India, the world champions, enter the one-day series against West Indies as firm favorites and one should expect little surprises, if any, in terms of results. West Indies have only upward to look to as their form in the 50-over format of the game has not been any impressive either.
India will be led by the explosive Virender Sehwag, with the selectors deciding to rest regular skipper MS Dhoni ahead of the tough Australian tour. For them it is a matter of continuing their winning run as well as testing their bench strength. Sachin Tendulkar has also been rested while Yuvraj Singh is unavailable as he battles lung tumor.
India have fared reasonably well off late, clean-sweeping England at home to add to the World Cup glory earlier in the year. In addition, they beat West Indies in West Indies as well, winning the first three ODIs before falling away in the last two inconsequential matches. The only glitch in an otherwise perfect year has come in the form of the abysmal tour to England where they lost 3-0.
West Indies will yet again be looking for answers to their miseries that surround them. Since crashing out in the quarter-final at the World Cup, the team has lost home series against Pakistan and India. While they won the ODI series in Bangladesh, the victory came through the tough route having lost the first match before bouncing back in the following two matches.
The absence of Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo has proven costly in recent times, and the young side will be looking to silence the critics with impressive performances. Darren Bravo has been a revelation on the tour and his teammates will look to draw inspiration from him.
Barabati Stadium in Cuttack hosts the day/night encounter. India have lost only two ODIs in two decades at this ground. With the match being played late in November, dew factor could be important and may affect the captain’s decision after winning the toss.
Showing posts with label ODI. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ODI. Show all posts
Monday, November 28, 2011
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Pakistan wary of resurgent Sri Lanka
If there’s something you’re sure of about Pakistan going into every match, it is their unpredictable nature. After a convincing win in the first win, Pakistan gave Sri Lanka a much-needed morale-boosting win to level the series. The teams clash for a third time on Friday, and getting your nose ahead in this game may ultimately prove crucial in the context of the series.
Sri Lanka would be buoyed by the return to form of their key batsmen Upul Tharanga and Mahela Jayawardene, both scoring half-centuries. The batting though still has some questions to answer, as a total of 235 seemed disappointing following a breezy start when they reached 50 in 10 overs. Angelo Mathews, playing purely as a batsman, will have to do more to justify his position at No. 6. The bowling, though won them the match, still largely depends on Lasith Malinga and can be seen as a handicap. While Thissara Perera looked threatening, the rest of the bowlers easily allowed Pakistan to come back after being 3-11 inside four overs. Suranga Lakmal missed the second match through injury, and is still uncertain for the third ODI.
Pakistan must realize that despite outdoing Sri Lanka in all departments of the game overall, the series is still level. It is the key moments that Sri Lanka seized on Monday and Pakistan need to avoid a repeat of those. Umar Akmal’s 91-run knock is a welcome sign, but the 21-year old batsman still has to learn to take his team over the line to consider his job done. Mohammad Hafeez has failed in two outings thus far, but there are no alarms yet over his place in the team. Sloppy running and poor batting let them down on Monday, and the coach Mohsin Khan is expected to have come hard the players to avoid a similar situation. In the bowling, Aizaz Cheema may make way for left-arm pacer Junaid Khan who is also known for his controlled bowling in the death overs. Saeed Ajmal yet again proved expensive in the final overs, bringing back memories of the infamous T20 semi-final against Australia in 2010 when Mike Hussey took Ajmal to cleaners.
Sri Lanka would be buoyed by the return to form of their key batsmen Upul Tharanga and Mahela Jayawardene, both scoring half-centuries. The batting though still has some questions to answer, as a total of 235 seemed disappointing following a breezy start when they reached 50 in 10 overs. Angelo Mathews, playing purely as a batsman, will have to do more to justify his position at No. 6. The bowling, though won them the match, still largely depends on Lasith Malinga and can be seen as a handicap. While Thissara Perera looked threatening, the rest of the bowlers easily allowed Pakistan to come back after being 3-11 inside four overs. Suranga Lakmal missed the second match through injury, and is still uncertain for the third ODI.
Pakistan must realize that despite outdoing Sri Lanka in all departments of the game overall, the series is still level. It is the key moments that Sri Lanka seized on Monday and Pakistan need to avoid a repeat of those. Umar Akmal’s 91-run knock is a welcome sign, but the 21-year old batsman still has to learn to take his team over the line to consider his job done. Mohammad Hafeez has failed in two outings thus far, but there are no alarms yet over his place in the team. Sloppy running and poor batting let them down on Monday, and the coach Mohsin Khan is expected to have come hard the players to avoid a similar situation. In the bowling, Aizaz Cheema may make way for left-arm pacer Junaid Khan who is also known for his controlled bowling in the death overs. Saeed Ajmal yet again proved expensive in the final overs, bringing back memories of the infamous T20 semi-final against Australia in 2010 when Mike Hussey took Ajmal to cleaners.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Upbeat Pakistan look to extend lead
After roaring to a convincing victory in the first match, Pakistan will be keen on carrying the winning momentum in the second ODI against Sri Lanka on Monday. Sri Lanka, the World Cup finalists, though have plenty of worries going into the match, having tasted very little success in the past six months.
Pakistan could not have scripted a better performance than the show they put up on Friday. The fast bowlers started off well, maintained the pressure and eventually the spinners breathed down Sri Lanka’s batting with contained bowling and crucial wickets. Bowling will once again be the key for Pakistan, and the blend of youth and experience is allowing them to adjust into their own roles well. The variety at Misbah ul Haq’s disposal is also something any captain would cherish on the slow, low surfaces of Dubai. The bulk of the batting is yet to be tested, though half-centuries from Imran Farhat and Younis Khan should do their own confidence a lot of good plus silence their critics to some extent. The all-rounders give Pakistan some easy breathing space, with hard-hitting Abdul Razzaq coming in at number eight. But all eyes will once again be on Shahid Afridi, expectations from whom are sky high following his Man-of-the-Match performance on his comeback.
Sri Lankan dressing room presents a totally opposite scenario to that of Pakistan. Their batting woes fail to go away, and even wholesale changes to the squad from the test series brought little luck, if any. Their batsmen need to get their act right urgently, as too many batsmen threw their wickets away to soft dismissals. Failure to convert the starts into big scores has been a recurring problem for the Tigers. The bowling also looked toothless, though it can be argued that it was a result of trying too hard defending a paltry total of 131. Lasith Malinga looked off-color but such is his threat that he can come good any moment. Suranga Lakmal continues to impress and if Pakistan are complacent against him, the latter can be caught off guard against Lakmal.
The conditions will be similar to the first match played here, with warm temperatures expected throughout the day/night encounter. The captain winning the toss is likely to favor batting first. Interestingly, the team winning the toss on this ground has won only once out of six attempts.
Pakistan could not have scripted a better performance than the show they put up on Friday. The fast bowlers started off well, maintained the pressure and eventually the spinners breathed down Sri Lanka’s batting with contained bowling and crucial wickets. Bowling will once again be the key for Pakistan, and the blend of youth and experience is allowing them to adjust into their own roles well. The variety at Misbah ul Haq’s disposal is also something any captain would cherish on the slow, low surfaces of Dubai. The bulk of the batting is yet to be tested, though half-centuries from Imran Farhat and Younis Khan should do their own confidence a lot of good plus silence their critics to some extent. The all-rounders give Pakistan some easy breathing space, with hard-hitting Abdul Razzaq coming in at number eight. But all eyes will once again be on Shahid Afridi, expectations from whom are sky high following his Man-of-the-Match performance on his comeback.
Sri Lankan dressing room presents a totally opposite scenario to that of Pakistan. Their batting woes fail to go away, and even wholesale changes to the squad from the test series brought little luck, if any. Their batsmen need to get their act right urgently, as too many batsmen threw their wickets away to soft dismissals. Failure to convert the starts into big scores has been a recurring problem for the Tigers. The bowling also looked toothless, though it can be argued that it was a result of trying too hard defending a paltry total of 131. Lasith Malinga looked off-color but such is his threat that he can come good any moment. Suranga Lakmal continues to impress and if Pakistan are complacent against him, the latter can be caught off guard against Lakmal.
The conditions will be similar to the first match played here, with warm temperatures expected throughout the day/night encounter. The captain winning the toss is likely to favor batting first. Interestingly, the team winning the toss on this ground has won only once out of six attempts.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Pakistan gear up for Lankan aggression in ODIs
After winning the three-match test series 1-0, Pakistan face Sri Lanka in the five-match one-day series starting in Dubai from Friday.
While the tests produced defensive batting reminiscent of the early 90s, the crowds and the audience alike will hope for the one-day series to yield some attacking cricket – something that has been a characteristic of the two sides, specially in the shorter versions of the game.
While the tests produced defensive batting reminiscent of the early 90s, the crowds and the audience alike will hope for the one-day series to yield some attacking cricket – something that has been a characteristic of the two sides, specially in the shorter versions of the game.
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