NZ-India: Fifth ODI

India lost another dead rubber. This has been a trend with India for last few series and should be corrected if India wishes to become and stay at #1 ranking in world. The way ICC ranking works a dead rubber is as valuable as any other game in terms of gaining/losing points and treated equally.

For a change in this series, India batting did not fire and whole team was out before playing out the allotted overs. The batting lineup appeared to be on auto-pilot with none of the batsmen except Rohit Sharma trying to apply themselves according to the situation and play slowly but steadily. The batsmen need to realize that not all pitches would be batsmen friendly and there will be times where good old accumulation will be more useful than slam bang cricket.

After batsmen, it was bowlers turn to disappoint as they struggled to maintain tight line and length. It was as comprehensive and emphatic loss as could be.

The only silver lining that one can see is that this loss will keep Indian team grounded. Now they won’t be complacent in test series and would know that in case they slip, NZ team is good enough to take advantage of that and can cause upsets and surprises. Such a pathetic display in Tests could have affected India’s chances of win in test series in NZ after a long time very badly. Hopefully team will be more watchful now.

NZ-India: Third ODI

India won the third ODI too to take a 2-0 lead in the ODI series. The Indian batsmen fired again and in the end the margin of victory came out to be a pretty decent – 58 runs.

NZ gave India a good scare towards the beginning and end of run chase. The start they got from McCullum and Ryder had made the chase look achievable before they had a couple of run outs. Towards the end, Mills & Southee again created a scare as they kept up with the asking rate for quite some time. The drama in Patel’s over and Pathan coming over to complete Patel’s over resulted in the breakthrough India was looking for.

The first ball which was no-balled in that over led to heart burn for Indian fielders and expectedly so. It was no-balled after it was caught and batsman had refused to go. If it was a no-ball, umpires should have signalled it immediately and not waited for batsmen to “appeal” against it. Had NZ went on to win the match, there would have been a lot of hue and cry over this and Indians would have felt cheated.

In the first half, Indian batsmen dominated NZ after a slightly sluggish start and India made highest total scored in NZ by any team. Nearly every batsman joined the party and hit big shots at the expense of NZ bowlers. Sadly, Tendulkar was forced to retire hurt and he could not take a shot at 200 in this form of cricket.

Among the Indian batsmen, nearly all of them had at least one good score in NZ so far except Gambhir. He has not yet fired in any of the games so far and it will be critical for India’s success in Test matches for him to have some confidence and form before we start test series.

NZ tried well yesterday and the total was always going to be too large to chase and the best they can get from this series is a draw. So far, India has dominated them and it looks unlikely that this is going to change now.

NZ-India: First ODI

India beat NZ quite comfortably in the first ODI. This is how it happens when Indian batting fires and this is how it is going to happen on this tour. India batting did not do as well as expected during T20s and India lost both of them but this is not going to happen all the time.

India made explosive start with Sehwag at the fore-front and he tore apart Kiwi bowlers from the word go. The rain break also does not seem to affect him and India kept going at steady pace. Tendulkar was the first to go. NZ is among the few places where Sachin has not scored any ODI century and he should correct this in this tour which is his last in all likelihood. On his dismissal, Dhoni walked in at #3, an interesting move which I would take up in another post. Yuvraj struggled a bit on this pitch but after his dismissal, first Raina and then Pathan combined well with Dhoni and took India to a big total.

NZ innings started poorly with hero of T20s McCullum out cheaply and never got the momentum to challenge Indian total. The rain break also came at a very inopportune time since a wicket had just fallen which increased required total in D/L calculations. Meanwhile, Indian part spinners bowled well and restricted NZ top & middle orders.

Overall a thoroughly professional display by India.  I still believe that NZ team is much more competitive than we saw yesterday and they would still give India a good fight in this ODI series. The series is far from over and Indians should not get complacent after winning the watch so easily.

NZ beats India again

McCullum played a key role as NZ beat India in 2nd T20 International also. With this result NZ has maintained their clean slate against India in T20 Internationals. NZ is clearly a superior side in this format under the conditions and they will be tough to beat in ODIs also. India would have settled by then and acclimatised to conditions better, hence I think India would be a 3-2 winner.

This match was much closer that previous one and at one stage India looked like in a better situation to win it but McCullum's composure under pressure clinched the game for his team. Hopefully India will maintain the trend and keep improving with each match and soon we will see India leading in ODI series.

NZ tour starts

India began NZ tour with a loss in first T20 international. Not a surprise since NZ is very competitive team in shorter formats and Indians did not get any practice game. It was very similar to last year’s Aus series when India got thrashed badly in T20 international but came back to win ODI series. Like the last time, Indian team tried to impose itself on the opposition and win psychological points for a long battle which remained ahead. Last time, it went very badly and India lost the T20 comprehensively. The result this time is not that bad.

This match has actually given me hope that India would do better than I initially expected in this series. Indian batsmen did not feel much uncomfortable on pitch and scored freely though they went overboard in trying big hits. If nature of pitches remain same over the next weeks, India would be favourite to win test series though ODIs will still be close affair.

In terms of team composition, Irfan looks to be a liability and Praveen or Munaf would be a better choice. In batting, Rohit Sharma is slowly becoming a problem as it has been a long time he has played any useful inning. He had a great opportunity yesterday and he should have stayed on the crease and stabilized the innings with Raina but he missed another opportunity. Hopefully, Yuvraj will get into his elements soon. NZ tour would be a great opportunity for him to cement his place in Test side and also make people stop talking about his records on difficult pitches abroad.

New Zealand Tour: The most difficult test for Dhoni

Coming NZ tour would be the most difficult test for Dhoni's captaincy so far. NZ, for some reason, has turned out to be most difficult tour for Indian teams in the past. Last time, India was beaten 2-0 in tests and 5-1 in ODIs. This was just before 2003 WC where India was runners up. Whether it is the pitches or conditions, Indian teams have usually struggled there and this time would be no exception. How India and Dhoni comes out of it would be interesting to see as it will define if India has in it to become #1 team in the world.

A number of people have termed India as #1 team after their recent victories but in my opinion they are still way behind SA and even Aus. The away record needs to be improved and also the consistency. As per current standings, India should beat NZ 2-0 or 3-0 in tests and by a huge margin in ODIs as well. Lets see and hope India gets the same result on field also which is expected on paper as per team strength and rating.