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Ashwin should be promoted in the test squad batting atleast one position higher till Pant comes back to the side.

Ishan may just be better off with the licence to go out and play aggressively with the tail for company.

If you guys have seen the India Vs WI match, I have noticed some parallel lines grooved all along the length of the pitch. Have never seen that before.

Any idea why these lines have been drawn ?

Do numbers always tell the full story?



Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't!

These are just stats at the end of the day. Virat Kohli is a beast or rather 'was' a beast! Having watched most matches since the 1996 WC, Tendulkar was something else & beyond comparison. And he faced much more difficult bowlers than Kohli I feel, the pitches weren't as flat as they are nowadays. And I'm only talking of batsmanship here. In that era we used to lose more games than win & most matches were only about how much did Sachin score. Kohli was a juggernaut prior to the lockdown / till 2019 WC or thereabouts. We won a lot of matches during this period. Virat Kohli no doubt can still be considered a great player but his lack of range of shots is a concern in Tests since the lockdown. As per stats, 39 % of his runs have come through the cover drive or flick shot & no other stroke he's managed to score more than 10%! Tendulkar also went through a lean phase but I don't really think it lasted for 3-4yrs.

Coming to the Ishant-Zaheer comparo. Majority of my memory of Ishant Sharma is him bowling too short. Its only in the latter part of his career that he started bowling full & became effective. Inspite of him being very tall he never was a Hit-The-Deck kinda bowler something which India badly needs later in the year for the SA tour.

As a cricket enthusiast who grew up admiring the brilliance of Sachin Tendulkar, his flawless technique and wide array of shots left an indelible impression. Sachin's batting was poetry in motion, and his technical superiority was unquestionable.However, in the dynamic world of cricket, Virat Kohli has emerged as a force to be reckoned with. Kohli's aggressive approach and ability to set the tempo of the innings make him stand out. Unlike Sachin's classic finesse, Kohli compensates with controlled aggression, making him a dominant player.

While Sachin was technically superior, Kohli's dedication to fitness and unwavering perseverance elevate his game. His rigorous training and leadership skills add another dimension to his greatness. Kohli the captain wins hands down against captaincy of Sachin any day. As cricket's legends evolve, we cherish Sachin's artistry while celebrating Kohli's all-round brilliance.Though the heart says Sachin, the cold stats scream Virat!

With respect to Zak versus Ishant, Zak, with his knack for setting up batsmen and wizardry with the swing, had the potential to be a modern great. However, his downfall came due to his inconsistent fitness. In contrast, Ishant Sharma showed early promise with wobbling seam and a promising start, but his tendency to bowl short of length and inconsistency made his career a tale of hot and cold performances.

If this game is any evidence, West Indies are no good in ODIs too. Does not bode well for the game in the Caribbean.

With the ODI World Cup just round the corner, I was wondering why India is scheduled to play 3 ODIs and 5 T20s in this series. However, after watching West Indies bat today, I think this schedule is indeed good lol:

Definitely seems like they can be good at T20 provided their real heroes play - the ones who are away playing various leagues around the world.:)

^^^Well, India did their best to try and match the quality of cricket played by West Indies, taking almost the same number of overs to chase it down;it needed Rohit Sharma to down the order to get the remaining runs :p

Hope India ramp up their ODI game quickly in the run up to the World Cup.

Stuart Board retires from cricket

Stuart board will step out to bowl one last time tomorrow, let's hope he ends in a winning cause. What a career he has had, while we will always remember him for Yuvi hitting him for six sixes or Bumrah getting 29 runs off him in one over, he has been an amazing bowler.

Was hoping to see him and andreson bowl together one last time in India tour, but that won't happen now.

The game of glorious uncertainties combined with a team known for its perennial inconsistencies can produce some very interesting results; as has happened with the Indian team yesterday.

The no good WI team have managed a convincing win in the ODI against a team whose die hard fans are hoping for a 2011 encore in the upcoming World Cup.

* * *

The end of Stuart Broad's test career is an event of importance for his team as well as for the game itself. He was one of the veterans who never looked his age. He remained young at heart (and in behavior too) till the end. Although a pacer, his batting too wasn't bad. To me, somehow he remains a cricketer whose full potential remained unutilized on the field. Also sad that most casual observers will tag him with Yuvaraj Singh and see him as a weak bowler: while in reality, he was anything but that!

PS: What would I not give to have a peek into James Anderson's mind now!!!

* * *

Harmanpreet Kaur, the Indian skipper, has been reprimanded and handed over a two match ban for her unsportsmanlike behavior in a recent match against minnows Bangladesh. While one agrees that the umpiring standards need to be improved and neutral umpires should be the general norm, her actions on the field and her abhorrent reactions off it, during the presentation ceremony aren't worthy of even a gully cricketer.

In an era when more and more girls are venturing into the game and are being rewarded for it, Kaur has set a really bad example.

She is no doubt a talented batter. Hope she will be known as a decent cricketer too!

:Frustrati

The famous evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins comments on Cricket fielding. He wants to find some evolutionary reasons for fielder diving to catch flying balls. :)
https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins/s...84456616517632

I think the Indian team is just playing smart. Lower everyone's expectations to the point where if and when they get thrown out of the WC 2023, no one will be caught unaware.
:|

Fail to understand the logic of fielding first in 1st ODI if you want to try out your batting. Then in 2nd ODI you make the right decision at the toss but drop Virat & Rohit! If you wanted to try out a new combination you might as well have rested Rohit & Virat from the series. The likes of Umran/Axar/Mukesh only bowled 2-3 overs each in 2nd ODI. Most of these so called tactics defy logic forget cricketing sense.

The Ashes series is about to wrap up. What an incredible series this has been!! Every match was neck to neck with some off and on filed banter from both sides. Great exhibition of Test cricket.

In Christoper Nolan's words, don't try to understand it feel itrl:
Even after 8 wickets down we still can't be sure Australia is going to wrap up quickly. Didn't expect England to blow them away after tea. This Ashes beats all the suspense thrillers:loveit