Hits and Misses - ICC World T20 2012, Team India

India

Hits

1. Virat Kohli once again showed why he is called one of the best batsman currently going around. His innings of 78* in the high pressure chase against arch rivals Pakistan was one of the fondest memories of the World Twenty20 for the average Indian fan.

2. The part time, almost innocuous, left arm spin of Yuvraj Singh troubled every opposition that India played against. Yuvraj bagged 8 wickets in the tournament.

3. Balaji made full use of the limited opportunities that he got and picked up 9 wickets to end up as the joint 4th highest wicket taker in this ICC World Twenty20 held in Sri Lanka.

Misses

1. India started their campaign with a scratchy win against a spirited Afghan side. The Afghan team dropped about 5 catches and gave away numerous extras but still lost the game by just 20 odd runs. Showed what might have been if all the catches had been held and exposed India's frailties.

2. The Indian openers, Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag, struggled right through the tournament and Sehwag was also dropped for a couple of games. When Sehwag was dropped, the effectiveness of the decision was offset by making Irfan Pathan to open the innings. He scratched around in both the games that he opened and India lost early momentum which they could have had if they had opened with Virat Kohli.

3. Irfan Pathan and Zaheer Khan were largely ineffective and leaked runs far too easily while they were also not able to pick early wickets.

4. India won 4 of the 5 games that they played at the World Twenty20 but one of this was against Afghanistan, another an inconsequential game against England in the group stage and one against South Africa which was won after the place in the semi final was lost!!!

5. India needed to restrict South Africa to under 122 in the last Super Eight game to make it to the Semi Final stage. The field placing was so conservative that India did not look like they were ever looking to defend 122. Fielders were placed on the boundary and singles were gifted on a platter. Ashwin's overs were kept in the bank for reasons best known to MS Dhoni. It was a brilliant showcase in 'How Not to Captain A Cricket Team'.


See the previous post's in Hits and Misses,

Team South Africa
Team New Zealand
Team England

Hits and Misses - ICC World T20 2012, Team England

England

Hits

1. The English started off with a bang as they dominated a spirited Afghan team who had run India close in their earlier encounter. It was a near perfect game for them.

2. Their number three, Luke Wright made a bright comeback to the English T20 team. He was their most spunky batsman with a couple of match winning 50's including a 99*.

3. Samit Patel came in against Sri Lanka and played spin bowling with such ease that it was difficult to imagine what would have been had he played all their games. England struggled against spin bowling right through the ICC World T20.

4. Steve Finn bowled with pace and fire upfront and was impossible to get away. He got early wickets in nearly all the games and troubled all batsmen with his disconcerting bounce and pace.

5. Eoin Morgan always came in after the fall of a couple of wickets and always when the pressure was on England, but he displayed deft touches and played some exquisite innings. His blistering 71* off just 36 balls, one of the highlights of the ICC World T20 2012, was not enough though to take England over the line against West Indies.

Misses

1. The opening pair of Craig Kieswetter and Alex Hales seemed to be participating in a mini competition of their own about who returns first to the dug out. England lost a wicket in the first over with one of the openers departing for a duck in each of their first 3 games. Things only just got better for them in the 4th game when they lost the first wicket in the 4th over. When Kieswetter was finally dropped for the final game, it was too little too late for England as they once again had a wretched start losing their in form batsman and make shift opener Luke Wright in the 3rd over.

2. The young and dynamic middle order consisting of Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow never looked settled and were found groping and prodding most of the time. They could never provide the English innings with the final thrust in the last 5-7 overs. Bairstow's painful innings of 18 off 29 must rank as one of the most disastrous innings of this World T20 as the English lost the game against the West Indies by just 15 runs.

3. The old problem of playing the spinners badly once again surfaced for the English as they played Harbhajan and Chawla in their group match against India like they were facing Murlitharan and Warne at their peak. The complete capitulation against the Indian spinners showed the world that their problems against the spinners were still not sorted out. Interestingly when they did manage to play the spinners better, they surrendered completely against pace. They lost 2 wickets in the first over of Ravi Rampaul against West Indies and then Malinga grabbed a 5fer against them a couple of games later. In both these matches they managed to play spin bowling well.

4. Jade Dernbach who is supposed to have a bag full of deliveries and variations to confound the batsmen was consistently costly. His economy rates tell a sorry tale... 6.86, 11.25, 9.5, 10.50


See the previous post's in Hits and Misses

Team South Africa
Team New Zealand

Hits and Misses - ICC World T20 2012, Team New Zealand

New Zealand

Hits

1. New Zealand started the tournament with self doubts about playing Bangladeshi spinners in their opening game but Brendan Mc Cullum waltzed his way to a sublime 123 and New Zealand were up and running in an ICC tournament once again!!

2. New Zealand were placed in the group of death with Pakistan and Bangladesh but they easily made it through to the Super Eights.

3. They once again punched well above their weight in a big tournament and dragged both the eventual finalists, Sri Lanka and West Indies, into a super over during their super eight clashes. Unfortunately they lost both of them.

4. The bowling of Tim Southee and the batting of their captain Ross Taylor were among the few plus points for the Kiwis.

Misses

1. They fluffed a chance to beat Pakistan in the group match as Ross Taylor came in so late to bat that the game had probably slipped away from their grasp by that time.

2. They did drag Sri Lanka and West Indies to the Super over during their Super eight clashes but failed to win either of them. While they found Malinga too hot to handle against the Lankans, Tim Southee completely lost the plot against Gayle and Samuels.

3. Managed to win just a single game during the World T20 and that was against Bangladesh.

4. Daniel Vettori came out of retirement to play the World Cup and help New Zealand but he was largely ineffective and looked a pale shadow of the best left arm spinner that he once was. He was ruled out with an Achilles Tendon injury in their last game.


See the previous post in Hits and Misses, Team South Africa

Hits and Misses - ICC World T20 2012, Team South Africa

Starting today, I will be reviewing the top 8 teams performances during the ICC World T20 2012 held in Sri Lanka in a series called - "Hits and Misses"

South Africa

Hits

1. The near perfect demolitions of Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka (although it was a 7-7 over lottery) in the group matches were probably the only genuine hits for the South African team in this edition of the World T20 in Sri Lanka.

2. Among the ruins of 3 Super Eight losses, the repeated stellar performances of the quicks Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel was heart warming to witness.

3. Probably knocking out India was one high that they experienced but they lost even that game by one run.

Misses

1. The biggest miss for the South Africans was probably the loss to Pakistan from a seemingly winning position. The bowlers were trashed around by Umar Gul and the South Africans started the Super Eights with a heart shattering loss.

2. The big hitting Richard Levi was in woeful form all through the tournament and he was duly dropped for the last game but it was a decision taken too late as the Africans were already out of the tournament by then.

3. It is said that a teams best batsman must face the maximum number of balls, more so in the shortest form of the game where every ball is a premium. But their best batsman, AB De Villiers often came in too late in the order to make any significant effect on the game.

My Childhood Memories of Cricket

This Guest Post comes from the wonderfully talented writer who prefers to be known as 'The Fool'. He writes at - Lucifer House Inc. In the following post he shares his trysts with cricket during his formative years.

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Bernard Shaw is known for his saying “Cricket is a game played by eleven fools and watched by eleven thousand fools”. When I call myself “The Fool”, obviously I would be one of the eleven fools or eleven thousand fools. Wouldn’t I? If you were to see me hold the bat, you can be sure I wouldn’t be one of the eleven fools even in my wildest dreams. So one of the eleven thousand at least I had to be, right? I started off about where it all began right at the beginning like Oliver Twist – the cricket cards and stuff. If you are collecting cards having pictures of cricket players on the front and their statistics on the back, isn’t it conceivable that you will take interest in the actual players themselves and their statistics? That is exactly how it happened with me.

Having managed to collect most of the cards, my interest began to fade. I found it a better idea to make the cards myself rather than depend on the limited cards that come free with bubble gums. So I began to take interest in collecting pictures of cricket players and the statistics. Obviously how can you not see the matches where the players whose pictures you are collecting are creating the statistics live? The first series I really watched with interest was 1992 World Cup. Some of the memories of the things I distinctly remember are Martin Crowe’s captaincy, Inzamam’s batting and the altercation between Kiran More and Javed Miandad. It was also a series where I saw the fading of the only star I had idolized during my hitherto days of indifference to cricket: Krishnamachari Srikanth.

For the next 4 years there was not a single match I missed. I tried playing cricket too. But it was too late an age to begin. Already many of my peers were batting prodigies while I was a batting comedy. So obviously I would be sent last down and hardly ever get a chance to improve my batting. Bowling or wicket keeping obviously no one wanted to give to a neophyte. They sent me to field at the boundaries. Standing alone at the boundary where nothing happens can be really boring and you tend to get contemplative. And when you are contemplating on finer things in life, can you be blamed for missing the rare catch that comes your way? But the boys thought differently. The net result was I decided playing cricket was not my cup of tea and gladly renounced the game.

So my interest in the game remained confined to hero worship and compilation of statistics. Due to my lack of success in playing the game, I never really got on to the technical aspects of the game. I was happy as long as my favorite players got the half centuries, centuries and the 5 wicket hauls and the scoreboards kept ticking. So following the matches on radio or newspaper worked as well as seeing the matches on television. I followed almost the entire South African tour of India on our ancient family radio that was a year older than me. It was a disappointment in terms of India’s performance. But I found a new hero to worship: Pravin Amre. And there were no cards of him available too. Then there was the England’s tour of India which revived India’s fortunes. Vinod Kambli’s double century delighted the statistician in me.

Very soon I moved from cards to a diary which was more convenient to maintain the photos and statistics. I had a page for every player and religiously maintained the statistics. In fact it was cricket that inculcated the habit of reading the newspaper in me. In those days there was no internet. Nor was there cable television. The newspaper was the only way of following international matches. I used to religiously cut the scorecard of every international match that was played and compile them series wise. For the pictures, I had to depend on sport star as I preferred color photos to black and white photos from the newspapers. But when I did not get color photos of a player I would make do with the black and white photos as well. We were financially not too well off as such. So I could not afford new Sport Stars. So one of the most exciting activities for me during those days was going to the waste paper man with my father and buying old second hand Sports Stars. As soon as I come home I would finish reading all the cricket articles and then get to work with my scissors. I did not limit myself to recent statistics. I also bought and read a few books on cricket history. Hindu used to publish an annual edition of cricket year book. That was a favorite with me.

Every activity has an initial start up phase, then a peak period and then a decline. So it was with my interest in cricket as well. The four years were my peak period from 1992-1996. From then on the decline started. I became busy with academics as I had my board exams and IIT JEE preparations.  Also in 1996, we got cable TV in our house for the first time. That brought a new range of entertainment at my disposal. My new school had a library with a good fiction collection and I began to return to my old love – reading books. So my new love – the cricket diary and cards were neglected. One fine day I gave away the cards to a boy in the neighborhood and my diary to my cousin. I still continued to watch matches. But the old passion was no longer there.

There were still a few highs for me in the years to follow. I went to watch a Ranji trophy match and watched Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath in live action in flesh and blood. I watched India chase down an impossible 300+ target against Pakistan  in a crowded college hostel common room. I watched the emergence of Ganguly, Dravid and Laxman. I discovered a cricket card collection from my father’s childhood days in my grandparents’ home. But there were also the bad moments. The conviction of Azharuddin and Hansie Cronje was one of them. Decline of the English and West Indies teams was another. With the details of the match fixing emerging, all the statistics I had been collecting began to look meaningless. So slowly I began to drift away from cricket. The old passion gave way to new ones: reading, trekking, martial arts. Soon it came to pass that at one stage I totally stopped watching cricket. From following all 5 days of a test match on an old transistor, I have still not seen a complete 20-20 match to date. Then that’s how infatuation is, right? You never know when it comes. You never know when it goes.

World T20 2012 - Loking Forward to the Super 8's

A Special Guest Post from my friend Leo (Vinay) who writes wonderful poems, stories and haikus at his space - I Rhyme Without Reason and is an ardent cricket fan...

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Halfway through the tournament now, and the headlines around the week have been mostly watery, literally. It’s been either the rain or some cricketers catching a stomach bug due to drinking water (or so the papers say anyways.)

Coming to the cricket, it hasn’t really been extraordinary, but there has been entertainment. I feel in general, the expectation has been met. The so-called “strong teams” have advanced to the super eights, and the “minnows” have bowed out. There has been a decent crowd in the ground to support the teams, but I think it should improve for the super eights. Non Sri Lanka matches haven’t been sold out yet, but with some big matches on the cards, I believe that would change.

I do wish the Sri Lanka and South Africa match wasn’t rain curtailed. I think it’d have been a much closer affair hadn’t the rain taken a toll, and made it a 7 over hit-out. That apart, the cricket has been good. Warner and de Villiers have shown that they can clobber the cricket ball, as has Imran Nazir. Watson’s all round skills have got him two man-of-the-match awards so far, and at the head, Australia also seems to be in form. With Australia set to clash with India, South Africa and Pakistan in what seems to be an ominous group, India’s inability to finish strongly might come back to bite them.

Yes, there was a superb performance against England, but the fact that Afghanistan pushed them to the end means there is still things to sort out in the Indian camp, where Kohli and Rohit Sharma, and the returning Harbhajan and Yuvraj have been standout performers so far. The form of the Indian openers, both in batting and bowling are a worry. Sehwag, Gambhir and Zaheer have all struggled, and the Dinda experiment seems to have backfired, even in the one game. Going forward, I wonder if that means India are going for an all spin attack, with Ashwin, Chawla and Harbhajan, and Irfan being the lone pacer. A line-up as Sehwag, Gambhir, Kohli, Raina/Sharma, Dhoni, Yuvraj, Irfan, Ashwin, Harbhajan, Chawla and Zaheer/Balaji seems the most likely in the current scenario.

I think most people would agree that I mention Ireland. They’ve bowed out, but a fair bit of luck has gone against them. The Colombo weather got the match v/s the West Indies canceled, which they might have won if Duckworth Lewis got a chance. Even if they had managed to hold off the Aussies for another 4 balls, they’d have got through on NRR. With their ability, I think it’s about time ICC gave them full membership. Or at the least, ICC should organize tournaments where the affiliates play against the bigger teams. Only that experience would help develop these nations quicker, not once in 4 years playing v/s the bigger teams. For that, ICC should look past the monetary outcome of the match I guess.

Players to watch out for in the Super 8s

Virat Kohli: in-form and the strong point of the Indian top-order. He can change the game, and I’m sure MSD and Duncan Fletcher would be looking for that form to continue.

Harbhajan: back with a bang, and sure to play against Australia. Bhajji loves the Aussies, so he’ll either put them out, or be put out of the team again by the Aussies. A battle to look forward to.

Shane Watson: all round abilities, opening the batting and bowling as well, means there’s more man-of-the-match opportunities should he continue to be the rock at the helm.

Hafeez/Nazir: a solid partnership at the top. They showed v/s Bangla what a solid partnership can do to change an innings. More such partnerships can steer Pakistan to the semis for sure.

Saeed Ajmal: took a bit of stick v/s Bangla, but the world’s #1 T20 bowler rattled the Kiwis and can do so to other opposition too.

Richard Levi: big hitting ability can turn a match, even if Duckworth Lewis comes to play.

AB de Villiers: same like Levi, but sound captaincy has helped South Africa come forward.

Dale Steyn: super stingy, and deadly accurate, a bowler that batsmen look to play out, rather than hit out.

Brendan McCullum: has already exploded onto the scene. But remains to be seen if there’s any fire left.

Ross Taylor: New Zealand have not reached a final of a big tournament. RT can guide them there.

Chris Gayle: with Windies at the Pallekelle batting paradise, this man is a threat.

Sunil Narine: a spinner with tact and control. A game-changer.

Alex Hales: youthful, energetic, solid at the top. His partnership with Kieswetter and Wright would be tantamount to England’s title-defense.

Thissara Perera: it was expected to be his World Cup, with him being a form player for the side. Can he step up his game in the next round?

Six days of quality, top of the world action starts tomorrow. 

Team India's Schedule of Super Matches at the World T20 2012, Sri Lanka

India v/s Australia on Friday, 28th September

India v/s Pakistan on Sunday, 30th September

India v/s South Africa on Tuesday, 2nd October

If India and Pakistan can see out Australia and South Africa at this stage, a repeat of the  mouth watering 2007 T20 WC final seems on the cards.

Here’s to some wonderful matches, and a prayer that rain, rain go away!

The Biggest T20 World Cup Yet?

A Special Guest Post from my friend Leo (Vinay) who writes wonderful poems, stories and haikus at his space - I Rhyme Without Reason and is an ardent cricket fan...

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We’re just one day away from what the broadcasters claim will be the biggest World Cup T20 yet. I wonder if it will be so. In my mind, my heart, the first World T20 in South Africa, in 2007 was the best edition, and it would remain so. Not because India won, but because what transpired. Neither the second edition that took place in England, nor the third one that took place in the Caribbean have had that much excitement to be frank. India and Pakistan were in one group, there was a bowl-out needed to separate the two Asian Goliaths in a match, for the first time in T20 a bowler was smashed out of the park for six times in a single over, the previously proclaimed dominance of the Australian team was challenged and conquered, and the single most fierce rivalry in World cricket as we know it was played out in the finals as well. Hell, the stadium at Kingsmead was almost like a second Eden Gardens to the national team. We did it all, and it was the biggest spectacle possible. How, I ask, can India and the world top that in Sri Lanka over the next three weeks?

ARE THERE FAVORITES THIS TIME?

No. That’s the right answer any unbiased mind can tell. None of the teams are in any particularly excellent T20 form. Even in the warm-up games. India wins a game against Sri Lanka, and then goes on and loses to Pakistan. Zimbabwe, though a full member nation of the ICC lost their game against Ireland and also against Bangladesh; likewise New Zealand have also lost both warm-up matches. Agreed, the format is such that luck also plays a very big part in the result, but still, no team can be called favorites for the title. England will miss the explosive KP in their title-defense, and he is a vital cog, having been the best player when they won the title in the Caribbean. In my eyes, the only team in a good consistent form is Ireland. I hope they do well in the games, and get that Test Cricket status that they deserve.

INDIA – STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

The biggest strength of the Men in Blue I feel are the opening 10 overs, be it while bowling or while batting. They are the most explosive in that period, and not many teams can match that. It was on display today, when they played Pakistan. Having watched the match from the start, I think they do lack that bite in the death overs. They play themselves to get a bigger target on board to defend, and lose the focus in the last three or four overs, and end up getting 10 or 20 runs less. In saying so, it’d be an injustice if I fail to mention the partnership between Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli that actually got India to that decent total of 185. Without that camaraderie, I doubt the Men in Blue would have got to 150. Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal were especially brilliant for Pakistan in that death overs, and it’s that excellence that I feel India can take a leaf out of. All bowlers except for the impressive Ravichandran Ashwin were taken to the cleaners, and if fingers are to be pointed, I am sure the first person they’d go at would be Balaji. He bowled his first two overs for just 9 runs, and then lost the plot, gave away 32 runs in his last two, which proved to be India’s undoing. If India were to get past England and Afghanistan, both of whom cannot be taken lightly in this format, they need to sort out their death bowling options.

THE OPPOSITION

Not looking very far ahead, India’s opposition in the group games are England and Afghanistan. In a usual scenario, India might be given the favorites tag, but even without KP, England have an assortment of power hitters and all rounders who can change the game. Players like Kieswetter, Hales, Wright and Morgan, and a batting depth that goes till Stuart Broad at #8, and if included, Samit Patel at #9. That’s firepower India cannot afford to take lightly. Afghanistan are the dark horses. They have talent, and more importantly, they have nothing to lose and everything to gain. They’re not after T20 rankings, or world reputations, so they will play their hearts out. If Ireland can win against England, Bangladesh, Pakistan and the like in 50 overs format, then the Afghans can defeat any team if they put their minds to it. If people are looking for a scenario in the future rounds where India can face Pakistan only in the finals, then first step would be to hope both India and Pakistan are top ranked in their group fixtures so they avoid each other in the Super 8s.
I still have my doubts as to this being the biggest T20 yet. I’ve never seen many empty seats during an India Pakistan game, even during a warm-up encounter. Today, there were many. Is the rivalry dwindling? No idea. But one thing was proven today. Warm-up, or not, Pakistan can beat India on the World’s biggest stage for cricket.