111 runs respectively and set up 231 runs for the first wicket stand which helped the remaining batsmen to pile up the miseries on the Sri Lankans.
Moreover, the pace bowlers ensured that the advantage was never frittered away and captain Virat Kohli was a happy captain.
The sudden void created by the West Indies pulling out of their scheduled tour of India due to a dispute with their Cricket Board, Sri Lanka seized the opportunity given by the BCCI to get some much needed match practice before the 2015 Cricket World Cup. They also had to groom new players because some of the Sri Lankans stalwarts were aging and replacements were necessary – such newcomers needed to acclimatize with cricket on the international arena. And – what better to do so other than playing with their neighbors who are loaded with talent.
This sudden change of itinerary helped M S Dhoni to get some rest and also allowed Virat Kohli to step out in the role of the captain for the first three ODIs.