Chappell-Hadlee Series on the Line as the Trans-Tasman Rivals Clash Again

Australia Vs New Zealand, 1st ODI Match at the Eden Park in Auckland - Match Preview

Australia won the ODI series against India comfortably by a margin of 4-1 although the matches were probably a lot closer than that scoreline could ever suggest. All the matches in that series were high scoring encounters with Australia chasing down targets of over 300 with relative ease. They did suffer a 0-3 loss to India in the three match T20I series but that was in part because Australia had sent their main players (Warner, Smith, Wade, Richardson) to New Zealand to prepare for this series.

New Zealand on the other hand have had a glorious summer till now where they have trashed the other Asian giants, Sri Lanka and Pakistan with ease in all formats.

The Chappell-Hadlee series is something that was conceptualised with great ambitions by both the national boards in the early 2000's but it has since lost its sheen and purpose with the advent of T20 cricket.

The group match of the ICC World Cup 2015 these two teams played at Eden Park, Auckland had the Chappell-Hadlee series on the line so New Zealand are the current holders of the trophy. That match produced a nail-biter as the lure of the short boundaries had batsmen from both teams licking their lips and going a bit too hard. But there was swing on offer and Trent Boult bowled a memorable spell of 5-3-3-5 which saw the Australians crumble to 151. Starc then wreaked havoc on the Kiwi line up while picking up 6 wickets before Williamson smashed a straight six to seal the match in the black caps favour.

For the Australians, Shaun Marsh will open with David Warner as Finch is injured and Khawaja was left out for this match. Mitch Marsh also comes in as an all-rounder while the bowling will be shouldered by Hastings, Richardson and Hazlewood. Starc remains injured and Australia did not consider new leg spinner Adam Zampa for this particular match though he is in the squad.

For New Zealand, their talismanic captain Brendon McCullum is back after missing most of the matches they played against Sri Lanka and Pakistan due to the back injury he suffered while diving into the boundary hoardings during the Lankan ODI series. His impact at the top of the order along with the in form Martin Guptill will be immense considering the inexperience in the Aussie bowling line up. The fast bowling will be shored up by Boult, Milne and Henry who will certainly be a fearsome prospect to face if there is swing on offer.

The series starts from the same venue as that of the World Cup and the short boundaries are once again eye catching but if the ball starts moving then there might be another low scoring thriller on the cards.

4 Fantastico battles to look forward to:

David Warner and Steve Smith Vs Trent Boult

Glenn Maxwell Vs Mitchell Santner

Brendon McCullum Vs Australian Opening Bowlers

Corey Anderson Vs James Faulkner

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

Kiwi's Pick Spin Trio for the ICC WT20 Event in India

New Zealand announced their 15 men squad for the ICC WT20 which is to take place in India in March-April later this year. There are no major surprises in the squad and it features three spinners as the conditions in the sub-continent as expected to assist the slower bowlers.

Veteran off-spinner Nathan McCullum who is set to retire at the end of the World Cup, leg spinner Ish Sodhi and left arm spinner and a useful lower order bat Mitch Santner have all been included. Nathan McCullum has been in good form recently playing T20 cricket in New Zealand. Ish Sodhi played some matches against the touring Sri Lankan team and he was considered good enough to make the cut. Mitchell Santner impressed everybody when he made his debut against Australia in the first Day-Night Test and has continued to be a regular part of the Kiwi set-up since. He is an enterprising lower order bat and is capable of bowling tight left arm spin.

The squad will be led by Kane Williamson as Brendon McCullum has retired from T20I's. There is only one uncapped player, the tall left hand bat, Henry Nicholls who played a man of the match innings in the first ODI against Pakistan at the Basin Reserve recently. He will also be the reserve wicket-keeper to Luke Ronchi.

The fast bowling will be led by Trent Boult and Tim Southee with Mitchell McClenaghan and Adam MIlne providing back up. There was no place for the impressive Matt Henry even though he has continued to produce results and has taken a bagful of wickets whenever given a chance.

The lower middle order features several impact players and hard hitting batsmen such as Corey Anderson and Colin Munro who can also chip in with the ball. Then there is Grant Elliott, the hero for the Kiwi's in their famous World Cup win against the South Africans in the quarter finals of the ICC World Cup 2015.

Ross Taylor, who did not take part in the Pakistan and will also miss the Chappell-Hadlee series against Australia due to an injury is expected to be fit for the big event.

They might miss their Captain Fantastico and destructive opening batsman Brendon McCullum but Kane Williamson has led the New Zealand team ably in his absence and Martin Guptill is probably in the form of his life at the top of the order. How the young Kiwi side tackle spin on Indian pitches might well decide how deep they are able to penetrate in this tournament. All in all, it is a very good side and has the potential to go all the way.

New Zealand WT20 Squad is given below:

Kane Williamson (Captain), Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, Grant Elliott, Corey Anderson, Colin Munro, Luke Ronchi (wk), Mitchell Santner, Nathan McCullum, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Mitchell McClenaghan, Adam Milne, Ish Sodhi

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

Waqar Younis, The Toe Crusher - Pakistani Fast Bowling Greats

As I have written in my previous posts, I am a self-proclaimed fan of the fast bowlers that Pakistan seem to produce on a conveyor belt that seems impossible to stop. In the last post I wrote about the legendary left arm pace bowler, Wasim Akram and in this post I will write about his better half at the bowling crease, Waqar Younis. Lovingly known as the ‘Two W’s’ together they were to rule opposition batsmen right through the 1990’s striking fear in to them.

Waqar Younis

Like Wasim, Waqar too was spotted at a local match and it was the great Imran Khan who was impressed. Waqar made his test debut in 1989, in the same match as Sachin Tendulkar made his debut. He was genuinely quick and made an immediate impression by picking up 4 wickets in that drawn match.

Waqar was lethal with his high speed and the fact that he loved to keep the ball full and on the stumps while swinging it late made him an extremely difficult customer to face. He was also a master proponent of the reverse swing and had the ability to find prodigious reverse with an old ball. Late banana in swinging deliveries delivered at express pace made him unplayable.

Waqar played a total of 87 tests in which he picked up 373 wickets at a stunning average of 43! He claimed 416 wickets in the 262 ODI’s that he played with his high impact pace bowling.

He was embroiled in several controversies during his playing years most relating to accusations which claimed that he tempered the cricket ball so as to make it reverse. He was also banned in the year 2000 for the said offense. He was also the captain of the Pakistan team during their disastrous World Cup campaign in South Africa in 2003 when they failed to even qualify for the super six stage having won games only against the associate nations. He was dumped thereafter along with many senior players including Wasim Akram.

He was a Fantastico character and he has continued to serve Pakistan cricket by imparting his skills as a coach and nurturing the current fast bowling talents in Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Irfan, Rahat Ali and Wahab Riaz.

Waqar’s ability to move the ball colossally in the air and the fact that he targeted the base of the leg stump almost always succeeded in getting the batsman in an ungainly tangle. Delivering toe crushing yorkers at top speed was his speciality and hence he was also nick named ‘The Toe Crusher’. Lasith Malinga, the deadly Sri Lankan fast bowler who is known for his toe crushing yorkers once said that he learnt the art of delivering high speed toe crushers by watching Waqar in action. Waqar could not have got a better tribute than that!

Indian Squad for Sri Lanka T20I's Announced, Virat Kohli Rested

Team India, flying high after their victorious campaign in the T20I's down under where they absolutely decimated and decapitated the Australian team, will host the current ICC WT20 champions Sri Lanka at home for three T20 matches. It was at the hands of a clinical Lankan team that India was defeated in the ICC WT20 2014 in Bangladesh.

The Indian team for the three match series was announced today and the biggest surprise was that the man going through a purple patch, Virat Kohli, was rested ahead of the Asia Cup T20I's and the ICC WT20. Unless he has a niggle and is injured I don't see much sense in this decision of resting him. Sometimes, when you rest a player in good form he losses that golden touch upon comeback. Virat was the leading run scorer in the recently concluded T20I series where he hit a half century in all the three matches tallying 199 runs while getting out only once.

On a positive note the injured Ajinkya Rahane is back and he will be looking to play a few good innings and cement his in the strong middle order. Manish Pandey, after scoring that wonderful maiden hundred in the last ODI to help India win, will also look for an opportunity to showcase his talent in the shortest format of the game.

Yuvraj, the man who struggled to last bat on ball on that black night in Bangladesh will especially be eager to make amends and reclaim his slot in the Indian middle order. Most of the blame for India's loss was put on the head of Yuvraj and rightly so as he had plodded and prodded to a 21 ball 11. Yuvraj redeemed himself partially when he made an impact on the 3rd T20I at Sydney by hitting a four and a six off the first two balls and getting India within touching distance of a win before Raina sealed it with a boundary off the last ball.

On the bowling front of will be interesting to now if Harbhajan gets a chance ahead of Ashwin. Pawan Negi, a left arm spinner has also been picked but it remains to be seen if he can get a game in place of the inform Jadeja. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, the swing bowler, also returns to the squad after missing out on the Australia series with a fractured thumb.

Revenge is a very unpleasant word and I don't believe in it, but India will be eager to face Sri Lanka again in the same format. There will be that little extra motivation for the team to go all out for a win. They must have been looking forward to this tie for quite some time so that some haunting ghosts from the past can be laid to rest.

India's Fantastico T20 squad for Sri Lanka T20I series

MS Dhoni (capt), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Pawan Negi.

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

The Fantastico 4 who made 3-0 Possible in Australia

The Indians inflicted a rare whitewash on the Australian Team in the T20I series by defeating them 3-0 in the process climbing to the top of the ICC T20I Rankings. This was a perfect start for Team India as they play T20I's against Sri Lanka and the T20I Asia Cup in the prelude the bigger picture of hosting the ICC WT20 in March-April 2016.

The Fantastico 4 who made this victory possible!

Rohit Sharma

He gave a good start to the Indians in all the three matches and with Shikhar Dhawan out of sorts, it was Rohit who gave India the push that helped them achieve big totals in all the three matches. With scores of 31, 60 and 52 he was the rock at the top of the order and together with Kohli laid the foundation for all 3 Indian victories. Rohit was the rock at the top who took on the fearsome Tait and also held steady after India lost Dhawan early.

Virat Kohli

He was the star batsman scoring 199 runs in 3 innings while getting out only once. His scores of 90*, 59* and 50 ensured that India posted two huge totals for the Australians to chase at Adelaide and Melbourne while his 50 at Sydney held the middle order together in the third T20I. He was also a panther in the field except one blemish in the last T20I where he dropped Watson in the deep. He was the Man of the Series and played the biggest part in Team India's win over Australia.

Jasprit Bumrah

Bumrah picked up 6 wickets in the three matches at a strike rate of 11.5. Although his economy rate of almost 9 was on the higher side but he was exceptional in the death overs with his accurate searing yorkers. It was his 3-23 in Adelaide that turned the tide in India's favour after the Aussie openers had got off to a rapid start. He was the young star that was discovered by India and he will surely be one to watch out for in the near future.

Ravindra Jadeja

Jadeja picked up 5 wickets in the three matches and it was he who put the screws in the middle overs and strangled the life out of the Aussie middle order. His economy rate of less than 8 is also very good considering that almost 200 runs were scored in all the three matches. He was the best Indian fielder on display making several sprawling saves in the outfield while also plucking catches out of the thin air.

There were other players who played their part in India's victory like Suresh Raina who guided the Indian chase in the final T20I and R Ashwin who was brilliant in patches but the above mentioned Fantastico 4 had the greatest combined impact on the T20I series sweep that India achieved.

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

My Gold Morning Dreams!!

#Mornings

I am a morning person. Fewer moments awaken an unbridled joy in my heart than a beautiful orange-candied sun kissing the gloomy silver draped skies, heralding a new dawn, a bright brand new day. The cup of a new day brims over with the promise of an abundance of gifts that the universe holds for each one of us. The warmth of positivity seeps deep into the layers of the skin. Rays of hope break open the barriers anchored in our hearts. We are inspired to rise and awaken in our own uniqueness that paves the path to freedom. It's a universal feeling I believe. There's a reason people all over wish each other GOOD Morning as a greeting, isn't it?

#MyGoodMorningsNow

I get up at 5 in the morning everyday and yet I don't remember the last time I watched the spectacle of sunrise. How disappointing! It's the same old grind of the urban routine that most of us stay trapped in for most of our lives... Work, eat, sleep, repeat. Where is the time then to bask in the beauties that life comes endowed with? Instead there are deadlines to adhere to, projects to complete, reports to submit... so much stress!

As hopeless as this scenario may sound, I consider myself really fortunate to witness a few such glorious sunrises all over my life. I have readily left the warmth of the quilts to catch the rising sun spark fire on lofty icy mountain peaks. Ah, what a mesmerising sight! Cut to the fast-paced city grind though, my morning loving soul only finds solace in gazing up at the sky for a few minutes after leaving home for office at 7. That rendezvous with nature is one of the best parts of my day. The time when I look up towards the sky and find my mind totally at peace in her soothing embrace.

#Colgate360GoldMornings

But you know something? I wish my mornings from turn from good to gold one day... I dream of waking up in the silences of the mountains, somewhere one day. When the sky is dark and the stars are still twinkling; I will take delight in the colourfully changing scenes of the sky. Like a blushing bride, she will slowly come out of oblivion. Painting the entire silhouetted canvas of the horizons from black to silver to crimson to red, then finally that veil of golden. I will bask in the beauty of her golden company, breathing life into every being. Mine, yours, us, care-free, worry-free... Reminding us of the infinite beauties of nature. Reminding us that there is more to life than appointments to keep and bosses to report to. Reminding us to be happy. To enjoy every precious moment, spent in the company of ME in the lap of nature.

Wasim Akram, The Sultan of Swing - Pakistani Fast Bowling Greats

Pakistan has always been able to produce quality fast bowlers and they have always had my fascination and respect in that particular regard. Some of the best bowlers I grew up adoring were the pace bowlers from the neighbouring country. An Indian cricket fan is always in awe of the fast bowling talent that Pakistan seems to yield on an almost everyday basis! In the post I'll write about the best left arm bowler I've seen and was blessed enough to watch him bowl some extraordinary spells.

Wasim Akram

Wasim Akram came into the Pakistan side when their talismanic player Javed Miandad spotted his talent at a fast bowling trail held in Lahore. Wasim first appeared for Pakistan as an 18 year old in 1984 when he made his ODI debut against the Kiwi side. He would play his first test shortly and claimed 10 wickets in only his 2nd test match.

Known for his quick arm action, Wasim had the ability to both swing and seam the ball and his Fantastico control and high pace made him a genuine threat for any opposition batsman. He was known to conceal the ball during his run-up so that the batsman could not get a view of the ball, especially when he reverse swung the ball. It was almost impossible to play him when the ball began to reverse swing, he was a master exponent of the practise having mastered the art meticulously. Most of his wickets came by the way of bowled and leg before wicket as he had a ripping yorker in his arsenal.

Wasim was the key figure in Pakistan’s World Cup victory achieved under Imran Khan in 1992 in Australia. Wasim blasted a 33 off just 18 balls to propel them to a more than useful score of 249. He would them go on to claim 3 wickets in his 10 overs including the key wickets of Lamb and Lewis, both getting out bowled to the reverse swinging ball. Wasim played 356 ODI matches in total and picked up a whopping 502 wickets with an economy rate of under 4 runs per over.

He was also a very handy lower order batsman who was known for his ability to tonk the ball long and hard. His innings of 257* against Zimbabwe in 1996 while coming in at number 8 stands testimony to his batting capabilities.

He led Pakistan to the finals of the 1999 Cricket World Cup and was their highest wicket taker in the 2003 World Cup but was dumped unceremoniously from the team shortly as Pakistan had failed to qualify for the super 6 stage of that tournament. He claimed 414 wickets in 104 tests at an impressive strike rate of 54.

His control and accuracy while delivering the ball at high speed and the ability to move the ball both ways, in the air and off the wicket made him one of the most dangerous fast bowlers to have ever played the game. He continues to have a positive impact on cricket as a coach, commentator and grooms various young fast bowlers teaching them the finer nuances of the art that he was a master of!!