Cricket administration in India is to blame for the team's debacle overseas so consistently.

There cannot be any justification for the batsmen to present any excuses when they are not performing, that is the what the game is all about,  if you're out, you must leave the crease.

Now if you keep claiming that such and such thing happened that's why I got out is a lame excuse to the glaring reality and fact that you've been caught behind on a legal rising delivery that was up to your throat  and you ought to have left it alone, and you could not fend it off (blame it on your technique or become superstitious). You could not keep it out and that's a failure.

Accept it as a part and parcel of the game, agree you lost fairly and squarely and move on, that is what sportsmanship is all about.

Unfortunately, our batsmen are in their dreams eternally, when they suddenly wake up on a day three pitch to a fiery spell from Australia's most prolific and fastest left arm bowling action from Johnson. That's always music to any batsman's ears in the world.

Are Indian batsmen colour blind or what, can't they spot the pitch of the delivery and leave those short in your throat deliveries, can't they duck? no, no, no it's the flaw in their technique and temperament, that is honed on sub-continental yawning pitches, where the ball takes a huge effort from a speedster even to rise below the waist of the batsmen.

The greatness of any batsmen or a bowler of a touring team is measured on how one's own performance contributes to the team's overall success in over coming the challenges on a foreign tour, exposing your limited experience to overcome them with sheer brilliance and discipline.

Presenting the excuse of an inexperienced side or a  match day mishap is just so lame, that you are shirking  from taking responsibility that you've consciously taken a decision to do so. Who would buy that?

Honestly speaking, in India the Crickets as a sport has been heavily politicized and monetized, and as such talent is hindered showing up regularly, gone are the days of a reliable middle order or a solid opening pair or  mercurial spinners or a genuine all-rounder .

Here we have a so called 'inexperienced' side which is always in the process of getting 'experienced' for half a decade before winning a single game of a Test match overseas.

Why are our Test players so lacking in technique and temperament, Why the team has been exposed very badly overseas on the seaming and bouncy pitches?

Our batsmen make tons of runs in domestic games even internationally, but hardly score a fifty when the situation demands, they simply go into a shell and they won't come out of it until they are back playing on the home turf notching a 'scintillating double ton' belting the same speedsters that they cannot defend even for a few overs when overseas.

There is something awfully wrong to say that Indian players can't compete internationally. It's the complete failure of the Cricket administration in India to have brought the team in such a precarious mess, that you always look up to players like Tendulkar's, Kohli's every time in a match to save the team from sporting disasters overseas.

If the mindset of the cricket administration in India, is just to 'manage' the things than winning a series or two in over half a decade overseas, is like bringing bad name to the overall health of the sport in the country, no one will want to side with a team which loses and loses. Accepting defeats consistently is mediocrity.

It is Cricket administration in India to blame for the team's debacle overseas so consistently.

Valleyz.Blog

Indian middle order needs to click if it is to save the Second test at Gabba 2014 vs Australia

India is in a precarious position to save this Test match on the fourth day of the second test at Brisbane.

 Still two days to go in the match, India needs to bat out at least four sessions to save this match. Australia will no doubt fancy it's chances any run chase below 300.

That possibility should be taken seriously by India in order to salvage the Test match if not winning it.

Given the Indian middle order repertoire, the side could wind up without posing a decent total to defend even if it's top batsmen score centuries.

It is not as if the top order batsmen failed on this tour, despite the batsmen scoring centuries other batsmen didn't capitalize on the opportunity. That's where Australia is marginally ahead in this series.

With Rohit Sharma's below the expectations performance, India can hardly afford to loose any more wickets as it is already one down.

So the match is more favorably tilted towards the hosts and it is the tourists I feel that have the work cut out.

Nathan Lyon has already won a match for Australia and Hazlewood has shown great performance in the first innings of the ongoing test, Australia has no dearth of bowling specialists to Test India batsmen.

Can the Indian batsmen particularly the middle order with stand the onslaught from the Aussie pace and spin combo is the question.


 Valleyz.Blog

Australia replies with 221//4 in reply to India's 408 in the second test at Brisbane 2014

India couldn't capitalize on the second day of the Brisbane test and was bowled out for 408. 

Resuming the play today India lost six wickets at regular intervals adding less than 100 runs to the team total. 

This is another area of concern for the Indian team, that India middle order on a several occasions scored far less runs than expected.  

Australia started of well in reply and Warner was surprised by a delivery which gave him very less room to manoeuvrings and he ended up ballooning the ball behind the wickets to be taken by Ashwin.

Chris Rogers looked solid scoring a well paced fifty driving the bowlers through the covers and mid-wicket with elan. But it was Shane Watson who could have gone on to notch a big score, played a loose shot in the air giving a low catch at mid wicket to Shikhar Dhawan.

Skipper Steve Smith scored briskly barring a loose cut short off Ashwin which went past the vacant second slip region to the boundary.

Umesh Yadav took 3 of the four of the wickets to fall on the second day and was posing questions to the bowlers on and off. 

Varun Aaron was unlucky to have missed bagging a wicket due to a difficult skier that Shaun Marsh played and was dropped by Rahane.

It was mixed back of luck for the both the teams, barring Umesh Yadav the Indian bowling showed signs of perennial bowling problems. Not innovative enough and not showing enough intent to take wickets or keep a disciplined tight line.

More than controlling the batsmen, India bowlers need to focus on how to bowl a batsmen out. Ashwin bowled few tight overs before being taken to runs. Smith unsettled Ashwin and pushed him on the defensive.

The more Ashwin keeps the bowl in the air, more the time batsmen will take guessing the pitch of the ball, that could result in wickets and he could mix it up bowling the wrong ones too. 

Australian batsmen are good at keeping away the quicker ones with their natural instinct of play. If Ashwin loops the ball in the air I feel he has more chances of taking the wickets than with the quicker and flatter ones.

Persistence is the key here for Ashwin, with batsmen will definitely play mind games and will want to push him on the defensive, once he is off on the defensive. The pressure is off from one end and the batsmen will be more comfortable scoring runs. 

Even though giving  away a few boundaries but taking couple of quick wickets will instill that fear factor in the minds of the batsmen of losing the wicket going after the balls that hang in the air a little bit.

And as the pitch wears down hopefully it will provide more support to the bowlers, as been the case on the second day of the match.

 Valleyz.Blog

Resurgent India held back by Nathan Lyon brilliance in the first test at Adelaide 2014

Australia beat India in the first test at Adelaide taking the lead 1-0 in the 4 match series. It was mixed bag of luck for the inexperienced new look Indian team under the debutant captain Virat Kohli.

Captain led by example through out the match scoring valuable centuries in both the innings. But eventually the worn out fifth day pitch was very well exploited by Nathan Lyon.

The Indian batsmen showed the intent to hang on despite some decisions that went against the team in the absence of DRS. Nathan Lyon was using his high arm action smartly beating the batsmen in the air and with huge turners. Lyon didn't have much success in the last series against Pakistan played in UAE, but his ability with the ball was never in doubt. Lyon managed to extract good support from the Adelaide pitch bagging a whopping 12 wickets and the man of the match award for a splendid performance.

Michael Clarke led by example in the match scoring hundred and leading the team after the tragic circumstances of losing a team mate. It was the sombre moment for the entire team to be so quick on to the field and giving out its best despite the resurgence shown by young Indian talent which holds a lot of promise.

Series is still wide open and the Indian contingent should be happy with the overall performance of the team.

With Ravi Shastri in the Indian Dressing room the side need not worry about team combination for the remainder of the series. All the team needs to do is take it session by session and play accordingly as the situation demands.

Looking back in to the match when Australia had lot of wicket in hands in the second innings the batsmen were given indications to score quick runs in order to give the side enough time and overs to bowl out India. Mitchell Marsh and Steve Smith scored quickly to give Aussie side the advantage of a challenging total to defend in the second innings.

Murali Vijay lived tentaviley at the crease, was stranded on 99 as Lyon pulled one back trapping him in front of the wicket. It was a crucial wicket for the hosts as they struggled to break the 137 run partnership for the 3rd wicket.

Though Mitchell Johnson bowled beautifully beating the batsmen on several occasions but went without luck. So it was Lyon all the way who provided the breakthroughs and.finished off the tail enders to wrap up the match for Australia.

 Indian team looks promising to say the least with such good pace bowlers in the side, who should stick to a tight line and length and hopefully it should bring out a winning result at Brisbane.

Valleyz.Blog

IndvsSA Jo'burg Test 2013: Ishant Sharma does damage to South Africa top order, Shami and Zaheer pitch in.

India put up a very good performance with the ball after dismal show with the bat on the second day of the Johannesburg Test at the Wanderers in South Africa.

Resuming to bat with overnight score of 5/255 the Indian batting collapsed for 280 all out.

The bowlers for South Africa were relieved a lot as the last recognized batting pair of MS Dhoni and 

Ajinkya Rahane hardly managed to disturb the scoreboard.

Vernon Philander scalped four wickets in the process and was the most destructive.

South Africa started cautiously with Graeme Smith and Alviro Peterson at the crease as the opening pair. Duo dodged the opening spell and were looking quite comfortable until Alviro Peterson was out.

Hashim Amla came to the crease to join company with his skipper, then Graeme Smith was dropped in the slips by Ashwin off Zaheer Khan. 

It looked to be a costly miss, as the runs started to flow for South Africa.

Until Ishant Sharma with his decisive in-swingers removed Hashim Amla clean bowled offering no shot and trapping Jacques Kallis at the crease, and then Smith was trapped leg before by Zaheer Khan.

South Africa was 2/130 and soon collapsed to 6/146 until Philander and Du Plesis offered some late resistance to Indian onslaught with the ball.

Mohammed Shami took the fifth and the sixth wickets for India in the same over to send back, JP Duminy and AB Devilliers with some good bowling.

Though initially South Africa looked to bat comfortably against Indian bowlers, but soon was exposed to a fine display of rare pace bowling from the Indian trio.

Though Ashwin bowled a few overs but it was the pace battery of India that did most of the job on the second day.

Pitch offered variable bounce through out the day, with many balls keeping low and should have affected the batsmen’s reading of the pitch bounce and pace.

Hashim Amla might have expected the ball to bounce over the wicket but the ball nipped in sharply without the bounce the batsman was expecting.

These are the indications that Indian batsmen should keep in mind and try to play forward instead of staying back at the crease.

The feet movement and the ability to leave the ball out side of off, ability to duck well directed bouncers and ability to resist the temptation to drive the ball through covers should help the batsmen. And shots on the rise when the ball is in the air and seaming should be resisted by the batsmen.

In the conditions like in South Africa the ball does a lot on the pitch as well in the air.

Batsmen should concentrate hard to give India a chance in this crucial Test match of the series.

One thing the South Africa batsmen did good was ducking the well directed bouncers, they played them well and that is one of differences the India batsmen should concentrate on ahead in the second innings.

How long the South African tail will wag will be interesting to see.

Valleyz.Blog