All Round Performance By Team India In The Opener

India could not have asked for a better start to their World Cup campaign. More than the win itself, the individual performance of most of the players will hold India in good stead for the rest of the Tournament. India will take a lot of encouragement from the performances of their pace bowlers Munaf Patel and Zaheer Khan. Now India should be able to get their bowling combination absolutely right. Ashish Nehra should come in the side for Sreesanth. I think there is also case for Piyush Chawala who can come for either Harbhajan or Yusuf Pathan. The other way is to have two pacers in Zaheer and Munaf and bring in Chawala for Sreesanth.

It was a very good toss for India to lose. I think for the coming games Mahender Singh need not ponder before opting bat on winning the toss. Fielding first has not been a fruitful decision traditionally in the World Cup and Indian captain should have a sense of history. It also remains to be seen as to how India performs when they are required to chase a big total. This World Cup has started on an spectacular note with India avenging their 2007 loss against Bangladesh. Bangladesh on the other hand would have done well had they opted to bat first on winning the toss. Had Bangladesh batted first and posted the same total as they did chasing, I think they would have had India under some kind of pressure given they caused India's elimination in the 2007 World Cup.

An Apt Beginning To World Cup 2011 For Top Contenders India

Sehwag became the first to achieve most of the milestones in the World Cup 2011. Sehwag kicked off India's campaign for the World Cup 2011 by hitting the first ball of the World Cup 2011 for a four in his indomitable style. You could see a lot of nerves in the young Bangladesh bowlers at the beginning of the World Cup. Sehwag not only hit the first four of the prestigious tournament, but also hit the first six of the tournament, and most notably the first hundred of the tournament. He was also involved in the first run out of the tournament. He could have also become the first man to score a double hundred in any edition of the World Cup had Kohli given him more strike. He will be of course the first man of the match of this edition of the extravagant piece.

It turned out to be a bad decision by Bangladesh captain to have fielded first. He went according to the past record on the ground and the expected due today. But when the overall difference between the two teams is as big as between these two teams, it is always better for a weaker team to bat first to have any chance of emerging the winner. They had different bowlers in 2007 edition, which contained and dismissed the Indian team and then chased down a manageable total. It was probably a good toss for India to lose and I expect Dhoni will admit the same in the post match conference.

Bangladesh bowlers were nervy in the beginning and bowled wayward making the job of the Indian batsman much more easier. The veteran of the five World Cups, Sachin Tendulkar too was feeling the nerves. Had the Bangladesh batsmen hold on to their own, they could have got the better of Sachin Tendulkar early in the innings. Sachin was hitting only the bad balls to the boundaries.

Despite the great start by India, I think a lot of Indian fans will be disappointed for the fact that Sachin did not get a big innings here. The fans must have been hoping as he must himself that Sachin gets the first of those three hundreds that will get him to the hundreds of hundreds. Nonetheless, he will be able to play more comfortably on the back of team's performance in the opener.

Sachin's fans would have expected Sehwag to sacrifice himself when Sachin run-out was in the offing. I think it had to do more with the nerves than anything else. I did not see a run there so did Sehwag. Sehwag cannot be blamed even if someone would be optimistic about him sacrificing his own wicket for someone whom he proclaimed as his guru. If not for himself, it was important for Sehwag to stay at the crease than Sachin Tendulkar. A sehwag among runs is a great sign for the Indian team for their prospect in the 2011 World Cup.

Sehwag played according to his own reputation, fearless and attacking all the time. He also fulfilled his desire and aim to bat long. This innings will go a long way for Sehwag's performance and India's chances in this World Cup. I would have loved to see Sehwag getting 200, which would have made him the only batsman in the history of the game to have scored a triple in tests and double in one dayers.

Virat Kohli's outing also augurs well for India. Gautam Gambhir and Tendulkar too got among runs. India will play much more comfortably in their next encounters. They have got the Bangladesh monkey off their back and have dealt with initial nerves. From now onwards India will be a difficult team to beat.

Bangladesh too deserves credit for putting up the fight chasing a mammoth target of 371. Sreesanth, I guess, is getting too much excited for one's liking. After all, India were playing against Bangladesh and they were defending a mammoth score. Sreesanth went overboard and bowled rather wildly. It would have been better for Sreesanth to maintain his line and length and get into his rhythm early in the tournament as there was no pressure. It was good to see Munaf getting his rhythm back. I personally feel Ashish Nehra would be more handy than both Sreesanth and Munaf. Nehra is a wicket taking bowler and produces wicket taking deliveries more than Sreesanth, if not, Munaf.

The signs for other teams are ominous as most of Indian batsmen have struck form. The only concern is Yuvraj Singh, but Yuvraj Singh need just a good innings to come back and he is India's greatest match winner in this format of the game. If Yuvraj Singh strike form during the league stage, I do not see anybody stopping India from winning the World Cup.

India Vs Bangladesh Revenge Vs Repeat

Bangladesh shattered dreams of millions of Indian cricket fans when they defeated India in the league stage and eliminated them from the tournament. India was very keen to lift the cup in 2007 as it was expected to be the last cup for their senior pros. There was a huge build-up before the tournament as if India is destined to lift the cup. The celebrated and hyped Indian batting came cropper against a disciplined bowling by Bangladesh strike bowlers. India and Pakistan caught their flight back home as early as the other minnows in the tournament. The only comforting aspect was that their arch rival Pakistan too made first round exit. Bangladesh progressed to the second round at the cost of India. It was quite an achievement for Bangladesh team.

Does that game has anything to do with scheduling an India Vs Bangladesh as an opener in 2011 World Cup?. India will be completely aware of the fact that they were eliminated by the same minnows in previous edition of the format and may feel some nerves during the game. India will be looking forward for the revenge and will look to destroy the Bangladesh bowling attack. Their job will be easier if they bat first. They can set a target that is out of reach of the Bangladesh team and can bat Bangladesh out of the game even before a ball is bowled in Bangladesh innings. India have a batting line up that can decimate the Bangladesh bowling attack. Indian batting alone can win the game for India against Bangladesh. If half of Indian batting line up have a good day on that day, Bangladesh will be out of the contest. But India will certainly have some nervous moments if they bat second and may feel pressure from the fact that it was the game against the same team that halted their progress in the previous edition of the tournament.

Bangladesh on the other hand will be looking to repeat history and defeat India. Bangladesh may have a more realistic chance if they bat first and pile up a huge score. Bangladesh has the ability to put up a big score if they bat first against this Indian bowling attack. Their captain Shakib-ul-Hassan will be quite handy and can make a great impact on this match, particularly if Bangladesh bats first. If Tamim Iqbal and Shakib-ul-Hassan come good with a couple of good performances from few other key players, Bangladesh can repeat the history.

Group Of Death For India

India finds itself in the group with minnows that are more capable of causing an upset. Each group has four stronger teams, which are expected to progress to the next group. The two minnows that have caused upsets in the last edition of the World Cup are placed in the same group as that of India.  One of them has edged India out of the last edition of the World Cup when the minnows comprehensively defeated the Indian team in the league stage.

This time an improved Bangladesh will take on a more stronger Indian team in the first game of the league stage. The other such team that could cause an upset is Ireland. Ireland defeated a stronger Pakistan team in the league stage and eliminated them from the tournament. Ireland is also placed in the same group as that of India this time. Moreover the two other stronger teams South Africa and England are also present in India's group. That could also mean that India will have a relatively lesser opponent in the knockout stage.

But the two bowlers that caused India the upset in the last edition are no more part of the team. Similarly some Indian players from the last edition of the World Cup are also replaced by other players who had notable success in the recent past.

Positive Signals For India's Chances Ahead of World Cup 2011

World Cup 2011 is expected to be the greatest cricketing spectacle ever happened on the planet earth and for the first time in the history of the event, the Indian team has emerged as top favorites though only slightly. If the first two games are any indication, the challenge for the other teams in the tournament is going to be stiff. Despite the celebrated Indian batting not clicking in the first warm up game, India won the game against the defending champions convincingly. What if the the Indian batting would come good. What if the whole Indian batting clicked on the day. Indian team was also without their top strike bowler in that match against Australia and still won quite comfortably in the end. The Aussie looked a pale shadow of the side in the last three editions. The rule that the toss played cannot be ruled out as well. The story could have been different had Australia batted first in the game. As I earlier said somewhere, the toss will play a bigger king-maker than it has done in the past editions of the World Cup tournament.

In a nutshell, The Aussie were beaten by a single Indian bowler who has not been part of active International cricket for a very long time. What is more. Selection of Piyush Chawala was not welcomed by a huge section of media and the cricketing fraternity especially the so called great former Indian captains. I believe, the real test for the Indian team would come when they would bat second. I felt that India should have given them chance to defend a target in the warm up matches so that they get used to doing the same and feel comfortable in the event of having to chase down the target during the course of the tournament. These warm up matches are unofficial and have no bearing on the World Cup. It would have been a great opportunity had India opted to field first rather than field second. Moreover it would have confused the opposition teams as to what the favorite option of the Indian team in the event of winning the toss.

As I am writing these lines, India has scored an ominous 360 with significant contribution from the middle order. McCullum is freeing his arms quite often and we may be up for an intriguing chase if he comes good today. Anyways there is little significance attached to this contest. The matter that is more significant is the capability of the Indian batting line up. If they can consistently score as much as they did today, and get lucky with the toss on crucial occasion of the tournament, India looks settled to win World Cup 2011. The positive is that Dhoni seems to have a sense of history and seems to have realized the importance of batting first on winning the toss, especially in the crucial games of the World Cup.

What Should Pakistan Do To Win The World Cup

Pakistan is one of the most balanced side in this edition of the One Day Cricket World Cup tournament with India and South Africa being the other two most well balance sides. What makes Pakistan different from these two teams is variety in talents in their team. They have some of the best explosive batsmen in their ranks complemented by some of the best anchors in Misbah and Yunis. They have some of the good spinners aided by an unorthodox spinner like Shahid Afridi and handy part-time spinner like Mohammad Hafeez. They have more explosive batsmen in the World than any other team in Ahmad Shahzad, Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal, Shahid Afridi, and Abdul Razzak. They also possess a useful batting tail down the order. I still think Pakistan can do better with proper planning. I would like to bring to notice certain facts that I observed about Pakistan cricket in the recent times.
                                                          
Kamran Akmal is one of the most explosive and decisive batsman in shorter formats of the game. He is best used in the late middle order to finish the game. The second best of Kamran comes as an opener. He is not as useful a batsmen in the middle order as he is in the late middle order or as an opener.

Kamran Akmal should open the innings with Ahamad Shahzad with Mohammad Hafeez at 3.

Yunis Khan can play the sheet anchor role with Misbah-ul-Haq. However the problem with Yunis Khan is he often tends to match the other explosive batsmen in his team. Yunis Khan is a different player and can never play like an Umar Akmal or a Shahid Afridi. Moreover, nerves gets to him sometimes when he is not able to get away from the strike and in those situations he often attempts to run by just pushing the ball around, which has led to run outs, most recent of which is in New Zeeland. Yunis Khan should realize that his role would be to stay at the wickets as long as possible and score the runs only when the opportunity comes. If he can stay firm at one side of the wicket, the other explosive batsmen in Pakistan can go after the bowling. He should learn a lesson or two from the way Javed Miandad played. Even though Miandad was a much more talented batsmen, he would still not risk his wicket and would play waiting game in the crucial situation and allow the other explosive batsmen unleash. Yunis has to do something like that.

Umar Akmal should bat at #5. If you have both Yunis Khan and Misbah coming one after the other, it will affect the run rate and lack the variety in batting. If you have Umar Akmal between Yunis Khan and Misbah it will give better balance to batting order as there are more explosive batsmen down the order.

Misbah-Ul-Haq should bat at #6 and should continue the way he played in New Zeeland.

If Shoib Akhtar finds a place in the final eleven, he should be told that he cannot bowl wayward or bowl short balls. At his speed he will go for a lot of runs on subcontinent pitches if he cannot bowl an impeccable line and length. Shoib should bowl in shorter spells of three overs.

They should not bowl the spinners in the last overs of the game.

More importantly, they should bat first if they win the toss, especially in the knockout games, quarter-final, semi-final, and Final of the World Cup.

Finally, I would love to see Kamran Akmal and Umar Akmal open the innings in shorter formats of the game. I think Umar will be a hit as an opener in shorter formats of the game.

Poor Tactics By Dhoni

Dhoni showed some poor tactics on the eve of the first Warm up game ahead of the World Cup. On winning the toss, he could have opted to field and give the team a chance to chase the target so that they had some practice chasing and well prepared in the event of losing the toss in any of the games during the World Cup and having to chase against their choice. Even worse is his admission at the post conference winning the toss and batting first holds a lot of importance. What if he does not win the toss if crucial games of the World Cup. The opposition will straightaway ask him to field first simply because he loves to bat first and does not like chasing. Given the fact that toss is likely to play a crucial role in this edition of the World Cup, this admission by Dhoni can cost India the cup.
                                                                   
Captains have invited the opposition to bat first in important fixtures including the Finals of World Cup and failed to chase the target eventually handing the World Cup to the opposition. Chasing a target in Final of a World Cup can be nerve-wrecking and can ultimately cost the cup. The biggest example is the 1983 World Cup Final when the mighty West Indies failed to chase down a mediocre target against an Indian bowling attack, which has only one World Class bowler in Kapil Dev. Still, there could have been a situation wherein the opposition would have invited India to bat on winning the toss, but after Dhoni's admission that batting first is very important in World Cup, I think the opposition team will promptly chose to bat first after winning the toss against India.

What Should India Do To Win The World Cup 2011

Indian cricket team is one of the strongest teams in 2011 World Cup and the best to represent Indian team in any edition of the World Cup tournament. Additionally, the team is playing in compatible home condition and familiar home tracks. The Team India will also have an unprecedented support of the home crowd. India has an excellent chance to lift the coveted trophy for the second time with a bit of luck. I believe India should use their resources judiciously in order to make the greatest impact with the available talent.

There are three players who are used to opening the innings in the Indian team. Sachin is partnered by Sehwag and when Sachin did not play, it is Gambhir who formed the combination with Sehwag. All these three players produce their best as an opener. Whenever all of them have been member of the Indian team, Gambhir dropped to #3 slot more often. But is that the best solution for team India. Like Tendulkar, Gambhir has not proven to be as effective in the middle order as he has as an opener. Moreover if Tendulkar and Sehwag opens the innings, and Sehwag fails early in his innings, it could put a lot of pressure on both Tendulkar and Gambhir and subsequently on the middle order. A more productive option would be to open with Gambhir and Tendulkar and Sehwag saved for #3. That will also let both Tendulkar and Gambhir play their natural game and play freely. It could in other words dent the confidence of the bowler with Sehwag still in the Pavilion. The only question would if Sehwag will be successful at #3. Virat Kohli should play at #4 followed by Dhoni at #5. Yuvraj Singh should come at #6 because he has not been in the best of form and an early loss of Yuvraj Singh could also dent the confidence of the Indian team. On the contrary if Yuvraj Singh come down the order, he could still deliver the knockout punch despite being out of form. Yusuf Pathan will be an ideal #7 or Suresh Raina can also fill that spot. I would also prefer to have a Ashwin instead of Harbhajan in the XI because Harbhajan of late has not made much effect, particularly in One Day format of the game. Even a certain Ponting has mastered Harbhajan now. I do not see Harbhajan making a World of difference from what we have seen of him in the last two to three years in both formats of the game. Ashwin would be surprise package for the teams as they have never faced Ashwin before and he is handy with the bat as well. The fast bowlers should be used in shorter spells with maximum of 4 overs at one stretch. India should bat first all the time unless the conditions are adverse for batting first. They should especially bat first in the knockout stages if they win the toss. Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina or Yusuf Pathan should be used consistently as bowlers. It will be difficult to score runs faster against spinners. The spinners and part-timers will play a bigger role in this World Cup than the fast bowlers. 

Harsh Thakor's Mail And My Reply

I have been reading your writings on Cricket and have deeply
appreciated youir writings and work.I was particularly impressed with
your writings on the greatest cricketers of all time,greatest test
batsman.The presentation was extremely interesting.I particularly
applaude your evaluation of Sir Garfield Sobers at the top amongst
cricketers and Viv Richards so high amongst batsmen as well as Brian
Lara.However I still feel great injustice has been done to Sachin
Tendulkar ,who desreves to be amongst the top 8 cricketers and the top
4 batsmen of all time with his accomplishments.Remember at his peak in
the mid-1990's he hardly received any support from fellow players and
solely bore the pressure.Still he won some important games in tests
and one-dayers,particularly against Australia.Combined stats. of test
and one days put Sachinon another pedestal and to me only perhaps
Bradman,Hobbs,Sobers, and Richards rate above him.In test match
Cricket it was always neck to neck between Sachin and Lara and until
mid-2009 Lara had the marginal edge.However after his phenomenal
recent performances in the  last year Tendulkar has won the battle for
the top spot in the current era.I agree Lara was better at his best
as he could register mammoth scores and could change the complexion of
a game more than Sachin,particularly when the chips were down.However
Tendulkar has shown a considerably greater degree of consistency.

I too rate Sobers ,the best cricketer of all time ,with Imran possibly
the best after his retirement.I also like your appraisal of
WalterHammond and Kapil Dev.I also feel that Jack Hobbs hs been placed
too low down in your list ,who should have been in the top 5
cricketers and top 3 batsman.You have forgoten the great Len Hutton
and Jack Hobbs in your test match batsman list.I still would not rate
Sehwag as good as Sachin,Lara or Ponting.Ricky Ponting and Allan
Border also you have not placed anywhere.-,who could well comprise the
top 15 batsman of all.I think you have overrated Javed Miandad and
also forgotten Graeme Polock,George Headley and Everton Weekes.

I have writen many articles on these topics on blogs and really wish
to share them with you.Many of my comments have been published on
cricinfo.Did you by any chance read Cristopher Martin Jenkins 100 best
cricketers?I wish my comments could be pubished.

Anyway keep up the good work.Maybe one day you would write a
book.Please reply without fail.


Reply


Hi

It was great pleasure to get your insight. When I rated these cricketers, I took into consideration a lot of factors. For example, When I rated Imran Khan at #3, I took his contribution to the Pakistan team and I found that as an individual cricketer he contributed to Pakistan cricket more than any other individual cricketer to his team. As a bowler, a useful batsman, and a captain he made greatest contribution than any other cricketer to their national team.The difference he made the national team as an individual cricketer. Just look at the way he won the 1992 Final. Playing at the age of 39 being a bowling all-rounder he came to bat #3, scored those runs to set a platform to unleash the explosive batsmen later in the innings. Who else do you think could have done that.

Similarly I rated Lara above Sachin Tendulkar. Lara, I believe is only one batsman of his type. Scoring a hundred is a great achievement and doing it many times is greater. Different cricketers have different number of hundreds to their credit depending on their ability, longevity, and the position they batted. But see how many cricketers got 400?. How many cricketers have a 500 in first class cricket?. How many cricketers have as many double hundreds as Brian Lara? Comparison can be made between Tendulkar and Ponting because they are both great batsmen and have different strengths and weaknesses, but. Tendulkar and Ponting cannot be compared to Brian Lara, but then nobody can be compared to Lara. If Lara was a part of a as strong team as Tendulkar or Ponting have been, he would have even more big scores.  What sets Sachin apart from other cricketers is his dedication, discipline, maturity beyond his years, and hunger for runs, and record. One would have to consider the fact that Sachin has 50, but one also has to consider the fact that in as many as innings that Lara has played, Sachin had lesser number of hundreds. Sachin is a genius, but Lara was phenomenal and exceptional. Where Tendulkar outscored others is as an opening batsmen in One Day Cricket. When Tendulkar batted in the middle order he was second to Mohammad Azharuddin in terms of average and had not scored a single hundred.

If you compare Tendulkar's record in the middle order in one day cricket with that of the other greats like Vivian Richards, Greg Chappel, Dean Jones, Brian Lara, Javed Miandad, Michael Bevan, and Zaheer Abbas, it is  inferior.  If you look his record in World Cup 1992 when he batted in the middle order and the subsequent World Cups you will know the difference between a Tendulkar in One Day International in middle order and as an opener.

Similarly if you compare Sachin's average in the matches India won with the average of some great batsmen in his time in the matches their respective teams won, you would find him low in the list. He is behind some of the great batsmen of his time, leave alone all time. The problem with Sachin is that he cannot deliver that knockout punch despite playing long innings. He could never be a great finisher. One would remember his great innings against Pakistan in Chennai where he succumbed at the last hurdle despite playing a gem. Similarly, despite playing so well throughout the tournament in 1999 and playing McGrath well many times, he tamely got out in Quarter-Final. It could have been justified if the delivery was as good as to get a great talent like Tendulkar. His dismissal in the Final in 2003 against Australia was another such case. He batted so well and scored so many runs in league stage of the tournament when other batsmen's chances of scoring  were also good. But it was good that he scored those runs. But at the greatest stage, faced with a daunting task, he was the first to go back to the pavilion in 2003 World Cup Final. For the kind of form that he was what one would have expected him to do was to get out in the initial stage of the game. Sachin Tendulkar has given great joy to the people of India, but the love and support he received from the people of India is much greater than any other Indian cricketer has received. He always received unconditional support from the people of India, media, fans, team mates, and all those who mattered, but still failed whenever the pressure was on. He may be the most complete batsmen in terms of ability to play different kinds of bowling and different position, but he is not greatest match winner as his failures at the crucial stages of World Cup tournaments and the last innings of the test matches suggest.

What is the reason the Team India of 2000s has outperformed Team India of 90s. Sachin was there in 90s as well as in 2000s so were the other cricketers like Rahul, Laxman, and Anil Kumble. It is cricketers like Sehwag, Yuvraj, Dhoni, and Zaheer Khan that made the real difference to team India.  If you take out Sehwag from Indian team of 2000s and add it to the Team India of 1990s and just try to analyse the difference it could have made. There is a fallacy that Sourav's elevation to the Indian team's captaincy had made the difference to the fortunes of team India in 2000s. No, it was not. It was Sehwag's emergence that changed fortunes of Indian cricket and gave that much strength to the players coming down in the order. Just see how Laxman's game changed after Sehwag came into the Indian team. It is not only his contribution, but the psychological strength that he provides to the other batsmen coming down the order that has made the greater difference to the fortunes of the Indian team.

Those in my list of greatest cricketers of all time ahead of Sachin Tendulkar need not be necessarily be more talented than Sachin Tendulkar, but their contribution to their respective teams was more critical than that of Tendulkar's. Their impact on their respective team was greater than that of Sachin Tendulkar. If you have to look at sheer impact there could be case for some more cricketers being greater than Tendulkar.

The reason why I put Javed Miandad ahead of some of the batsmen you mentioned is that l is his fighting qualities and not just his technical abilities as a batsman. Javed Miandad was only one of his type. The way he carried that innings against India in Sharjah and finished it with a six is simply out of the fiction books. Leave alone the cricketers that you have mentioned, I think even Zaheer Abbas was a greater batsman than Javed Miandad. But who else do you think had the fighting abilities of certain Javed Miandad. You must have witnessed the Final between India and West Indies in 1983. There were as many as six World Class batsmen in West Indian team of 1983. How did they got out. Was it a great bowling or poor judgment of shot selection. India did not have a World class bowler except Kapil Dev. They required runs merely at the rate of 3 runs per over, but still could not. What did they lack. What they lacked is ability to fight and playing according to the situation despite possessing all the talent in the World.

As for Jack Hobbs, I think the cricketers above him made more critical contribution to their team than Jack Hobbs. Statistics alone does not tell the whole story in the game cricket. My list is still incomplete. There are only 25 of them.