Day 2 - Shared between the Two

Great bowling by the Indian team on day 2! Virat Kohli and the whole fans should be proud of the Indian bowling unit, who came up with an exceptional performance. 10 wickets and 229 runs on day one beats 6 wickets and 197 runs on day two. Having said that, Indian bowlers created lot of chances and Aussies had to fight and graft their lead, which is now extended to 48 runs with 4 wickets in hand.

When such a fight goes on between the two sides, who would be worried about pitch conditions, definitely not me. Ashwin has bowled 41 overs for just 1 wicket and Umesh Yadav got his first wicket after bowling 21 overs. Ishant Sharma was asking questions almost 2 balls in each of the overs that he has bowled so far. Jadeja comes and picks the wicket so easily, after the other 3 bowlers dries up the runs. This is tremendous team effort.

My heart goes out to Renshaw. According to me, he played one of the greatest test innings in this modern cricketing times. Technique was exemplary and he had a smile on his face while he was facing a hostile bowling attack. Warner got out to a beauty from Ashwin and Smith got out when he took Jadeja's bowling lightly. Aussies were showing such grit and determination, even indian supporters applauded every individual fifties and 50 run partnerships of Aussie batsmen.

Kohli did a brilliant job of keeping his 4 bowlers fresh for their spells, by switching them at regular intervals. I felt, he missed a trick by not having enough men in the slip cordon for Ashwin and Umesh yadav. But, he was always fighting for a combination of attacking and defensive fielding positions as Indians had put on only 189 runs in their first innings.

The second person, whose effort might go unnoticed is Wridhimann Saha. He was brilliant behind the stumps. The attempt to catch the edge from Mitchel starc was treat for the eyes. We wish every half chance to be taken easily so that we have our nose ahead all the time. That's the beauty of Test cricket. It pushes you to do something spectacular, time and again. If Kohli would have had 2 slips for Umesh Yadav, may be it would have been an easy catch for the 1st slip. All said and done, great 2 days of Test cricket. And of course, Shaun Marsh's contributions was vital, but he had his chances too. 

Test cricket needs characters like Steve Smith, Ishant Sharma and Virat Kohli, who made the day 2 lively for all the followers. As if the contest between the bat and the ball was not enough, Ishant and Smith started mimicking each other and nobody could draw a line. Virat and Smith exchanged words and Umpires could do nothing, as the captains themselves were involved. The Cameras on the ground captured every facial expression of the cricketers and it was funny, definitely not for the players, but for the crowd.

On Day 3, Indians have to come and get aussies all out as soon as possible, keeping a steady check on the first innings lead. Whichever team bats well in the second innings would go on to win the test match. Both the teams so far, has stuck to the formula of defense to build their innings. May be attack is the best form of defense in this pitch. It would be great to watch, as to how Virat Kohli goes about his second innings in this wicket. My gut feel says that Ravindra Jadeja's contribution with the bat in the second innings would prove vital for India's chances to win this test match. His batting style is also aggressive and he might push the lead beyond what aussies might look for.

Day 3 is the moving day of a test match and it is evenly poised as of now.....

2nd Test - India Vs Australia - Day One belong to the Aussies

Aussies dominated the Indians on all 3 sessions of the day and Steve Smith was brilliant in his field placements and bowling changes. Of course, it augurs well, if you have world class performers like Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon. Starc was bowling at high 145 kmph and Indian batsmen would have felt like playing him on Australian soil rather than Indian wickets. Hazelwood bowled the nagging off stump line and Spinners were fantastic too. Lyon bowled with such control through out, that he has raised an open challenge to Ravichandran Ashwin to match his performance and to let the world decide, who is the best off spinner in business ?

Indian Batsmen are getting tested on their grafting skills and their patience against a world class bowling attack. Including the first test in Pune, in all the 3 innings, Indians have exposed themselves out. Virat Kohli is currently making errors in his judgement as to which balls he should play and which ones to leave. Rahane is a free flowing batsmen and always had looked comfortable against pace bowling. He is terribly weak against spin bowling and he is due for a big score for long time now. Nathan Lyon completely blocked his run scoring options with smart field placements from steve smith and they planned Rahane's wicket neat and clean. Others are all inexperienced and aussies utilized it to their advantage.

All the bowling all rounders who performed really well so far against other attacks are surrendering without any fight against Aussies. Ashwin, Jadeja, Jayant Yadav have no answers against aussies so far. Virat Kohli has some pride to not fit the same playing eleven in 2 consecutive matches. Is it a healthy way to test your bench strength ? As of now, Aussies have planned for each member of our indian squad and the scores in the 3 innings are testimony to that. Our Batting unit has to click so that our bowlers fight with their heads high. Ashwin is a champion bowler and he should also have a solid score behind him to put up a fight. 1-0 down and winning the toss to bat first, was ideal scenario for our batsmen to set the series alive. 189 all out would obviously make the bowlers droop their shoulders down.

K L Rahul's innings was well appreciated by everyone, but I still feel that he has to go a long way to become a better test batsmen. He is still vulnerable outside the off stump and his shot selection given the field placement is also questionable at times. A Handy lead of 100 should be enough for Aussies to rule the second test. If Indian bowlers create any chance by restricting the lead to less than 50, then we are in for a good test match, as Aussies would find it tough. The 4th innings would pose such a challenge for them to score even 150 runs. Jadeja and Ashwin would be crucial, but the pace attack of Umesh yadav and Ishant also has to pick wickets to create a winning chance.

Looking forward for a good second day...

Oscar Nauhaus - Cricket Coach and Beyond

My Cricket Coaching career started in the year 2015 and it has taken shape really well, having been associated with RX Cricket academy, one of the top 10 in the city of Bangalore. Year 2016 got even better, as the summer camp was led by a foreign coach, Oscar Nauhaus. My association with him started from 28th March 2016, one of the important days in my Cricket coaching career. He comes from South Africa, a great cricketing nation, which produced Legends of the game like Jacques Kallis, Jonty Rhodes, AB De Villiers and Allan Donald. He has worked with Allan Donald as supporting Coach and he came to India to pass on the knowledge, an opportunity created by RX Muralidhar.

He brought so many new things to the table from day one and made everyone realize that coaching is an art which is not every one's forte. You just need to be well informed of the things that it takes, to make a player gain in the areas of skills and attitude. He clearly laid out plans for the Kids to excel themselves over the 2 months. Coaches need to send a strong message to the Kids that learning a Sport is god damn difficult, as it involves a complete dedication from everyone and cannot be restricted to the couple of hours spent everyday. The programmes scheduled for the Summer camp should send across the same message too. That is where, an experienced coach like him scores over the others. He not only communicated those, but scheduled intensive programme for the Kids.

Another appreciable effort was theoretical sessions, which was a first time effort in RX camp. This is not only new, but very essential for the kids. Some of the talents would take up this game very seriously in future and they would realize the importance of these sessions. It covered step by step approach, right from Identifying a talent to honing the skills and attitude of an individual. Lot of emphasis is put on the time spent with the Laptop, analysing the game, opponents and many other strategies. Such theory sessions are also integral part of the Coaching.

Oscar is great with the Kids, not only because of the obvious reason that he is a foreign coach for Indian Kids, but also because, he brings lot of positive energy and enthusiasm along with him. He is self motivated and passionate about the game. Strange but true, that he sometimes comes hard at the guys, when it comes to discipline and behaviour, but that's what brings him close with every one too, because he treats everyone the same way. The passion and execution of his ideas is for everyone to see and parents did not mind staying back to watch their kids learn from him.

He is Loud and Clear all the time and hardly one would notice him running out of ideas, because he has Plan A, Plan B and sometimes Plan C also ready with him. Some of the important things, he passed it onto the coaches at RX Camp are highlighted below.

• The Value of 1 Run - The toughest aspect for a Coach to teach and a cricketer to learn. It opened doors to the reality of coaching. Coaches spend hours correcting the basics of the game, but forget to pass on this important learning.
• Fitness Schedules - 25 meter run, short sprints, long sprints, squats, push ups etc. were thrust on to the kids every monday, setting a wonderful tone for the entire week. As coaches, we could see visually, the kids becoming more athletic and turning into wonderful fielders for the camp. He wanted to rate the "fitness improvement scale" of each player. He passed on the message to the kids that Self evaluation is the key to success and made each and every player take responsibility for his fitness. Few took it very seriously and had a fruitful discussion with him to shape themselves up.

• Intensity that a Voice of a Coach creates - Few coaches like myself became more interactive with the kids at the end of the summer camp and credit has to be given to him, because he influenced the coaches to be more vocal with the Kids at the camp.
• Discipline - He hates Cheating and punished, not the individual, but the entire team and this is more fitting for the game of cricket. It is after all a team game and kids learnt that their individual behaviour reflected on the whole team.
• Fielding Techniques - "Communication" amongst the fielders is an important thing and he suggested some fielding drills, which focused on this aspect. Coaches did the normal routine of half moon catching drills, which was outdated and he completely stopped that practice in RX Camp. Yet another example of his influence.

• Visual Drills - This is another effort, which improves the concentration level of the kids. Everyone should throw the ball onto the wall and catch it. The challenges are aplenty - the size of the ball is very small, students should use only one hand and within 30 seconds, they should catch maximum number of balls. Some of the Coaches were pushing themselves for this challenge too, as it was fun and learning guaranteed.
• Right Technique for Right Skill - Throwing technique for fielding, bowling technique, head position while batting and bowling, wrist position at the time of delivery and many such techniques were communicated in a manner easily understandable for the Kids.
• Theory Session - He is always well prepared and his theory session would make an MBA Management official proud, as his usage of PPTs and slides are very professional and relevant.

Apart from the ones mentioned above, there were many other drills and sessions, which was a first time experience for coaches like me. Sad that he is not continuing with RX camp at the end of summer, but he left so many things back with the coaches and I would not forget the learnings. 

Life is beautiful for these reasons, wherein a person walks in and touches another person's life and expects nothing in return. I would like to thank my beloved sport "Cricket" for this opportunity and a sincere thanks to RX Muralidhar, who brought Oscar Nauhaus into our lives. And last, but not the least, a special thanks to Oscar Nauhaus for walking in and changing my Coaching style.

INDIANS AT THE RECEIVING END OF "WIN THE TOSS, WIN THE MATCH" SCENARIO

Indians lost the toss, but failed to come up with a champion material performance on the day of the Semi finals. Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav started off well, especially the latter claiming the price wicket of David Warner. In walked Steve Smith, who played exceptional cricket on the day to come up with a knock, which set the tone for Aussies to dominate. His individual 100 and 100 run partnership with Aaron Finch did hurt the Indian badly. Credits to our bowlers, we pulled it back nicely from the 2nd Batting power play onwards with regular wickets. At one stage, Aussies were threatening to post closer to 375 runs on the board.

Ashwin and Jadeja were the pick of the bowlers in the 1st innings. Ashwin dismissed Maxwell in his 9th over and reduced the impact of onslaught. He set up Maxwell to play slog sweep into the hands of Rahane and the bait ball was his previous delivery, when he bowled a flighted off spinner and deceived him off the length. It was a treat to watch Ashwin containing the Aussies during the middle overs. Michael Clarke has never hit form in this whole tournament, thereby it was for Shane Watson, Haddin and Faulkner to finish things on a high for Aussies. Surprisingly, Mitchell Johnson came up with a blitzkrieg and Indian bowlers' death over weakness was utilized. Mohit Sharma alone used his slower ones effectively, but Yorkers were missing and as our captain rightly pointed out, bowlers in the end overs could have done much better. Still, 330 runs was just above par and on a good day, Indians could have achieved it.

The method to achieve the impossible target was Partnerships and to allow Dhoni to walk in to the crease, when we require another 100 runs. The Openers had their due luck, when Rohit Sharma edged a slip catch to Shane Watson at 1st slip, which bounced just as it was about to be grabbed and Brad Haddin dived to his left to spill one off Dhawan's bat. No Doubt, Aussies were under pressure, as they felt that they posted 40 runs short of their planned target and added to that couple of dropped chances made all their face go red. Shikhar Dhawan utilized this and exploded whereas Rohit was calm at the other end and openers raced to 76 at the end of 13 overs. Dhawan threw his wicket, when he tried to play a lofted extra cover drive and Maxwell took an easy catch in the deep.

Kohli faced a maiden over from Jason Hazelwood and made up his mind to attack Mitchell Johnson, who bowled a smart bouncer wherein Kohli could not control his pull shot and Haddin took an easy catch behind the stumps. Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina got out in a similar manner, as the ball prior to their wicket rocketed to the boundary lines. Of course, Rohit Sharma's dismissal was a beauty from Johnson which clipped the bails, but Raina tried to be too cute to take a single, a nice diving catch from Brad Haddin ended his short stint at the crease. We were 108 for 4 at this time and still were deprived of the partnerships, the key element to chase big scores.

Dhoni and Rahane stitched 70 run partnership, but the pace at which it came up did not help the cause. Australians bowled brilliantly during this phase and their fielding was top notch. Indians attacked James Faulkner and Shane Watson, but allowed Maxwell to slip in quietly his 5 overs for 18 runs. It was clever from Michael Clarke, as Indians were rebuilding at this stage, after the top order collapse. Once Rahane got out, it was for Dhoni to achieve the impossible. His mind was working like a calculator, as the final requirement was 120 from 8 overs and Dhoni scored 2 consecutive sixes, took a single and we had 13 runs from 3 balls in Shane Watson's over. But to repeat that over on top of another over is humanely impossible and Dhoni had lost Jadeja at the other end for a waste of a wicket... Run Out!

When Maxwell ran Dhoni out, shutters were closed for India's chances of defending the World cup. We did go down without a fight and Steve Smith's innings was the difference between Australia's win and loss. He continued from where he left in the Tri-series and booked a place for Aussies against New Zealand at MCG. For Indians, it was a wonderful world cup and Dhoni, with his young team brought out the best from all, even when nobody gave them a sniff of a chance at the start. Bowlers were outstanding through out and our Batsmen just had one bad day in the Semi finals and that would not wipe off the fact that Indians played like champions.

AT MCG, it would be a chance for New Zealand to stop Australians from lifting the trophy again. 2015 world cup is a repeat of 2011 world cup, where the Hosts are the finalist and it does highlight that Home advantage is a key element in any sports.

Was it the Rain ? Was it the Duckworth Lewis ? NO, It was the PRESSURE

South African had planned the day perfectly, when Faf Du Plessis played the Sheet-Anchor role to perfection. AB De Villiers was playing like a man Possessed. The Openers could not make it count, but Rilee Rossouw along with Faf was setting it up for the likes of ABD and Millers to pick it up. The first challenge was obviously the Rain, which demanded a different approach from ABD when they walked out after rain break, which lasted for an hour and half. Yet, South Africans responded brilliantly, when ABD and Miller utilised the 5 overs to the fullest extent and posted 281 for 5 at the end of 43 overs.

Brendon Macullum set up the chase brilliantly with his blitzkrieg of 59 from 26 balls. He ensured that NZ could plan their chase after him, as the Required run rate was brought down to 6.5 runs when he got out. Considering the small ground size, they were in the run chase and it was always a matter of one good partnership, which eventually came from Elliot and Corey Anderson. In spite of Ross Taylor trying to spoil the party by running out Martin Guptill and failing once again, New Zealand could pull it off, as their asking rate did not jump way too high. Such was the impact of Brendon Macullum's innings. Corey Anderson played his part brilliantly when he stitched a hundred run partnership with Elliot.

Last 5 overs was when, the pressure of a semi final encounter crept in and RSA fumbled too many chances to end up on losing side. Faf Du Plessis' catch to dismiss Corey Anderson was such a high pressure catch, that RSA team felt that they turned the tables in their favour. But, Vettori and Elliot used their experience to stay calm and pull it off for New Zealand. One could discuss each of the missed chances from South Africa and analyse in detail, as to why and how, but it was all pressure and South Africans could not handle it. Even ABD, the man who could do nothing wrong in a cricketing field, fell a prey to the P Word.

South Africans would be hard done by, after New Zealand successfully chased 298 in reduced overs. DL method helped South africans much against the scenarios that existed in the past. One could argue that South Africans would have gone past 360, had it been full quota of 50 overs. But this RSA team challenged all the hurdles that came along and only the semi finals pressure got the better of them. Of course, New Zealand had the benefit of playing the match in their home ground, Auckland Eden Park and they were cheered for every one during their chase, but South African fielding efforts pushed New Zealand right to the limits.

Whether Duckworth and Lewis would have predicted such an onslaught from David Miller and ABD in those 5 overs after the Rain ? These two could only add 18 runs to the overall total and gave New Zealand a revised target of 299 runs from rain reduced overs of 43. New Zealand had the benefit of planning their chase without having to worry about Rain or any other hurdles, which South africans were obviously deprived of. Just like how Statistics are sometimes irrelevant, one feels that DL method is also a formula, which never understands cricketing complexities, with due credits to the effort in coming up with a formula. Unless a better alternative comes up, DL method is there to stay....

The Crowd witnessed a great Semi final along with the world, who stuck to their television and at the end of the day, the game of cricket won more than New Zealand and South African team won the hearts of millions across the world, when their tears told the world, the amount of pressure a player goes through in those tense moments. The crucial catches dropped and Run outs missed were testimony to the pressure that RSA team went through. One cannot say that Matthew Elliot from New Zealand was completely in control of things, as the pressure got into his nerves too, when he mistimed those pull shots and tried to run himself out once and almost ran Vettori out, when he turned off a single.

On the day, South Africans were a better team and New Zealand won it and It's a cruel sport for South Africans considering it is yet another Semi final loss. Heart goes out to the South Africans, who gave us a wonderful Semi Final, just like 1999 semi final clash against Australians. May be they do not need a trophy to prove to the world that they are a team to beat on any given day. India's world cup 2015 campaign started off really well, when they beat South Africa in their 2nd match. They have always been the best, right from their 1st world cup campaign in 1992 till date and may be Trophy is for other teams to prove to the world that they are champions, but not for South Africans. Thank you South African cricket team for making this game a tough one for Trophy holders. It will not elude you for long........

WORLD CUP - SEMI FINALS 2015 - A PREVIEW

RSA would pray not to Chase

New Zealand would definitely have an edge stepping into the toss tomorrow, as they are playing the match in their own backyard, however the toss is crucial only for South africans to put heavy runs on the board and knock New Zealand out of the cup. Hashim Amla is due for a big one and Semi final match would be a perfect stage. Bolt and Southee is very crucial tomorrow to set it up for NZ. Miller and Duminy would have good memories, after scoring Individual Hundreds in New Zealand conditions in this world cup campaign.

New Zealand Batsmen would try to unsettle Imran Tahir, as that would open up effective scoring options during the middle overs, as AB De Villiers would bowl himself, J P Duminy and Tahir for the quota of 20 overs. Effectively Ross Taylor would be the one, who would take these bowlers on. Martin Guptill would definitely start from 237 not out, as hundreds in previous 2 innings would be an ideal mindset to take on any bowlers at international level. Will Dale Steyn and Mornie Morkel stop him and Brendan Macullum ? One has to wait and watch.

Both the sides are great fielding team and the match would be electrifying as spectators would be in for a visual treat. No doubt, the captain of both the sides would step it up on the day of the semi finals, there would not be easy runs to take away for both sides. Daniel Vettori is very crucial in the middle overs and Macullum has used him wisely through out the tournament, sad for Vettori that he would not have the luxury to toss it up to induce false shots, as the grounds would be small in New Zealand. His experience along with the skipper would come in handy in this crucial knock out game.

Kane Williamson for New Zealand and Faf du Plessis for RSA are vital for their team's success, as they would try to hold one end and allow others to play around them. New Zealand would attack, attack and still attack with their 5 complete bowlers, while South Africans would try to get the maximum out of 5th bowler and hope not to leak too many runs from Duminy, Tahir and AB De Villiers. New Zealand would try not to repeat the mistake of Sri Lankan team, wherein they would give away 5 or more wickets to the spinners.

All in All, we have a great Semi Final on the cards and it would be a High scoring game....

MS DHONI vs MICHAEL CLARKE

Battle within Battle is a term that fits for the India Australia Clash in the World cup Semi finals 2015.

R Ashwin vs Glenn Maxwell                                         

 R Ashwin vs David Warner                Mohammad Shami vs  Michael Clarke

Mitchell Johnson vs Suresh Raina                                        

 Mitchell Starc vs Virat Kohli                Mitchell Starc vs Rohit Sharma

Ravindra Jadeja vs Steve Smith                                      

Its not only the battle that would be expected by viewers, but the wishlist of respective captains, who would pray that his team member wins this mini-battle to go home with a win. Aaron Finch can be deadly at the top, when he is on song. One might see Dhoni experimenting with Ashwin just to unsettle David Warner and would retain him to purchase Maxwell later in the innings. Michael Clarke and Shane Watson along with Steve Smith would hold their wickets tight, to leave it for Maxwell, Faulkner and Haddin to accelerate at the end. Both the teams have list of players in the playing eleven, whose role clarity is clearly defined by their captains.

Similarly for Indians, Shikhar Dhawan can be deadly at the top, while Rohit would consolidate for the partnership to get going. India have a better Right-Left Combination which gets evenly balanced throughout the 50 overs. This factor would augur well for Indians, just like the way it has helped them throughout the tournament.

A mere right-left combination alone would not work well, but if that factor is complimented by the talent of the players involved, then the result would be doubly effective. Suresh Raina and Dhoni would be crucial for Indians, if its a run chase and Kohli loves the battle in the big stage.

Indian bowlers would come hard at Australians and Dhoni's influence on them would make them stay grounded, even if there is a mini collapse from Australian batting unit. Mohit Sharma's role is even more important in this encounter, as Aussie might target him and throw Dhoni off balance with his strategy. Umesh Yadav is also in good rhythm and it becomes all the more important for him to chip in with wickets, thereby collective effort is restored. Indian Batsmen would target John Haselwood or Xavier Doherty, whoever is picked by Australian team in Sydney.

Shane Watson, as a pure All-Rounder provides the back-up for Clarke's bowling unit, whereas Dhoni would rely on Suresh Raina to chip in with useful overs in the middle. Both the teams have some great fielders and they would be putting solid effort to back their bowlers.

There is a good chance that India and New Zealand would continue their winning streak and all their past efforts would be cherished by their fans, if they proceed to the finals and fight it out. 

WALK IN THE PARK FOR HOSTS, INDIA AND SOUTH AFRICA

SRI LANKA made it easy for RSA

Sri Lanka surprised themselves with all the changes that they made, thinking that they had surprise in store for RSA. Kusala Perera was brought in to attack at the top, so that Dilshan could play calm. Thirimane was pushed down to bat at number four, so that Sangakkara could play calm, a new Muralidharan disciple was brought in to the team to strengthen the spin department as Rangana Herath missed out the match due to Injury. All these changes only back fired, as RSA kept the pressure on by taking regular wickets at one end and at the other end stood Sangakkara helpless.

Probably Sangakkara added to their sufferings, by not rotating the strike enough. But clearly, they did not have a plan B out in the middle, when things were going wrong. 102 for 4 and then a Hat-trick dented them so bad. Surprisingly, J P Duminy was the bowler who got a World cup Hat-trick and Imran Tahir kept on chipping with wickets with his Short deliveries and the ones that did not turn. Jayawardene pulled one into the hands of Mid wicket fielder and Sangakkara was left to fight a loosing battle in his last ODI for his country.

133 was too easy and De Kock came to form and remained not out, taking the team to the Semi finals. Sri Lanka lost the match because of their strategies and RSA's fielding efforts. The catch to dismiss Dilshan by Faf du Plessis was one of the best in slip cordon and De Kock's catch to dismiss Kusala Perera was scintillating one handed dive from the wicket keeper. A surprising one sided game.

Rohit Sharma Stepped up at the Right time

Rohit Sharma is playing in his first world cup and his innings against Bangladesh told everyone why he would like to make this world cup special for himself and Indian team. There was pressure when Shikhar Dhawan and Kohli got out in span of 5 deliveries. Rubel Hossain was spitting fire and Shakib ul Hassan and other Bangladeshi bowlers were not allowing Indians to get away. Much to everyone's surprise, Rohit Sharma was calm and collective and allowed the good deliveries to pass and rotated the strike brilliantly.

Suresh Raina is a gifted talent, who plays the role of risk taker to help his Partners craft a match winning knock. Against Pakistan, he ensured that Kohli was calm and against Bangladesh, he ensured that Rohit Sharma focused on the big hundred. Raina ensured that he was there to celebrate Rohit's hundred just like the way he celebrated Kohli's hundred against Pakistan. Indian team is the only team in this world cup, which executes the roles assigned to each individual in a perfect manner, on a consistent basis. It was Rahane and Dhawan against RSA and all these 3 important partnerships routes to the Left-Right combination in the middle, a theory that is so close to Dhoni's heart. Another example was Raina and Dhoni's partnership during the run chase against Zimbabwe.

Rohit Sharma's onslaught at the death overs was a treat to watch, as he would play those big shots with such cricketing precision, one would stand up and applaud. His uppish extra cover drive off a slower ball from Taskin turned out to be the shot of the match, as for the viewers there was a skip in their heart beat, but Rohit alone knew that he bisected the fielders. Dhoni knew the calibre of Rohit Sharma and he kept on taking singles and provided the strike to Rohit in the end overs. Ravindra Jadeja also accelerated at the right time to take the score past 300 yet again. Bowlers did the job and ensured that 70 wickets were taken by the end of 7 matches. 

The Fluke catch of Dhoni, as he says so and a juggler from Shikhar Dhawan at the boundary line were special fielding effort from Indian team. Undoubtedly, it was a 2nd one-sided match in succession.

Pakistan faced Reality

Thanks to the South African team during their encounter with Pakistan in Pool B match, Pakistan lived a dream, as if to believe that they can re-create the magic of 1992. Harsh reality was that Pakistan Batting unit never flourished through out the tournament and their fielding was one of the Worst units. Australians had a nice catching practice session from Pakistan's first innings. Pakistan tested Australia's slip cordon, boundary liners and other fielders at different fielding positions and prepared them well for their semi final clash against Indians. They posted 213 and somehow their body language was positive, God knows why ?

Answer was Wahab Riaz. A big thanks to him, as he bowled a hostile spell of 9 overs, took 2 wickets and made it so tough for Aussies, the audience got to see some fight from other end too. Pakistan fielding effort should be laughed at, as they dropped two catches of his bowling, one that could have dismissed Watson and the other that could have consumed Maxwell. Funny that these two bastmen saw Aussies home. Steve Smith played a flawless innings, which also helped Australians to build decent partnerships at crucial juncture of the run chase.

The Highlight of the match was the spell from Wahab Riaz and stupid batting display by Pakistanis, who projected wrongly that 250 was all required for the win.

An Easy outing for New Zealand

One could say that, West Indies made a match out of nothing, as they played aggressively to chase down 394 posted by New Zealand. But, the pressure of a knock out game was enough for any team to crumble and West Indies are no exception to that. Martin Guptill played one of the best ODI innings, when he saw himself bat through all the 50 overs and scored 237, the highest Individual score in a world cup. Ross Taylor stitched a nice partnership with Guptill after the two reliant batsmen in form of Brendon Macullum and Kane Williamson walked back to the Pavilion for cheap scores. If one of the top order batsmen gets a big hundred like the way Guptill did, more often than not, the team would win.

But, West Indies replied to that in full throttle mode and a match winning catch from Daniel Vettori to dismiss Samuels was the turning point of the game. Marlon Samuels and Chris Gayle was attacking Tim Southee all around the ground, way beyond the boundary lines. Trent Bolt was silently picking wickets at the other end and Macullum made him complete his 10 over spell on trot. Vettori was hammered by Gayle too, but he came back in his 2nd spell to pick 2 crucial wickets to take the team through to Semi finals.

One felt that West Indies could have planned their chase better, considering the fact that Pitch had no demons and small boundaries were ideal ploy for West Indies' giant strikers of the cricket ball. Every one played in the same attacking mode and made it easy for Brendon Macullum, as he was only thinking of 10 good balls for his team. May be Jason Holder could have promoted himself up the order to support Chris Gayle. But then, strong team prevailed over the weaker one and New Zealand set the date with South Africans for a semi-final clash.

World cup 2015 Semi finals is undoubtedly a clash of the Champions and the current top 4 teams in the ODI format would clash with each other to lift the trophy.

QUARTER FINALS 2015 WORLD CUP - A PREVIEW

At the end of all Pool Matches, in Group A and B, the major surprise was Bangladesh pipping England out of the World cup and Ireland almost repeating the 2007 episode in their clash against Pakistan. West Indies managed to scrape their way through, thanks to a crucial win over Pakistan and a thumping win over Zimbabwe. In Quarter finals, we now have all the test playing nations and England alone are practising for the Ashes already, while rest are still continuing their World cup campaign. One can still argue that there are no major surprises, as every one predicted Bangladesh to create upsets.

One has to blame the England Selectors, who have disturbed the dressing room atmosphere with last minute changes announcing Eoin Morgan as Captain, one tournament prior to the World cup. Alistair Cook would have provided solidarity and Ian Bell could have played effective role in Middle Order in the absence of Jonathan Trott. KP should have been picked, keeping the Egos aside and Ravi Bopara should have featured in the eleven more often than rested or dropped. One always felt that England cricket team and their structure never kept the interest of ODI higher than Ashes. Result was for everyone to see, as their decline in ODI started from 1996 onwards. Champions trophy in 2013 under Alistair Cook showed promise but Selectors ensured that Cook was not part of this World cup campaign.

Bangladesh is a very good side on a given day, where they can upset a Vulnerable test playing nation, as they have Mahmadullah in top notch form and their bowlers are bowling well in tandem. Shakib ul Hassan is one of the recognised all rounder, who will try his best to win matches for his side, but looks up to his peers for help to hold the other end too. They would have to play their best game to beat India, but currently the men in blue is not a vulnerable test playing nation and are in red hot form. MCG would suit the Indian Pacers better and Bangladesh has to rely on Partnerships to be in the game at any point. With the form, Ashwin and Shami are in, Bangladesh would have a daunting task to be ahead of MS Dhoni's plans.

The Current Pakistan team cannot be compared to the 1992 World cup unit, as they have not showed any signs of peaking, nor they could be compared to earlier Pakistan unit, who are unpredictable. Misbah and his men are quite predictable as they are one of the worst fielding units and their fast bowlers are not good boundary fielders and they do not have quality spinners who could rattle Australians. Sarfaraz has injected some positive blood into the batting unit, but they have not convinced a cricket lover to think that they can be tough on a day. Australia would attack them from the word go and Pakistan have a lot of things to worry.

New Zealand would play their Quarter final in their back yard and would have another easy game against West Indies. One would be Shocked if West Indies ends up on the winning side. The game would be a clash between Brendon Macullum and Chris Gayle. Devon Smith should ideally make way for Jonathan Carter, who crafted a nice 50 in their previous match against UAE. Considering their seniority, Jason Holder might still make room for Smith and Gayle to be the opening combination. Marlon Samuels has all the calibre to spoil New Zealand plans, if he gets going.

That leaves us with Sri Lanka versus South Africa, which is the best match supposed to be played, as there would be an even contest expected. Toss would play a crucial part and South Africa should extend the match to the last 5 overs, to chase down the target set by Sri Lanka, as they put all their effort to finish the match early and in that event, they would choke and lose the match. By any chance, South Africa sets the target, they need minimum 320 to feel safe as Sri Lanka batting line up is in red hot form too. RSA fielding unit would make it tough for SL, but one might not see Dale Steyn or Mornie Morkel running through the opponents with one spell in a wicket such as what Sydney has to offer. Australians did not feel safe having posted 375 against Sri Lanka in the same venue.

Vernon Philander would play a handy role for AB De Villiers to execute his plans well, but Sangakkara and Jayawardene are key to Sri Lanka's success as was always in the past. De Kock is a weak link and one might see AB De Villiers behind the stumps to allow Rossouw to partner Hashim Amla. If Sri Lanka ends up on the winning side, they would go all the way till the finals and only Australia or India could stop them.

MS DHONI - RE-DEFINING CAPTAINCY

Mahendra Singh Dhoni - Enough has been said about this great Legend, who is arguably the greatest captain of all time. Dhoni is not only favourite to other cricketing legends, but also to many columnists, writers and to a larger group called Fans. Has any one done justice to dissect his personality and traits and cricketing acumen and tried to analyse it in detail ? Still, one would be amazed at the way, MSD functions on a cricket field with his thinking cap on.

Off the field, He talks straight and addresses the media and press with a straight face, trying hard to explain his actions on the field and cricketing brain behind his decisions. He has done almost everything to prove that he is the best captain India has ever had. He is currently on his way to prove that he is arguably one of the best captain the World of cricket has ever had. Dhoni has always put heavy price on the Process rather than the Results and the latter went in search of MSD most of the times.

No captain would absorb the pressure so much as the way MSD does. Few instances that come to our mind are the last over finishes during the triangular tournament in West Indies, one against Australia in Adelaide, a tied match against Sri Lanka few days later, World cup 2011 finish and many more death overs magic while setting the targets. But, these would only attribute to the Dangerous finisher in Dhoni. Probably, Michael Bevan did it with equal consistency as Dhoni himself and currently AB De Villiers could be added to the list. One thing though, that sets apart Dhoni from others, would be the tremendous self confidence and conviction with which he overcomes that Pressure.

As if this challenge was not enough, he has the MOST TOUGHEST challenge of leading the country, where expectations are huge and unfortunately, the captain's calibre is judged merely by results and where memories of people function like Bollywood's Ghajini. The Fans, crowd, critics, Media, Ex-Players (not all) are only worried about the current series in hand and would question the captain's moves depending on the Series win or a loss. Hardly these critics realised that Dhoni would carry the winning streak and make a team climb up the Champion dias, even if the playing eleven was Lagaan team and Aamir Khan was replaced by Dhoni as Captain, just like the way Bailey allowed Michael Clarke to take over in this world cup.

MSD is always on top of the rules of the game and the scope of his field placements for a specific bowler. He Knows the strength of each Individual and definitely knows the weaknesses better. With his clever bowling changes and field placements, he chokes the opponents for runs at crucial stages of the game, the surprising part would be that India's best bowler need not be in action at that point. Any Bowler would love to have MSD as their captain, for this same reason that they can be thrown the ball at any stage and asked to bowl to a plan or strategy as demanded by Dhoni. Of course, Bowler is responsible for bowling to his own field and Dhoni adds value to the process many a times. Examples are aplenty.

Some of his broad thinking has received due accolades from the Selectors of Indian team and paved way for Indians to dominate world cricket for over 7 years term under him.

1. Prior to a World cup, each player should have at least played minimum of 50 ODIs, with the exception of few young talents.
2. A Talent should be backed up by Selectors as well as Captain, even if there are string of failures of one Individual, which does not affect the performance of the team.
3. Three days of intense Practice sessions is more beneficial than 6 days of mediocre practice sessions during the time of big tournaments.
4. Football and other sports activities are also part of the warm-up sessions for the Indian cricket team on a regular basis.
5. Any harsh decisions on selection of teams and Replacement could only be done at the end of a series or prior to the start of series.

Dhoni has re-defined Captaincy, as in the Scope of a Leader or a Captain is so pivotal to keep away all the bad omens away from the set of players, which would make them focus only on the game and nothing else. Dhoni has backed the Selectors, allowing them to pick the talents from India and would play with the bunch identified by Selectors, with the exception of backing few talents who have turned as big match winners for India. Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma have all won matches for India single handedly, which would not have happened, had it not been for the back-up provided by MSD. Yes, the likes of Ricky Ponting arguably did the same for Australians, but he was not calm and collective as Dhoni during his successful tenure. Dhoni has backed the different Cricket Coaches that were with the team and has always passed on the right messages to the critics that it is the responsibility of players to turn out results. Dhoni knows the exact scope of the support staff and would never interfere with them, taking advantage of his role as a captain. Controversies surrounded this guy and he stood for what is right, because he was always right.

Just as a magician pulls the rabbit out of the hat, Dhoni has marshalled his resources to win games from the jaws of defeat on numerous occasions. MSD Transcends Captaincy and is by far the only philosopher of this game. His Philosophy is simple, Give your best and leave the rest to Destiny. Great testimony to that is when he threw the ball to Joginder Sharma telling him "Just give your best, I would not mind even if we lose". Champions trophy final in 2013 was another prime example as to how a match could be won by clever field placements and attacking bowling options. One might call him lucky, but his risk taking abilities are attributes which is not possessed even by greatest captains this game has seen. Dhoni's mind is a Calculator, no doubt, as he visualises one of his bowler bowling the death over, when first 10 overs are in progress. Its a quality, which could be achieved, when a Captain does a complete back ground of the Pitch conditions and what the ground conditions have to offer to the teams. Needless to say, Captain should be on top of the game and be instinctive to make some changes, which works in team's favour.

M S Dhoni is not Instinctive captain totally. At times, he has been very patient with the bowlers and Batsmen, who want to make a name for themselves in longer format of the game, by playing session by session and hour by hour. Test Cricket is more challenging for the Captains, as there would be more schedule of play, where Captain's control in the game is lesser and lesser. Dhoni struggled here with the new test team and inconsistent performance of the youngsters. Not many realised the fact that Dhoni won many hearts here too, by building the next generation Test team and nicely handing it over to Virat Kohli, after the retirement of Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly, Laxman and Kumble. Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Sreesanth may be the slots which needs to be filled by the Bowling department and Dhoni tried his best by backing Ishant, Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron to fill the slots. Ashwin has filled in the slot left by Harbhajan.

Dhoni's achievements is for every one to see and to put it simply, He is a Blessing for Indian Cricket and Let's leave at it.

India beat South Africa and show strong signs of defending the World cup

Match referee might have mentioned that South Africa is the Home team, while handing over the coin for toss, however MCG turnout of 87000 people convinced every one that India was the Home team. Dhoni called the toss right and Batsmen did their job right, Bowlers defended it right and fielders were outstanding left, centre and right...

Rohit was unlucky to have got run out in the 2nd over, a brilliant piece of run out by De-Villiers. Dhawan and Kohli partnership continued from where they left against Pakistan. At the end of 15 Overs, Indians were 61 and did a good job of giving the 1st 15 overs to the bowlers. South African captain predicted this approach from Indian Batsmen and to upset the rhythm, he introduced Duminy and Imran Tahir within the first hour. Our Batsmen exhibited the calm approach and kept the wickets intact.

Shikhar Dhawan was absolutely brilliant with his choice of shots and once Kohli got out, a right-left formula ensured that Ajinkya Rahane walked in to support Dhawan. Rahane should be complemented for his audacious shot making and brilliant sense of placement. A very romantic innings from him made sure that Dhawan could focus on the big one this time. Rahane came in at a crucial time when the team required him to keep the momentum on and he held most of the strike. Dhawan's 137 has to be one of the best knocks of the World cup History, as it came from an Indian in a world cup in Australian conditions.

The Duo notched a 125 run partnership within span of 16 overs at 7.8 runs per over and set it up for the lower order to take us past 300 yet again. Dhoni's Hat-trick of fours was highlight in last 5 overs, apart from India losing 5 wickets. India posted 307 at the end of 50 overs and South Africans would have felt that it was a chasable score considering their batting line up and more so, as Duminy and Miller scored hundreds in their previous match against Zimbabwe.

Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav, bowled quick, at high 140 Ks and did not allow the Openers off to a flier. De Kock and Amla were not at all timing the ball as the quick ones from our bowlers did not hit the sweet spots of their bat. A very soft dismissal of De Kock getting caught at mid off provided early break through and a double blow, when Mohit Sharma bowled a quick bouncer that made Amla to hook the ball without control to deep fine leg fielder. Most surprising thing for viewers was the fact that Indian bowlers were bowling consistent bouncers to the opposition, but with more pace.

De-Villiers and Faf du plessis looked threatening to build a solid partnership, as they played smart shots to unsettle our spinners. De-Villiers' run out opened the doors for Indians to choke them and get them all out for a paltry 177. The two run outs made by Mohit Sharma and Umesh Yadav was an exhibition of superb out-fielding by our young fast bowlers. Dhoni was too good with his glove work to make AB De Villiers and Miller shot of their crease.

The Run out of AB De Villiers was a turning point for another reason best known to Ashwin. He could bowl more deliveries to Left hand batsmen and instill pressure on them. Miller was aggressive, but his run out was a waste of wicket. J P Duminy played a reverse sweep to disturb the rhythm of Ashwin, but edged it to Raina in slips. Philander got out to a beautiful off-spinner from the same bowler, getting trapped leg before the wicket. Mohit Sharma picked up 2 crucial wickets and Tail enders was swept by Jadeja and Shami to earn India a comprehensive win over South Africa.

On the one hand, Indian team is truly playing like a champion and has sent a strong message to other teams, that they have to be on top of their game to beat the Indians. On the other hand, Indian team should not look too deep into the tournament at this stage and take the opponents like West Indies, Ireland, Zimbabwe too lightly. Dhoni's calmness would drill down on the players and his attitude of Living in the moment would augur well for the Indian team to top the Pool B at the end of all group matches.

West Indies in current form would play against Indians in Perth. Prior to that, they would meet South Africa, which would be the most important match to look out for in Pool B, in the near future. India would have played UAE and added 2 more points to their tally before their clash with West Indies in Perth. There is a good chance that Ireland might pip Pakistan out of the World cup in first round similar to 2007 world cup. One cannot wait for the Knock out stages to begin already...

Another World cup Loss for Team Pakistan against India...

Virat Kohli has become a big name in World cricket and World cup is an ideal stage for champions like him. He has definitely set the stage rolling for India to defend the World cup. Performance such as this would rub onto others and brings the best out of every one. Aaron Finch, Brendon Macullum did it for their teams too, but Kohli's innings was special as he was out of form prior to this match.

Cautious approach by the top order batsmen and Partnerships won the match for India against the Arch-Rivals on Sunday. Rohit Sharma started off very cautiously along with Dhawan and both of them left and defended the balls brilliantly. A rush of blood costed Rohit Sharma his wicket, but Dhawan was in no hurry, as he and Kohli ran well between the wickets and rotated the strike thereby building a strong partnership. Only a Run out could have broken the partnership and that is exactly what happened when Misbah ran Dhawan out. Dhoni kept the Right-Left combination going on when he sent Raina ahead of Rahane and Suresh Raina mixed caution with aggression and made sure that Kohli focused on the big Hundred.

Virat Kohli was so upset, when Dhawan got run out and Suresh Raina was so elated, when Kohli reached Hundred, that he started celebrating even before Kohli's fist pumped the air - A clear testimony to the bond that this team has. During the fielding and bowling effort, the celebrations went to another level, as this team yearns for each other's success.

Saeed Ajmal was missed on this crucial encounter, as he would have kept a check on flow of runs throughout the innings and a regular wicket keeper was also missed as Umar Akmal dropped the catch behind the stumps. Umar Gul and Sohail Tanveer might have been handy, considering their international exposure, but they were not picked for the World cup. Having said that, Sohail Khan and Wahab bowled excellently, constantly hitting 150k in the speed gun. However, they could not stop India from scoring 300. Afridi and Yasir were very ordinary as Indians attacked them in right patches. Sohail Khan deserved his 5 wicket haul, but his wickets came too late in India's innings, by which we had posted a match winning score.

The pressure of chasing 300 in a world cup and that too an India Pakistan encounter did not augur well for Pakistanis. Mohammed Shami surprised Younis Khan with a quick off-cutter bouncer, which was gloved to Dhoni behind the stumps. The 2nd wicket Partnership between Ahmed Shehzad and Harris Sohail provided hope, but Ashwin bowled a lovely little spell to remove left hander Harris, who edged it to Raina in slips - A classical off spinner dismissal!! What followed was expected. Pakistan collapsed by losing the next 3 wickets for 3 runs on the board. Shehzad square cut the wide delivery from Umesh Yadav into the hands of Jadeja at Point. Two balls later, Maqsood edged another wide delivery from Yadav to Raina in slips and 2 overs later, Umar Akmal was given caught behind off the bowling of Jadeja. Pakistan score board read 106 for 5 and the whole world knew that match was sealed by Indians at that point itself.

Umesh Yadav might leak runs, but his pace might unsettle any batsmen. Though he did not bowl wicket taking deliveries consistently, Credit should be given to Dhoni for trusting him and bringing him back after he leaked 30 odd runs from his initial 3 overs. Dhoni started to choke the opponents with his bowling changes and field placements, which never allowed Misbah and Afridi to feel confident that they are still in the hunt. He kept on rotating the bowlers and Afridi fell for another full toss, trying to heave it outside Adelaide, off the bowling of Shami. Harbhajan singh would have had a smile in his face seeing it, as in 2011, he used the full toss tactic to dismiss Afridi.

The pick of the Indian bowlers, undoubtedly was Mohit Sharma, who dried the runs at crucial times, followed by Ashwin and Shami. Jadeja and Yadav has to be more consistent and complement the bowlers from other end. Fielding was top notch. Bowling is still a weak link and if we keep getting better, we would be a force to reckon with and one would definitely see India going beyond Quarter finals too. Next target is South Africa and then, we have series of matches to practice well before the knock out stage. Pool B might see upsets and there is a good chance that we might have a non-test playing nation in the Quarter finals. But, India would not be affected because of it, as morale would be very high, after beating the Arch-Rivals...

Bring Back English County clubs in front of Youngsters

India's loss to England in the current series is very similar to India's loss against Australia in 1991-92 Test series. Apart from the common factor like matches played away from Indian subcontinent, there are quite good similarities.

1. Australia won 4-0 there. England won 3-1 here, the only difference being the closely fought match in Adelaide, where India could have won in 1992. India pulled it off in Lords here in 2014.
2. Both were against tough opponents, great Test playing nation in form of Australia and England.
3. One test match out of 5 match series ended in a draw.
4. Australia won by thumping margins back then...They won by 10 wickets in 1st match, by 8 wickets in 2nd match, by 38 runs in 4th match and by 300 runs in 5th test..
5. England won the 3rd test by 266 runs, 4th test by an innings and 44 runs, 5th test by an innings and 244 runs.

No doubt, we need to consider the two teams and players who represented the Indian side respectively!!! Taking the margin of defeats and expectations from the sides by Indian fans, the after effects of the defeats are similar. Sachin's two knocks in Sydney and Perth during 1991-92 were enlightening, whereas Kohli's miserable performances in 2014 throws a dark picture for future Indian test cricket. As a fan, we all need some spark, which should make us feel that Test cricket is alive and kicking. I took the example of Australian series to drive home this point. Kohli and Pujara could not pull it off throughout the series.

At the end of a worst foreign test tour, we always had some spark in the past. Be it Azharuddin's elegant centuries, Child prodigy Sachin's attacking 100s against world quickies, Laxman's 167 in Sydney after 3-0 defeat in 1999, Ganguly's Lords Debut hundred, Dravid's lone man effort in England during 2011 - we knew for sure that Test match is still the number one priority for our Indian players. 

I will not do justice, if I mention only the list of Batsmen. Kapil Dev beating the defence of world class test batsmen, Javagal Srinath's spell in Johannesberg, Anil Kumble's spell in Sydney and boxing day effort, Zaheer Khan's match winning spells in England (when we won the test series under Rahul Dravid), Ajit Agarkar's "6 for" against Aussies in Adelaide, Sreesanth's peach of delivery to dismiss Kallis and finally Ishant's match winning spell at Lords in 2014 told us that Bowlers at test level is also ready to prioritise Test matches.

But, why current Indian players are not feeling the pinch ? Is it the Preparation before a Test match ? Is the answer lying in Indian domestic circuit ? Is it the IPL factor ? We can go on and dig deep into each of the points mentioned above and find answers, but according to me, it would not bring a solution to this existing problem. I am thinking that Indian players should be allowed to represent English county seasons and be contracted for a full season. Kohli, Vijay, Rahane, Pujara and Rohit are all talents tuned as of now to play ODIs, where the real test of skills is not tested as it is in Tests. We have to include Suresh Raina too in this list of youngsters. All the greats who excelled in foreign wickets have represented County cricket clubs and have brought laurels to their respective nation.

Bowlers should also get a due share of their travel and participate in English county clubs. This is one stop solution to me, for the bad results that we are showing in Test matches in foreign conditions. Of course, we are open to this idea, as frequent tours to Australia by India A team is happening, but England conditions will tune the players better. Look at what IPL did to all the foreign players with respect to their performance in Indian conditions. If we have to fare well in their wickets, find time to represent English county clubs...

With due regard to Mr. Ravi Shastri's achievements in International circuit and his recent appointment to be the elder brother for Indian team in this messy scenario, I still feel that our board is not addressing the right issue. Once, Mr. Sunil Gavaskar mentioned that Ranji Trophy matches should be changed to produce results more, rather than to teach players to put all their effort for 1st innings lead. IPL has created a bad spirit between BCCI and English board wherein we don't find their players representing IPL teams. Still, they can win a test series in India.

All these factors add to the solution box, but utmost important thing to do is to encourage our youngsters to represent English county clubs and tune their skills better. Sachin, Dravid, Laxman, Ganguly and Kumble would be happy to see it happen and so do we, as fans of this wonderful sport. Let not Money power spoil the minds of youngsters who are thrusted with the responsibility of carrying the torch for Test cricket. As Dhoni rightly points out, it is a Process and we should not judge this current team by Results.

Regards,
MS Prasanth.