Posts

India's T20 batting conundrum - A good headache (Part I)

Image
Can Kohli And Rohit win it for India?  Welcome to part I, where we will discuss India's T20 batting lineup for the upcoming 2021 WT20. Disclaimer: These are my personal opinions. Feel free to drop your views in the comments section!  India now has an unbeaten streak of 10 games heading into the final T20i against Australia. With the World Cup coming up next year in India, the hosts - alongside England - will be one of the firm favorites to lift the cup. A squad of 15 will most likely be announced with eight spots up for grab in the batting department.   These are my eight players -  1) Rohit Sharma  2) KL Rahul (wk)  3) Virat Kohli  4) Shreyas Iyer  5) Sanju Samson (backup wicketkeeper) 6) Hardik Pandya  7) Shikhar Dhawan (backup opener) 8) Manish Pandey (backup middle-order batsman)  In my opinion, there should be no debate around number 1, 2, or 3. Rohit Sharma, on his day, can tear apart any attack. KL Rahul has repeatedly performed in the IPL and T20 Internationals and easily d
2 comments
Read more

Lockdown Series Part 2: Current Best ODI XI

Image
Welcome to part 2 of the Lockdown Series. Today, we will discuss the current best XI in ODI Cricket. Disclaimer: Only International statistics will be analyzed.   1) Rohit Sharma - A is a must include in the current ODI XI. Averaging 49.27 in 217 innings with 43 50s, 29 100s, and three 200s, Rohit Sharma enjoys mindblowing numbers any batsman would dream having. His most famous records include five centuries in a single World Cup edition, the most amount of double centuries in the format, and the highest score in the format (264).  2) Johnny Bairstow - Post the humiliation in the 2015 World Cup, England has tried out a different approach to ODI Cricket. While old horses like Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell, and Alaistair Cook were axed, in came new faces like Jason Roy and Johnny Bairstow. And you know what they say - "The rest is history." With the ability to cream the gaps and tonk the ball into the stands, Bairstow has made a serious case for himself. He averages 48 and strikes
Post a Comment
Read more

Lockdown Series Part 1: All time T20 XI

Image
Welcome to the Lockdown Series where we go through the all-time and current best playing XIs. Today is Part 1 where we go through the all-time T20 XI. Disclaimer: Both International and Domestic cricket statistics will be of equal importance. 1) Chris Gayle  Aka Universe Boss the GOAT. This man needs no introduction. He is the Bradman of T20 Cricket, an unparalleled six-hitter, and a century-maker . A powerful hitter at the top, Gayle is a force to reckon with once he settles in. He has a jaw-dropping record of 22 100s in T20 cricket, and the next best is only 8 by Micheal Klinger! He also holds the record for most runs scored: 13296. In second place is Keiron Pollard, who is 3296 runs away from Gayle. The volume of records this man possesses speaks for why he is a must in the all-time T20 XI.  2) David Warner  Yup. You heard that right. No Rohit Sharma! And here's why. Firstly, both Warner and Rohit only play the IPL and T20I Cricket. So, only stats fro
3 comments
Read more

Delhi Capitals: IPL 2020 Preview

Image
Can the Delhi Capitals break the finals jinx? Let's see! Delhi, the capital of India, has been the most happening city in India in the past year. AAP swept the legislative elections, and the dangerous smog caused a lot of harm to the Delhites. Cricket too has its share of change amidst this chaos. While the Ranji Trophy team seems to be degrading in quality day by day, the franchise team, Delhi Capitals, appears to be moving up the ranks. It was way back in 2012 when the Delhi Capitals, then called "Delhi Daredevils", had topped the points table in the league stage only to crash out and miss out on an opportunity of a maiden IPL Final. Since then till 2018, the story has more or less been the same. The franchise failed to qualify for the playoffs for six years in a row, which included three finishes on the bottom of the points table (in 2013, 2014, and 2018). But, their happy days had finally arrived in the 2019 season. Although Delhi narrowly missed out on a
1 comment
Read more

Kolkata Knight Riders: IPL 2020 Preview

Image
It has been long since KKR reached an IPL final ! Will they do it this time around?? "Korbo lorbo jeetbo re, korbo lorbo re jeetbo re, jeetbo re."  This theme song won the Kolkata Knight Riders the title in 2012 and 2014, but those victories were more than five years ago. Then, it was Gautam Gambhir's invincible army that had clinched two titles within three seasons. Ever since the 2014 victory against the Kings XI Punjab in the finals, the unit has managed to reach the playoffs on three of the five occasions. However, KKR could never apply the finishing touches to a strong IPL campaign.  Over the years, KKR has always tried to nurture local talent. They succeeded by bringing in the likes of Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Robin Uthappa, Manvinder Bisla, Debrata Das and many more. The only Indian player that remains from the 2014 squad is Kuldeep Yadav, but with his recent dry run of form, it looks an entirely different side from the 2014 team. Although they h
1 comment
Read more

Mumbai Indians: IPL 2020 Preview

Image
The Defending Champions would like to make it 5 IPL victories in the last 8 seasons "He's done it! He has done it! Lasith Malinga, the hero! Mumbai Indians have done it again! Four-time champions of the Vivo IPL! Four victories over CSK this season!"  This is what Ian Bishop had to say on-air as the defending champions clinched their fourth title in the most dramatic way possible. Vivo IPL 2019 witnessed a scintillating season for the Mumbai Indians. With even better changes made to the squad for the 2020 IPL season, we can all expect the Mumbai Paltan to defend its title.  Heading into the 2020 IPL auction, the Mumbai Indians weren't expected to make any changes. However, they released a total of nine players: Evin Lewis, Adam Milne, Jason Behrendorff, Beuran Hendricks, Ben Cutting, Yuvraj Singh, Barinder Sran, Rasikh Salam, Pankaj Jaswal, and Alzarri Joseph. The MI Paltan needed a couple of genuine foreign pace bowlers and some reliable reserve playe
4 comments
Read more

Chennai Super Kings: IPL 2020 Preview

Image
It might be the last season for MSD and many players in the Chennai  franchise. They would like to end their IPL career on a good note.  The  dad's army  is what they call them: the Chennai Super Kings. The three-times champions, eight-times finalist, and ten-times semi-finalist did not have much to do this time around in the 2020 IPL auction. After the heartbreaking loss in the 2019 IPL finals, by one run, the Chennai franchise has released - Sam Billings, David Willey, Mohit Sharma, Dhruv Shorey and Chaitanya Bishnoi - 5 players in total. No structural changes took place with Fleming still as the head coach and MSD as the captain. Even before the auction, the CSK army looks ready to seek to avenge for last time's finals defeat.  Many thought they would go for young Indian talent - probable backups for Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu, who haven't been playing in the domestic circuits - but, once again the CSK management sprung in a surprise. They bought vete
2 comments
Read more