IPL 2016 - Dhoni Proves He Is Still Force To Reckon With vs KXIP

#IPL2016
#RisingPuneSupergiants vs #KXIP
21st May 2016, Vizag

Billed as the "Battle for the Bottom Of Table" clash, this was an inconsequential rubber between two sides that struggled throughout the season (especially KXIP who couldn't raise the bar when needed while RPS couldn't deliver knockout punches in those closing moments).

#MuraliVijay has done wonders for his own form since promotion to captaincy (at the expense of David Miller) halfway through the season. He is playing like a dream and continued his brilliant run with yet another fluent half century. With the classy #Amla for company he gave #KXIP a great start adding 60 in 7 overs before Amla fell.

After #Saha fell cheaply, he got together with #Gurkeerat to push their team with another 58 run stand. Unfortunately, he was bowled by #RAshwin and that put brakes on their scoring too. A flurry of wickets for Ashwin (his best bowling performance after a long, long time and his poor form has led to RPS failing to qualify for the Qualifiers/Eliminator) meant the score read 172 for 7 in 20 overs. 15 runs short.

However, as they always say "Runs On the Board" always plays a vital role in crunch games when pressure is on. #Rahane and #Khawaja started well but #Sandeep snapped Rahane while #AxarPatel foxed #Bailey to pull things back. #SaurabhTiwary and Khawaja smashed a few but 3 wickets in 2 overs for addition of just 8 runs pushed Pune completely on the backfoot. From 78 for 2 they slumped to 85 for 5 in a blink of an eye.

Situation perfectly positioned for the "Greatest Finisher Of All Time" - #MSDhoni. He first steadied the landslide with #ThisaraPerera to get the game within his striking zone. His usual tactic of taking the game deep and building up pressure on the other side.

The equation 2 overs - 30 runs to win. Steep but right in the MS Zone...

The make things worse, Perera was out first ball of the 19th over caught behind off Mohit. A big blow since Perera;s lusty hits were crucial for RPS cause. R Ashwin joined him. Again he steadied himself that over with just 7 runs taking the game to the last over. Last overs are MS Dynasty.

Still 23 from 6 was a bit too much for Dhoni, who has not been in great form off-late in close matches.

Ball 1 - DOT BALL - Gold dust! Axar fires this one into #Dhoni who mistimes it mid-wicket.

Ball 2 - WIDE ... Pressure of bowling to #Dhoni!! Axar fires this down leg and Saha does well to gather that wide.

Ball 2 - CRASSSSH .... SIX over long on. #MS powers this with brute force.

Ball 3 - CRACK ... BUT WHAT A SAVE !!! ... Dhoni smashes this over cover and wants to enjoy that boundary. In flies superman #Amla and makes an unbelievable stop on the boundary. Big chance to snap two missed by Dhoni. Is this the moment?

Ball 4 - VHOOM .... Dhoni corrects his shot making line and smashes this one  over long off for a one bounce boundary. Well done. #Axar under tremendous pressure now to defend 12 from 2 balls.

Ball 5- SMASSSSH - Cows corner is beckoning and MS pulverizes that short delivery to deep midwicket. What calmness and power under pressure! #Axar the opposite - cringy and sweaty.

6  needed to win. 4 wont do. Has to be the maximum.

Ball 6 - HELICOPTER SHOT ! - Flicks this one in his inimitable style over mid-wicket once again! Better delivery from #Axar but #Dhoni is right upto it, clears his front leg and launches this one to finish an incredible game in the coolest way possible.

No expressions of joy on his face. Usual self. Coolly walks to his partner Ashwin and hugs him. No bellowing, hand gestures, angry face or relief. That's #CaptainCool #MSDhoni for you.

KXIP shouldn't be disappointed. They ran into the Finishing Machine who just turned it on tonight.

RPS ending their campaign in 7th place, KXIP in 8th on the points table. Both teams eliminated from the championship. But, owing to Dhoni ... RPS won the battle of honour.

Man of the Match: M S Dhoni

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IPL 2016 - Weak Bowling Teams Paying Heavy Price In Points Table

What is common between Rising Pune Super Giants led by MS Dhoni, Royal Challengers Bangalore led by Virat Kohli and Kings XI Punjab led by Murali Vijay (David Miller was dropped off his captaincy last week)?

They are lurking at the bottom of the IPL points table.

Reason??

Pretty simple. Ordinary bowling lineups.
All teams seem to be powerpacked with batting geniuses but their bowling has let them down so badly, they are already on their way out at the half way stage of the competition itself. T20 is funny and anything can happen ... but from the looks of it, none of these 3 teams deserve to make it to the top 4 on current form.

RCB - A batting warehouse this - Kohli, AB Devilliers, Gayle, Watson have been putting up scores in excess of 180 in almost every game. Yet their bowlers have not been able to defend them putting them at risk of early elimination.

RPS - Again batting heavy - Rahane, DuPlessis, Steve Smith, KP, Dhoni. They have been hurt with injuries to top batsmen but again, their bowlers have let them down each time. Mediocre really. Very surprising that MS Dhoni is captaining this side without having a say in the selection? With all due respect to Dinda, Ashwin twins, Perera ... they are looking jaded and almost done with the IPL already.

KXIP - Batting strong again - Vijay, Maxwell, Miller, Shaun Marsh. And although they have collectively failed, the bowling is the bigger weaklink for them too.

Teams will good bowling units are performing really well. Gujarat Lions, Delhi Daredevils, Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad have all combined both arts to stay in the hunt. Looks like these 5 teams will battle it out for the four qualification spots (apart from a miracle when one of the lower teams stages a massive comeback).

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#WT20 West Indies Stun India Storm Into Finals

#IndvsWI
#Semifinal, #Wankhede, #Mumbai

West Indies have pulled out a rabbit out of the hat.
They trounced the favourites India, chasing 192 in a brilliant run chase.

After a poor start, loosing Gayle and Samuels under 3 overs for not too many, Johnston Charles and Lendl Simmons started a repair job. Charles took the initiative and attacked the spinners first to pull back the momentum in favour of the Windies.

Lendl Simmons rode his luck through his brilliant innings of 82 off 51 balls.
On 18, he was caught behind point by Bumrah off Ashwin. He trudged back only to see umpires call him back because Ashwin had overstepped! Not out and Free hit...

On 44, he was caught at covers by Ashwin off Pandya. He started walking back again and wait wait ... he was called back again. Pandya has overstepped. Not out and the ensuing Free Hit was dispatched for six over mid-wicket.

He got another life towards end of the match when he launched Bumrah towards mid-wicket where Jadeja held on to a catch near the rope and parried it back to Virat to complete the catch. Simmons started the walk back again but destiny, it seemed, wanted him to win it for the Windies Umpires checked with third umpire and replays showed Jadeja had touched the boundary rope when taking that catch. SIX!

Andre Russell came in and delivered the finishing punches to hand India defeat and power West Indies to the #WT20 Final at Kolkata. They will play England in Sunday's game. Incidentally, the Windies Women have also qualified for the Final and will take on Australia at the same venue early in the day.

For Dhoni's men, they will rue in all those no-balls on a belter of a pitch that had nothing for the bowlers. #Dew made it worse. Hence those No-ball wickets and missed opportunities will haunt them for a while. In hindsight, they will also rue the fact that they didn't go big early in their innings as Sammy correctly put it, India were 10 runs short and indeed that proved to be the case.

#LIVE #SCORE
India: 192 for 2, 20 overs
West Indies: 196 for 3, 19.4 overs

Man of the Match: Lendl Simmons (82 off 51 balls)
 
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WT20 Virat Ind Take On Gayle WI In Semifinal2

#IndvsWI #Semifinal #WT20
from Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Termed as battle between David and Goliath by Darren Sammy​ (WI skipper) but also warned public about who won that battle? Its going to be an intriguing game that will depend a lot of which WI team will land up on the pitch. They are too mercurial. On their day, they can blast any opposition away while on others, they can just capitulate against minnows (that loss to Afghanistan couple of days ago is a strong reminder)

Also pitted against each other are the batting powerhouses Chris Gayle-SPARTAN​ vs Virat Kohli​.
It could come down to their battle as well. Who performs well on the day may determine the outcome.

The Mumbai pitch being a batting paradise so far, gives Indian batsman a first opportunity to score a few runs. Their top order is woefully out of form and will look to redeem themselves. Ashwin was brutally dealt with in the last game and he'll look to make amends especially bowling to Gayle at the top.

WI bowlers have done well too. Bravo's end over bankability, Badree's spin and Russell's pace seem to be doing the job at the moment but will be tested by this Indian batting lineup.

As for their batting, WI look better at the top with Charleston and Samuels looking solid while their powerhouses Fletcher, Gayle, Sammy and Russell could do a lot of damage all through.

However, the biggest deciding factor in the game seems to be MS Dhoni's cool captaincy.
He's just taken that to another level and can win games on his cool attitude alone.
Lets see how it goes? Odds in favour of India but their performances have revolved around Virat and that has hidden some big flaws in their batting top order. Also, with Yuvraj Singh​ out due to an ankle injury some forced changes seem inevitable. No injury worries for WI but their only worry would be how would they handle the 78000 Indian fans. Its 15 vs 78000.

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WT20 Indias Houdini Escape Vs Bangladesh In A 1 Run Classic

#Ind v #Ban
#WT20 - Group 2 Match
Chinnaswany Stadium, Bengaluru

What is it about Bangladesh that gives Indian cricket team nightmares?

It was on the same day, 23rd Mar 2007, that Bangladesh announced them on world stage beating the fancied Indian team in a group game at #ICC 50-Over #WorldCup in West Indies. Wreckers in chief - Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan (all brimming youngsters then)!

Fast forward to 23rd Mar 2016 (exactly 9 years on), they planned another coup on India in #TW20 World Cup and it almost came off.... almost, well .... they gave it away to India on a plate really. Such was Bangladesh's dominance that off the 240 balls bowled by both sides, they were all but winning on the first 237 of them. 3 balls later they had gifted a match to India on a golden platter (when Indian team had already started packing their bags after a dismal WT20 campaign). It just summed up the entire show.

Winning the toss and electing to field on a "tacky" wicket, Bangladesh seamers and spinners never really allowed the Indian batsmen to get away. India's top-order in woeful form didnt help matters either. Shikhar and Rohit tried to hit their way out of trouble but claimed by Shakib and Mustafizur respectively for not many. In form Virat Kohli walked to a raucous applause from his #RCB crowd and he set up to do a repair job with another out-of-form batsman in Raina. His sublime batting and ability to run ones-twos helped India to crawl back into the lead.

Just like previous matches though, a middle order collapse ensued. Kohli was bowled by Suvagata. Hardik Pandya, who was prromoted ahead of Yuvraj and Dhoni inflicted some lusty blows but Raina and him were caught in the deep off consecutive deliveries by Al-Amin left India reeling. Sowmya Sarkar's catch to dismiss Pandya should easily win him the "Catch of the Tournament" award. Yuvraj came and went. Dhoni and Ashwin tried to hit out but could only scrape through the last few overs to set up a well below par 146 on a not-so-bad wicket.

Considering evening dew and pitch improving, Bangladesh had the best chance to upstage India. In came Tamim with the same mindset as that 2007. Flashing hard, he set out punishing the Indian bowlers. India's fielding was well below par too. A dropped chance off Ashwin by Bumrah proved more than costly. In the following over, Bumrah was dispatched for 4 boundaries by Tamim (rubbing a lot of salt and pepper on the injuries).

Although India kept picking wickets, Bangladesh was always ahead. They had a plan. Every batsman coming in was looking to be aggressive and this kept the runs coming in. Dhoni;s smartness accounted for Sabbir's stumping, Mashrafe promoted himself and smashed Raina for six signalling his intentions. Ravindra Jadeja though came up with his variety of spin to dismiss both Tamim and Mashrafe to balance the scales.

Meanwhile Shakib was collecting boundaries and sixes at regular intervals to keep Bangladesh within touching distance but once he edged to slip off a beauty from Ashwin, things began to look interesting.

With Sowmya Sarkar and Mahmadullah at the crease, things were still in Bangla control. Both of them were cautious and the occasional big shot was all that was needed to cross the finish line. 

34 from 24 balls.

Dhoni's spinners had completed their quota. Bumrah had forgettable night thus far (2 overs for 21) while the fifth bowler still had one over to go. Bangladesh were probably waiting for that over to come. Smartly, Dhoni opted to get the seasoned bowlers first and gambled with Bumrah. It paid off. Just 6 runs from the 17th over. With wonderful ball control and ability to york, Bumrah ensured a low scoring over. 

28 from 18 balls.  

Ball passed on to veteran Nehra. His second ball smashed to boundary by Sowmya but ballooned a low full toss the same over (off Nehra). Advantage India. In walks Mushfiqur, the dimunitive, tenacious player tailor-made for these tense situations. The final ball of the over smashed by Mahmudullah through covers for four. Advantage Bangladesh again.

17 from 12 balls.

It had to be toss up between Bumrah and Pandya. Should Dhoni hold back Bumrah for the final over and squeeze in the yorkers or get him on now and make it as difficult as possible in the final over. He chose the latter option. Bumrah once again bowled beautifully conceding just 6 singles.

11 from 6 balls.

So, stage set for the final over showdown.
Bangladesh's best finisher in Mahmudullah and supercool experienced Mushfiqur vs rookie medium pacer Pandya (who was taken to the cleaners earlier in the innings). 

Ball 1 - Pandya bowls outside off, Mahmudullah strokes to deep cover for a single

Ball 2 - Pandya balls wider of the shuffling Mushfiqur but on length and thats good enough for him to smash it over covers for four. Jubilant Bangla fans dance in the aisles.

Ball 3 - Pandya goes a bit fuller but then again cheeky Mushfiqur scoops it over his shoulder past the outstretched hands of Dhoni for another four at fine leg. Mushiqur starts celebrating and punching the air. Bangla fans go wild. Job almost done!

9 off 3 achieved already, 2 from 3 balls needed.
Plain and simple. Two singles would do it. The field was still in-out type to cater to the boundary hit.

Ball 4 - Very very short of length ball that sat up and Mushfiqur goes for the glory shot. A pull over midwicket. Instead he mistimes it holes it straight down deep midwicket's throat. Shikhar Dhawan accepting a dolly. Mushfiq is gutted and ambles back. Batsmen have crossed over, so Mahmudullah on strike which is advantage Bangladesh. Shuvagata the new batsman at the non-striker's end.

Ball 5 - Inexplicably (or was it planned), Pandya delivers a low full toss that Mahmudullah can park anywhere in the stadium but he chooses height over distance. His looping shot is wonderfully taken by Jadeja at deep midwicket (this was smart captaincy by Dhoni to replace Dhawan with Jadeja at midwicket). Batsman cross over, Shuvagata on strike for the final ball. Mustafizur, the new man in, will be off strike, ready to run his fastest no matter what Suvagata comes up on that last ball.

2 runs from  1 ball.

Its all about this last ball now. From an easy walk in the park, Bangladesh have managed to dig themselves into a hole from nowhere. Most importantly, their experienced batsmen have done this!

After a lot of deliberation, mid pitch talks and lot of advice from all round, Pandya starts from the top of his bowling mark.

The plan looks to be set. Bounce it outside off, hope batsman misses and run the batsman out. Dhoni even removes his right glove to grip the ball better if needed. 

Pandya pitches short and wide of offstump (but well within the wide marker), Shuvagata swings and misses, Dhoni gathers and starts running towards the stumps (smartly does not throw from his place to avoid missing them or ricochets for overthrows). Mustafizur is out of his blocks from the non-striker's end too. Its all about who wins this running race now. Bolt vs Gatlin? Dhoni wins. He whips the stumps while Mustafizur slides his bat in the popping crease. Who won? Third umpire called on to make the decision.

Everyone is tense. Players, Umpires, Crowd all waiting for the flash screen to indicate the result. OUT would mean India win, NOT OUT would mean the match goes into a super over knock out. Wow!

And O - U - T appears on the screen announcing an amazing Houdini escape for the Indian team. Nowhere for the first 237 balls, winners by virtue of the last three! 

Amazing scenes at the Chinnaswany Stadium. Crowd goes wild, India players celebrate while Bangla supporters and players are gutted. Cruel, cruel game this!

INDIA WIN BY 1 RUN.

One for the memories. A classic to remember for all time. 
The day Bangladesh will never forget and so will India. The day when Bangladesh gave away their win and a chance for India to move to the semifinals.

Man of the Match: Ravi Ashwin

Brief Score:
India: 146 for 7, 20 overs
Bangladesh: 145 for 9, 20 overs

#WT20 Ind v Pak Another Rank Turner - Pak 118 for 5 in their 18 overs

#Ind v #Pak
Group 2 Match
#EdenGardens, #Kolkata

Is this a #WT20 game or test match?

The first 10 overs of Pak innings resembled a test match on a typical Indian turner pitch. No batsman was able to read spin on this wicket and runs were coming in a trickle.
It took some lusty hitting from Shoaib Malik and Umar Akmal to get Pak's score some respectability.
All talk of pitch livening after the rains is out of the window.

Pak 118 for 5, 18 overs.

Its over to Pak's bowlers vs India's batsmen now.
Both teams with their best strengths on show.

Pakistan dont have too many spinners.
They opted for 4 seamers.
Afridi and Malik their only spinning options.
Who will come up trumps?
Pak bowling guile will trump or Indian batsmen will clinically finish the game?

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#WT20 - Ind v NZ - Group 2 Opener pits heartthrobs vs favorites

#WT20
#Ind v #NZ
Group 2 Match
VCA Ground, Nagpur
15th Mar 2016

The serious end of #WT20 starts today with hearthobs Kiwis take on tournament favorites India in a Group 2 game at Nagpur. The odds are heavily stocked in favor of India with their form, balance and spin. They are the team to beat at this T20 World Cup.

Having said that, the Kiwis have come on the back of some really excellent performances vs Australia and will look to surprise the hosts with a mighty challenge. Their batting has the firepower to blast bowling attacks away and bowlers can run through batting lineups. Coupled to that their fielding is exemplary and could eventually be the deciding factor in this game.

Captain Kane Williamson will need to lead their team from the front to tackle the Indian spinners (Ashwin, Jadeja, Harchajan, etc). There in lies their Achilles Heel and India will look to take full advantage on that front. In absence of the just retired great Brendon McCullum (#Baz), Guptill, Taylor, Anderson, Elliott will have to bat out of their skin to pose challenge to this renewed India bowling lineup led by veteran Ashish Nehra and slinger boy Jasprit Bumrah (who has pleasantly surprised everyone with his yorkers and death bowling).

India on the other hand look balanced both with the ball and bat. The batting top order has been batting like a dream (Dhawan, Rohit and Virat) and thats helping build or chase large totals easily. The middle order (though low on practice due to the top order show) including Yuvraj, Raina, Dhoni can single handedly win games for their side. Rahane's solidity and Jadeja's all round ability make this a very formidable unit.

So, what will happen at Nagpur?
India's spin or Kiws' agility
India's top order or NZ middle order?

Looks interesting.
Let the #Wt20 begin!!

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Ind v Pak T20 Asia Cup 2016

Dress Rehearsal to the big one!

Indian Cricket Team take on Pakistan Cricket Team in a mouth wateringAsia Cup T20 - 2016 encounter today as prelude their big clash in next month's ICC T20 World Cup 2016 at Dharamshala.

Clearly a big duel between India's batting guns vs Pakistan's bowling armoury. Pak will try to attack the top heavy Ind batting line up via their pace battery of @MohamadAmir and Wahab Riaz and thats where the game seems to be won or lost. First 6 overs in India's innings could prove to be the deciding stage in the match.

Of the two weaker links, India's bowling seems to hold an edge over Pak's batting but in T20, you predict at your own peril. It could be anyone's day with the bat or bowl.

Can't wait to get started....

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Who Will Win The Cup?

Australia Lead 2-0 After Two Facile 300+ Runchases, Rohit Tons in Vain

#IND v #AUS
2nd #ODI at #GABBA, #Brisbane
15th Jan 2016

#Australia cruise to another facile win against spineless #India in the second ODI at #GABBA, Brisbane, Australia today.

First, the Indian batsmen faltered late in their batting innings when 330 looked pretty easy, to end up on 308 in their 50 overs. Some good death bowling by Faulkner and Hastings too.

In reply, none of the Australian batsmen were troubled by this lacklustre bowling attack. Finch, Shaun Marsh, Bailey scored fifties while Smith chipped in with 46 and Maxwell 34. 

Easy win yet again for Australia, (lead 2-0 in 5 match series) and that should be worrying Dhoni really. His bowlers arent able to defend 300+ scores and not even able to make a match of out it!

Rohit should be the most disappointed man. Both his hundreds have gone in vain. In hindsight, his run-out could have been the turning point in this game. What do you think? (with him around 330 was a big possibility).

What happens next?
We move to #MCG on 17th Jan for the 3rd ODI, and supposedly this is India's chance to come back (do they have a choice?) with pitch that might suit their spinners?

Perhaps bat second? Not sure. I can guarantee .. if India was chasing in these first two games they would have floundered under the relentless Aussie attack. Its not about the quality of bowling (Australia are considerably weaker without their heavyweights), its about the mental fortitude which India is lacking big time.

Lets see what happens. For now, they sit down and lick their wounds.

#LIVE #SCORE
India - 308 for 8, 50 overs
Australia - 309 for 3, 49 overs

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India v Australia 2016 Cricket Rivalry Renews

#Ind v #Aus #ODI #Series #2016

The fierce (in the literal sense) rivalry between India and Australia #Cricket teams is all set to renew starting 12th Jan 2016 with a 5 ODI and 3 T20 series. India tour Australia and the series kicks off with the first #ODI at the #WACA #Perth.

Over the last few years, series between these two teams have been hotly contested mostly due to on-field verbal spats, ugly sledging and controversies. It all started with that infamous #MoneyGate scandal in #Sydney in 2008 when Harbhajan and Symonds got into an altercation that threw the sport into a great abyss (suspensions, threats from BCCI, fines, etc).

Australia brought fierce gamesmanship in the game under Steve Waugh and play their game very aggressively. The young Indian brigade has tried to match them word for word over the past few years. Although performances show Australia have an upper hand in terms of results, the Indian team has laid to rest its soft target image of the 90s and 80s.

So, how does it look this time around?

India is being led by the old veteran #MSDhoni (probably his last hurrah will be the #T20 #WorldCup to be played in Mar 2016 in India). With fading form and age, he has one last chance to show he is still the wily old fox who can inspire his team to win in Australia again (remember .. it was under his leadership that India beat Australia 2-0 in the Tri series of 2008). 

His deputy #ViratKohli is hot on his heels if he fails to perform and deliver results. Virat has taken the new India team by the storm with his win-at-all-costs and aggressive attitude. Youngsters want to follow him and his attitude seems to be rubbing on his young team.

So, how with Captain Cool handle this young brigade? remains to be seen.

Australia on the other hand are rebuilding a team again under the young #SteveSmith. A lot of their bowling strength is depleted since retirement of #MitchellJohnson last year and #MitchellStarc out with a hamstring problem. How are their young bowlers going to cope with international matches will determine Australia's outcome in the series.

There are dangerous players on both sides who can turn games on their own. Warner and Maxwell for Australia alongside Smith and Marsh' while Jadeja and Raina can turn it on for India apart from Dhoni, Kohli and Rahane. India's #RaviAshwin will be the huge difference between these two team's bowling departments. 

All in all, it looks like a humdinger of a contest between these two sides over the next two weeks. May the best "cricket" team win (not the worst behaving one)!

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Why Is MS Dhoni Getting Bowled?

Whats happening to #CSK captain and "cool" #MSD?
He seems to have developed a habit of getting bowled at this IPL.

In the last two games he has been out bowled to fairly innocuous deliveries from opponent bowlers.

In the first instance, he was bowled right through the gate by a Piyush Chawla (of #KKR) delivery that googled a bit and took his middle stump. Agreed that the ball seemed to stay a bit low but never seen MS getting out in this manner.

In the following game against #SRH, a rookie Ashish Reddy sneaked in a straighter one yet again to dislodge Dhonis stumps. This time, too, he was trying to push the delivery to on side and completely missed it. 

Although its just two games and cannot look too much into it, MS has rarely been bowled playing nothing shots like these. Is something bothering him? His personal form at the moment isn't great too. He hasn't won a game for this team single handedly so far. Perhaps, a game like that could just ignite him? 

Inspite of his poor form, CSK still sitting pretty at #2 on the points table. 
Just goes to show, its not about the MS show with this team. Others are standing up brilliantly to guide their team home on most occasions.

As with MS, we're looking for that super cameo (that we've related to him all these years) in coming games!

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Double Header - CSK v Sunrisers and KKR vs RCB

The first weekend double header seems to be intriguing and exciting both.

Both games pit superstars from the same country teams against each other which makes it a really mouthwatering proposition.

#CSK vs #Sunrisers

Trent Boult will be in action against his NZ captain Brendon McCullum in this one.
Shikhar Dhawan will face off with Ravi Ashwin and Mohit Sharma while Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma would try to trouble MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina..
All in all a fascinating duel between team mates!

CSK definitely looking the stronger side
Who will come out on top

McCullum/Dwayne Smith or Dhawan/Warner
Boult/Sharma or Mohit/Ashwin
Or will it be the fielders that decide the game? 
CSK have a plethora of athletes - Raina, Faf, McCullum, Jadeja could turn the match on their fielding prowess alone!

The second game of the day is interesting too

#KKR vs #RCB

All eyes, no doubt, will be on #ViratKohli especially after his outburst against media and everyone who condemned #AnushkaSharma for his poor form and exit from the #CWC15. The aggressively expressive cricketer will be out there to prove a point. Will Anushka be there too? Remains to be seen...

Both captains are over the top players, losing their cool at the drop of a hat and thats where other senior players and umpires need to keep watch and control over proceedings in this game. Remember their famous on field spat a couple of seasons ago? Hope it doesn't repeat here 

RCB are batting heavy with Virat-ABD-Gayle trio. They can decimate any attack on their day single handedly. Bowling seems to be their biggest concerns especially with not a lot of superstar power in those ranks except the exceptional Mtichell Starc and lively Adam Milne. 

KKR seem more balanced on the bowling side with good combination of speed, swing and spin.
Morne Morkel and Umesh Yadav will lead the speed guns while Sunil Narine, Shakib Al Hasan and KC Cariappa (suprise pick for 2.4 crores!) will handle the spin dept. Batting is steady but not destructive - Gambhir will look to control innings at the top while Utthappa, Surya Yadav and Yusuf Pathan will tee off as needed.

All in all, very intriguing and exciting games these....  

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CWC15 - MS Dhoni - Know Your Player

MS Dhoni is remarkable. His destiny is powerful.
His soaring imagination will cause him to support projects that seem unfeasible and then surprises and confuses everyone by showing that they are indeed feasible. The key to achieve the impossible is their rare combination of imagination and fierce determination.

The greatest challenge for him is dealing with criticism or rejection, the way forward for him is to take on board what is being said and learn from it. Criticism and rejection are simply stepping stones on the way to success.

He has to toughen up emotionally become more objective and realistic in his approach to the game play. He is truly ingenious and creative.

His luck maker is when he confronts something bigger and tougher than him the tough gets going if he trusts his intuitions he is in for a bigger role and happenings in life.

His Power Thought
‘”From now on I will look at every obstacle as an opportunity.”

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CWC 2015 - Is Dhoni The Best Finisher In Cricket Ever?

#MSDhoni has pulled a rabbit out the hat once again!
This time in a crunch run chase vs #WestIndies at #WACA, #Perth in the ongoing #CWC15.

Wobbling at 107 for 5 and needing 75 runs to win with the untested lower order with him, he once again showed why he is the most feared and respected batsman in run chases. The calmness and methodology implemented seems to win him games as if it was a foregone conclusion!

It may be tight run chase with run pressure (v Aus at the Gabba in 2011, v Sri Lanka at Jamaica in a tri series final in 2013 and so many games) or it may be a dogged run chase (like today), he has the tools and mindset for them all... seldom does he fall short of the winning total. He is always there at the end either hitting the winning runs or helping his partner hit them. Its just extraordinary. A genius ability really to be able to do it over and over....

There have been some great finishers in the past including #MichaelBevan, #JavedMiandad and #LanceKluesner (these names just came to my mind .. a few more are in that list) but the regularity with which Dhoni pulls India out of these situations is exemplary. Also shows India's top order issues to handle pressure situations in second innings of a one day match.

To add to that he has to handle captaincy and Indian media that seems to tear into its captain at every single opportunity. 

Hats off #MS, a true modern great in ODIs.

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