Couch Talk 196 with Simon Taufel
6 years ago
Showing posts with label rohit sharma. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rohit sharma. Show all posts
What India gained from the West Indian tour
The tour didn't get ignored as much as I'd thought, actually - quite unlike Raina's first captaincy stint in the tri-series with Zimbabwe and Bangladesh year. There was plenty of interest in the progress of India's next cricketing generation. Here's a list of things that have been added to our knowledge over the course of the T20I, ODIs and Tests.
- I have no idea what Shikhar Dhawan is doing in the team with Rahane and his runs lying around.
- Parthiv Patel has looked like a classy opener for months without scoring big runs. It's like he's a lefty Rohit Sharma or something.
- Badrinath only looks like he may be an effective Test player when he's playing T20's.
- Ashwin can't take wickets when no one is attacking him. He can't use the new ball for India, because we already have good new-ball bowlers.
- Rohit Sharma may have turned the corner. Where a banana skin may still be lurking. That expression never makes sense to me. Does 'turning a corner' mean revolving where you stand while you're in a corner?
- Raina shouldn't be captain - it neutralizes his midwicket-hacks. And he has registered himself for a huge English test by scoring those Test runs.
- Manoj Tiwary deserves another chance.
- Yusuf Pathan does not.
- Rahul Dravid still has some juice in him. Which is good, or else he'd be dehydrated from all the sweat. I think he's only programmed to bat in tough conditions at this point.
- Abhinav Mukund is going to have a real tough time in that first Test against England.
- Virat Kohli. Not ready. Tests. Future of India. Time on his hands. Attitude.
- Hey, Murali Vijay won CSK the IPL4 trophy.
- Praveen Kumar can be very useful in the right conditions. And he's still a tidy bowler when it's not swinging. He will be competing with Munaf and Sreesanth for the third seamer's position though... and going by Dhoni's track record, I have a suspicious suspicion about who might win that spot.
- It's great to see that Ishant is not cutting down on pace. For now.
- Sehwag, Gambhir and a great Indian spinner are conspicuous by absence.
Coming soon, to a blog near you (this one): England vs India preview.
Rohit Sharma: Flashes in the pan
It has been four years (plus 6 days, but who's counting) since Rohit Sharma made his debut. He was, at the time, an obligatory new face that had to be brought in after India's epic World Cup campaign in '07. Obviously that couldn't be the only reason he was picked - he had a decent start in domestic cricket, including a fifty on first-class debut against New Zealand A and a match-winning innings on his List A debut (Pujara and Jadeja were the other debutants). And anyone who has seen him bat will know that there's no way this guy can remain a mere domestic cricketer.
Following his composed, series-sealing innings against the West Indies, there were plenty of those perfunctory 'coming of age' remarks and articles about him. This is not one of them. I just decided to look at some stats and think-analyze-write about them. Just out of curiosity for how often RG Sharma seems to have got on track.
He didn't get to bat on his debut, in a match against Ireland. And when he did, it took him a couple of innings to get to double figures. In fact, it was a classy half-century against Pakistan, in a dead rubber (which, incidentally, was Praveen Kumar's debut - he fittingly began his career with a maiden). Sharma's mode of dismissal was a familiar one - caught at long-on just when he was looking like winning the game. He was the topscorer though.
That innings, though not matchwinning, was significant in another sense - it got him a fixed spot for India's next one-day assignment: a tri-series in Australia, also featuring Sri Lanka. We know that series because India won it - we know it better because of Sachin's performances in the finals. Sharma managed to catch the eye of many with some vital contributions, including a couple of half-centuries.
It was after this that the lean period started. And by lean, I really mean string-thin. Much unlike the rope that the selectors were handing him. I don't mean it was a thick rope, I mean long. Okay, I could have set that up better. Point is, the stats for all the series (seven of them) between June '08 and June'09 are quite dismal. In the 25 innings in that period, he averaged in the low 20s with just one half-century, in a high-scoring loss to Pakistan.
It was eight months before he played his next ODI - and he scored 48 in a dead rubber against South Africa, chasing 365. It probably didn't matter much, but there's a tiny chance that it influenced his selection to the tour of Zimbabwe. Yeah, he probably would've been picked in that second-string side even if he had come off a bunch of ducks in domestic games (that is a really strange sentence). Anyway, he was a bright shining light for India in that seemingly pointless series. Bright, bright, shiny light. And by that I mean he scored a couple of hundreds (his only ones so far) and then fizzled out.
His performance in India's successful Asia Cup campaign meant more praise, and also that he was firmly back in the general scheme of things. Until, of course, the next tournament. 20 runs in 4 innings against Sri Lanka and New Zealand, followed by 49 runs in 5 innings in South Africa pretty much sealed his fate ahead of the World Cup. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Except it isn't. It was a really good way to end that last paragraph though, right? Anyway, it isn't history. It's fairly recent. And that ODI series against the West Indies? Ended last week. Definitely not history. And Sharma batted remarkably well in a series where the only consistent thing about India's batting was its tendency to succumb to the domino effect.
So, this could be a complete turnaround and be the first series of the rest of his career, or it could be one of his many flashes in the pan. He could be RG or WG. Provides some super content to write on, either way.
Note 1: This was first published at Sportskeeda, where it could win me an iPhone 4 - all you have to is head over to it and 'like' it, and comment if you want to.
Note 2: I started writing this around the time of the 4th ODI and forgot about it. So yeah, it's a bit delayed, and not too dated hopefully.
Following his composed, series-sealing innings against the West Indies, there were plenty of those perfunctory 'coming of age' remarks and articles about him. This is not one of them. I just decided to look at some stats and think-analyze-write about them. Just out of curiosity for how often RG Sharma seems to have got on track.
He didn't get to bat on his debut, in a match against Ireland. And when he did, it took him a couple of innings to get to double figures. In fact, it was a classy half-century against Pakistan, in a dead rubber (which, incidentally, was Praveen Kumar's debut - he fittingly began his career with a maiden). Sharma's mode of dismissal was a familiar one - caught at long-on just when he was looking like winning the game. He was the topscorer though.
That innings, though not matchwinning, was significant in another sense - it got him a fixed spot for India's next one-day assignment: a tri-series in Australia, also featuring Sri Lanka. We know that series because India won it - we know it better because of Sachin's performances in the finals. Sharma managed to catch the eye of many with some vital contributions, including a couple of half-centuries.
It was after this that the lean period started. And by lean, I really mean string-thin. Much unlike the rope that the selectors were handing him. I don't mean it was a thick rope, I mean long. Okay, I could have set that up better. Point is, the stats for all the series (seven of them) between June '08 and June'09 are quite dismal. In the 25 innings in that period, he averaged in the low 20s with just one half-century, in a high-scoring loss to Pakistan.
It was eight months before he played his next ODI - and he scored 48 in a dead rubber against South Africa, chasing 365. It probably didn't matter much, but there's a tiny chance that it influenced his selection to the tour of Zimbabwe. Yeah, he probably would've been picked in that second-string side even if he had come off a bunch of ducks in domestic games (that is a really strange sentence). Anyway, he was a bright shining light for India in that seemingly pointless series. Bright, bright, shiny light. And by that I mean he scored a couple of hundreds (his only ones so far) and then fizzled out.
His performance in India's successful Asia Cup campaign meant more praise, and also that he was firmly back in the general scheme of things. Until, of course, the next tournament. 20 runs in 4 innings against Sri Lanka and New Zealand, followed by 49 runs in 5 innings in South Africa pretty much sealed his fate ahead of the World Cup. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Except it isn't. It was a really good way to end that last paragraph though, right? Anyway, it isn't history. It's fairly recent. And that ODI series against the West Indies? Ended last week. Definitely not history. And Sharma batted remarkably well in a series where the only consistent thing about India's batting was its tendency to succumb to the domino effect.
So, this could be a complete turnaround and be the first series of the rest of his career, or it could be one of his many flashes in the pan. He could be RG or WG. Provides some super content to write on, either way.
Note 1: This was first published at Sportskeeda, where it could win me an iPhone 4 - all you have to is head over to it and 'like' it, and comment if you want to.
Note 2: I started writing this around the time of the 4th ODI and forgot about it. So yeah, it's a bit delayed, and not too dated hopefully.
India's squad for the Windie tour
India's selectors threw up a squad for the tour to the West Indies today - and there were no surprises. Partly because Srikkanth and Co. have lost the ability to shock us, but mostly because it is, after all, a tour to the West Indies.
Squad: Gautam Gambhir (c), Suresh Raina, Parthiv Patel (wk), Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, S Badrinath, Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, R Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Vinay Kumar, Yusuf Pathan, Amit Mishra, Wriddhiman Saha (wk).
With MS opting out (I presume), Gambhir will be the skipper (Fact: this originates from the Dutch word 'schipper', meaning 'shipper', or captain of the ship. I know there's a joke in here somewhere, about one-legged captains who can't run.) Raina will be the eager deputy, hoping to learn many things, like how Powerplays aren't magically constant.
India's World Cup squad picked
So contrary to the recent preparations, India have gone without Rohit Sharma, well done to them. They've gone with three spinners - Piyush Chawla the legspinner and Ravichandran Ashwin to go with Harby's off-spin.
There was no place for Rohit Sharma, who should and will be disappointed, as the only back-up batsman India have picked is Yusuf Pathan.
Well, well. So there were surprises here - Ojha hasn't been picked for the limited-overs side in a while, so his exclusion was expected, but Chawla's been in the wilderness for some time. I'm not sure the latter was needed - maybe a reserve keeper (Patel) or fast-bowler could have been picked, but Chief of Selectors Srikkanth is positively raving about not thinking negatively about injury concerns. Seriously, he's foaming at the mouth as I write this. Courtesy NDTV.
Here's the squad:
Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (c) (wk), Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Ashish Nehra, Yusuf Pathan, Piyush Chawla, Ravichandran Ashwin
Expect Ganguly fans to take to the streets again. I'm not sure why, and neither will they.
That's it for now. Dissection later, if any.
Rohit Sharma gets the easy runs
That's right, I'm not going to throw in the superlatives and praise his superb batsmanship like he's the next Sachin. He may have made back-to-back centuries, both times when India was in a spot of bother, but let's face it - the tracks have been flat, and the opposition bowling on both occasions was ordinary.
The good - he examined the situation. and paced his innings quite well both times.
The bad - better sides will not allow him so much breathing space, will probably not release the pressure on him to such a great extent.
The ugly - evil monkey from Family Guy.
I'm not saying this is bad, of course - the runs were there for the taking, and he's done just that. This is a stepping stone for him. He's got two international hundreds now (full of great strokes), he knows the feeling, and hopefully this has ignited a hunger for many more, because he's certainly capable.
Get fit, Rohit Sharma, and keep scoring.
The loss doesn't matter
India's loss to Zimbabwe in the first ODI of the tri-series doesn't matter too much. It is definitely a step backwards for us, but not because we lost.
It's pretty clear that the whole point of this series, from the selectors' point of view, is to try out new players - especially uncapped fast bowlers. And going by that, it was a disappointing game.
Vinay Kumar, Ashok Dinda and Umesh Yadav were all playing their first ODI, and barring certain moments, they looked mostly toothless. To be fair, it was a flat pitch and none of them are exactly express. Vinay Kumar picked up a couple of wickets but went for runs at the death. Umesh Yadav didn't bowl a consistent length, but managed to get a few deliveries to rear up. Always a good sign. Ashok Dinda just isn't good enough for international cricket - he had a few good spells in the IPL but he will struggle in different conditions. Bowling-wise, this game showed us again that spin is our strength. Playing Pragyan Ojha would definitely have won us the game, but then we wouldn't have seen much of one of the pacers.
The batting wasn't too great - it was a 350+ pitch and we struggled for the most part, only picking up the pace in the last 10-15 overs when Rohit Sharma went crazy and Jadeja supported him well. Dinesh Karthik and Murali Vijay played out too many dot balls, did the hard work of playing out the new ball while making Mpofu look threatening, and then got themselves in a spot by running poorly. Raina looked comfortable while Sharma was riding his luck. One of the two openers needs to be more aggressive, and I would definitely consider sending in Yusuf at one down - he has played long innings in domestic cricket and an opportunity wouldn't hurt.
Okay, enough rambling about nothing.
Three of Zimbabwe's five biggest chases have been against India.
India v Zimbabwe and other stuff that doesn't matter
India play Zimbabwe tomorrow in the first match of a tri-series. There are so many reasons not to bother with this series.
For one, it involves Zimbabwe, which is still a long way from a quality side. And there's Sri Lanka. Again. Between all the tests, ODI's, T20I's and the IPL, our players and their players are either sick of each of other or really good buddies. I suspect the former.
I also don't care much for ODI's. It's sort of a confused format - we know that tests are long and batsmen are all blocky, and we know that T20's are slambangy and really short. I don't know why, but for some reason I can watch five whole days of test cricket, and still am unable to sit through 100 overs of an ODI.
But I will be watching this tri-series, or at least India's games. One obvious reason is that India's playing. Another is that this mass resting of players actually has me intrigued - I don't think I've ever seen an Indian side devoid of its stars. The fact that Suresh Raina - who has only recently cemented his spot in ODI's - is the skipper, will go some way in showing us what we can expect from the future.
Sri Lanka hasn't rested as many players as India, and we can be sure that the 'bounce us out' strategy will be employed at some point by them as well as Zimbabwe. ODI's may be less manic than T20's, but this is a superb test of temperament for the likes of Raina, Kohli, Karthik and Rohit Sharma. Yusuf Pathan has a good chance of doing well this series, but he's still rubbish. Kieron Pollard has a similar reputation as a slogger and is doing a far better job than Yusuf. Naman Ojha is not ready for this level, and Jadeja lacks confidence as well as any sort of definition of his role.
The quicks will be observed closely, none more so than Umesh Yadav, seemingly the only bowler in India who bowls 140+ right now. Vinay Kumar is an old-school Indian medium pacer whose strength lies in accuracy, while I see limited opportunities for Pankaj Singh and Ashok Dinda.
PS. Also, this blog has been added to http://cricket.superblogroll.com, the blogroll for Cricket Blogs.
Raina as captain?
So the squad to tour Zimbabwe has been announced, and it is definitely a second-string side. Or as the selectors would call it, "a look into the future".
Squad: M Vijay, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Suresh Raina (capt), Virat Kohli (vice-capt), Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, Ashok Dinda, Pankaj Singh, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Naman Ojha Note: Piyush Chawla will join the squad for the Twenty20s.
Call me a pessimist, but I sense an upset win for Zimbabwe sometime on this tour. They haven't been all bad, and I think this series will be decided on the basis of which spinners bowl best.
Suresh Raina gets his first captaincy opportunity for India, while Virat Kohli will be the vice-captain. This makes sense, as these are the only two players in the squad who have somewhat cemented their places in the one-day side.
And it wouldn't be wise to ignore the series, it could certainly lead to the discovery of potential stars. Mega-money players, players who will earn bigger IPL contracts, do lots of ads, put in some performances for the country, earn some more money, and then ultimately disappoint everyone by getting out to a short balls or losing their pace and/or swing/spin.
Anyway, the players to look out for are Umesh Yadav, Pankaj Singh and Ashok Dinda. Pacers are in short supply for India at the moment, and while Yadav is the only one with the pace, bowlers with brains are needed too. Haven't seen too much of Pankaj, but Dinda seems the type who can keep it together in a T20, not much more. I hope Yadav plays every match, I'd love to see him do well.
The spin department apart from Bhaj is still a game of musical chairs. Ojha, Mishra and new contender Ashwin will continue their tango. I say why bother with quicks, just get Yadav to bowl a couple of quick overs and use all the spinners. But that's just me.
As for the batting, I have no doubt that Raina and Kohli deserve to be there, but Rohit Sharma, Vijay, Karthik and Yusuf will feast on the medium pace offerings and the spinners. What exactly has Yuvraj done to deserve a rest from this? Blah.
About the T20 World Cup... nothing.
Here we go
It's about five minutes until the match begins, and the news is already bad for India.
Laxman is out.
And it gets worse.
Rohit Sharma, his designated replacement, injured himself this morning.
And it gets worse.
His replacement is Wriddhiman Saha.
You can scream now.
This is a case of selector stupidity again - Dinesh Karthik dropped for Saha. Karthik went on to make two absurdly brilliant 150+ scores, taking South Zone near to a Duleep Final Trophy almost single-handedly. His experience and class would certainly have come in handy right now. I've seen Saha bat - he's talented, but to throw him in against Steyn, Morkel and Parnell, can't be good.
I can only hope he proves me wrong.
Murali Vijay has so far shown that he belongs in this team, and Badrinath is finally getting his chance after years of domestic excellence. He's a long term prospect and a good performance from him is crucial.
Right, the match has begun.
