India will be looking to continue their dominating run against the West Indies when the sides face off in the final match of the series, starting from Tuesday at Mumbai. With the series already lost, West Indies will be keen on scoring some positive points ahead of the one-dayers, having shown tremendous courage and grit in the second innings of the second test match.
Sachin Tendulkar will be the man yet again under the spotlight. Playing at his home ground, and with the series already decided, the script couldn’t be any better for the legendary batsman to finally score his 100th international ton. India have made one change to their squad, axing Yuvraj Singh for Rohit Sharma. Sharma has been impressive in the Ranji trophy and the selectors want to give him a try before Team India’s tour to Down Under next month.
West Indies will look to draw inspiration from their spirited fightback in the second innings, after being bundled out in the first innings. Darren Bravo proved his mettle with a gritty century and was ably supported by Kirk Edwards and Adrain Barath. The youngsters will look to impress yet again, together with Shivnarine Chanderpaul who is expected to play in spite of a calf injury. The bowling department sums up the misery of the West Indies team ever since their intimidating fast bowlers retired.
Wankhede Stadium hosts its first match in over five years, when England won by a convincing margin.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Sri Lanka battle to keep series alive
Sri Lanka enter into the fourth ODI facing a grim battle to avoid yet another series defeat following the World Cup. Misbah ul Haq, on the other hand, will be looking to continue his impressive run as skipper and cap a series win against the No. 2 ODI side in the world.
The third ODI provided a sensational display of hard-fought cricket, with Pakistan’s energy and fighting spirit coupled with some astute captaincy completing their 21-run win.
Mohammed Hafeez’s Man-of-the-Match performance adds some confidence to the top order, though the middle-order needs to patch up having failed to reach a total of 300+ after being well-set in the third ODI.
Pakistan’s spinners will look to continue tormenting their opposition, with Saeed Ajmal almost unreadable for the less-experienced Sri Lankan batsmen. The fast bowlers looked less impressive, though Umar Gul ended up with three wickets.
One department where Pakistan have to improve considerably is their fielding. Pakistan were lucky to come out winners after missing several run-outs and other half-chances, and they will be keen to avoid complacency in the department.
Sri Lanka’s tendency to keep losing wickets regularly continues to cost them heavily. Tillakaratne Dilshan’s return to form would ideally spark a change in fortunes. Besides looking to build partnerships, their batsmen also need to work on their running between the wickets, as many mix-ups were witnessed on Friday. Mahela Jayawardene, having just reached 10,000 ODI runs, will be hoping to contribute heavily in the coming games to lead a struggling middle-order.
For the Sri Lankan bowlers, consistency is what their aim must be. Though they made a good comeback in the later overs, they were all over the place to begin with, allowing Pakistani openers a good opening stand.
Team news
Pakistan have no major reasons to spring around changes as Sohail Tanvir may be given an extended run. Sri Lanka could bring in left-arm Chanaka Welegedera, replacing the injured Suranga Lakmal, for underperforming Dilhara Fernando to provide control and variety.
Ground
Cricket returns to Sharjah after a long gap as two-test playing nations will be in action here after eight years. The last such match was the 2000th ODI, played between Pakistan and Zimbabwe in 2003. The pitch is renowned for favoring the batsmen, with many high-scoring day/night thrillers having been played in the 1990s.
The third ODI provided a sensational display of hard-fought cricket, with Pakistan’s energy and fighting spirit coupled with some astute captaincy completing their 21-run win.
Mohammed Hafeez’s Man-of-the-Match performance adds some confidence to the top order, though the middle-order needs to patch up having failed to reach a total of 300+ after being well-set in the third ODI.
Pakistan’s spinners will look to continue tormenting their opposition, with Saeed Ajmal almost unreadable for the less-experienced Sri Lankan batsmen. The fast bowlers looked less impressive, though Umar Gul ended up with three wickets.
One department where Pakistan have to improve considerably is their fielding. Pakistan were lucky to come out winners after missing several run-outs and other half-chances, and they will be keen to avoid complacency in the department.
Sri Lanka’s tendency to keep losing wickets regularly continues to cost them heavily. Tillakaratne Dilshan’s return to form would ideally spark a change in fortunes. Besides looking to build partnerships, their batsmen also need to work on their running between the wickets, as many mix-ups were witnessed on Friday. Mahela Jayawardene, having just reached 10,000 ODI runs, will be hoping to contribute heavily in the coming games to lead a struggling middle-order.
For the Sri Lankan bowlers, consistency is what their aim must be. Though they made a good comeback in the later overs, they were all over the place to begin with, allowing Pakistani openers a good opening stand.
Team news
Pakistan have no major reasons to spring around changes as Sohail Tanvir may be given an extended run. Sri Lanka could bring in left-arm Chanaka Welegedera, replacing the injured Suranga Lakmal, for underperforming Dilhara Fernando to provide control and variety.
Ground
Cricket returns to Sharjah after a long gap as two-test playing nations will be in action here after eight years. The last such match was the 2000th ODI, played between Pakistan and Zimbabwe in 2003. The pitch is renowned for favoring the batsmen, with many high-scoring day/night thrillers having been played in the 1990s.
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.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Wounded Australia promise improved show
Australia will not mind having to play over five days as long as they are able to square the two-test series against South Africa. The second test match starts on Thursday at the Wanderers in Johannesburg. After an action-packed first test that saw the game see-saw within hours and wrapped up inside three days, both sides will be wary of avoiding a repeat of their colossal batting collapses.
Australia have a few changes to make and they will be hoping these changes come good. Back injury to Shaun Marsh has ruled him out of the remaining matches and David Warner has been flown in as replacement. However, Usman Khawaja, the first Muslim to represent Australia, is likely to be take Marsh’s spot in the playing eleven. Another prospective change is to award the baggy green to fast-bowler Pat Cummins, at the expense of either Peter Siddle or the usually-inconsistent Mitchell Johnson, both of whom picked up one wicket apiece in the first test.
South Africa, despite their batting succumbing miserably in the first innings at Cape Town, are likely to resist making changes. Opener Jacques Rudolph, although failed in both innings, is likely to be given an extended run on his return from exile. Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla stamped their authority with aggressive centuries and the rest of the batting order will hope to take cue from it. Vernon Philander’s impressive show on debut means the bowling unit also looks relatively stable. Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel will be keen on extracting the maximum out of the pacer-friendly pitch at the Wanderers.
The Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg is known for its pacer-friendly pitches and both the teams will be looking to make maximum use of it. If Australia need some motivation going into the match, they must remember that they have won their test match at Johannesburg each time on their four previous tours, dating back to 1997. Jacques Kallis has a strong record at the ground, being the only batsman with over 1000 test runs.
The match may witness frequent rain interruptions with short thundershowers expected through the next seven days.
Australia have a few changes to make and they will be hoping these changes come good. Back injury to Shaun Marsh has ruled him out of the remaining matches and David Warner has been flown in as replacement. However, Usman Khawaja, the first Muslim to represent Australia, is likely to be take Marsh’s spot in the playing eleven. Another prospective change is to award the baggy green to fast-bowler Pat Cummins, at the expense of either Peter Siddle or the usually-inconsistent Mitchell Johnson, both of whom picked up one wicket apiece in the first test.
South Africa, despite their batting succumbing miserably in the first innings at Cape Town, are likely to resist making changes. Opener Jacques Rudolph, although failed in both innings, is likely to be given an extended run on his return from exile. Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla stamped their authority with aggressive centuries and the rest of the batting order will hope to take cue from it. Vernon Philander’s impressive show on debut means the bowling unit also looks relatively stable. Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel will be keen on extracting the maximum out of the pacer-friendly pitch at the Wanderers.
The Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg is known for its pacer-friendly pitches and both the teams will be looking to make maximum use of it. If Australia need some motivation going into the match, they must remember that they have won their test match at Johannesburg each time on their four previous tours, dating back to 1997. Jacques Kallis has a strong record at the ground, being the only batsman with over 1000 test runs.
The match may witness frequent rain interruptions with short thundershowers expected through the next seven days.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
