Ind v Eng-ODI Series-Yuvraj's Sublime 150, Dhoni's Masterly 134 And Morgan's Superb 102

#INDvENG #ODI Series 2017

2nd ODI, #Cuttack

It was a day of centuries at the #Barabati #Stadium in #Cuttack, the venue for 2nd ODI between #India and #England. Trailing 0-1, English captain #EoinMorgan chose to chase on this super flat deck and also assuming that dew in evening would support their batsmen when chasing the total.

Early breakthroughs for #ChrisWoakes, including the prized scalp of talisman #VirakKohli put India on the backfoot early. Woakes snared Rahul, Virat and Dhavan in quick succession to send India reeling at 25 for 3.

In walked #MSDhoni to join #YuvrajSingh. It needed a partnership to not just bail India out of trouble but set a score where they could challenge the English batters. As it turned out, a dream partnership of sublime timing (Yuvraj - 150) and masterly timed innings (Dhoni - 134*) to guide India. They put on a stunning 256 run partnership (5th highest for any wicket in #ODIs). Both scoring majestic centuries in the bargain. By the time Yuvraj left, they had set up a great platform for the young bashers in Jadhav and Pandya to take centrestage.

With the insurance of Dhoni at the other end both didnt disappoint. Jadhav and Pandya slogged their way to get India to a massive 381 for 8 in 50 overs. MS remained unbeaten on 134.

The chase needed a similar response from English batsmen. However, #AlexHales nicked one Dhoni to get England to a worst possible start. Mr. Dependable #JoeRoot then joined #JasonRoy and both decided to take the attack to the Indians. Together they strung a century partnership.

Just when things began to look brighter , a change of bowling worked for Kohli.

#RAshwin,  after a poor game in Pune, bounced back to get Root. His flight and the wicket did him in. He lofted one straight to midwicket where skipper Kohli completed his catch.

#Morgan then stepped in and started accumulating runs. #JasonRoy kept smashing at the other end and propelled the innings with a wonderful 83 before he was castled by #Jaddu, #Moeen made a quickfire 50 and at 203 for 4 in 30 overs, the target seemed achievable. It was 20-20 scenario.

A couple of quick blows though set England back. Ashwin foxed dangerous #BenStokes and then tricked #JosButtler in quick succession to put pressure on England. #Morgan continued his fine strokeplay though and kept the asking rate within grasp. At 349 for 7, needing 33 in 18 balls, the game looked even and slightly tilted towards England since Morgan was in superb touch. 

Then tragedy struck. Bumrah's yorker was somehow dug by Plunkett but straight back to him. By that time, Morgan had followed up too long and way out of his crease. Bumrah ran him out comfortably to release a lot of tension in the India camp. The final couple of overs saw England fizzle out and ended 15 runs short of the target. What a pity! They were in it for most of the game and it would have been an all time classic run-chase if they had pulled this off!

India win the series 2-0 and the third one dayer will be played in #Kolkata on 22nd Jan 2017.

Man of the Match: Yuvraj Singh

Powered by:

http://www.whowillwinthecup.com

CWC 2015 - Did England Lose Match At The Toss v Australia?

England won a great toss but chose to field. Did they lose the game there?

#EoinMorgan mentioned at the toss that he'd like to exploit overnight moisture at the #MCG early and inserted Australia in. Was it a fatal mistake? Big game, Tournament opener ... was it not a better idea to bat first and put runs on the board?

#GeorgeBailey was very happy to lose the toss and still get his choice - bat first. He mentioned the pitch would be great throughout and it did play true throughout the game.

Morgan's decision would have been vindicated greatly, if Aaron Finch would not have been dropped in the very first over on nought. He went on to make 135. Huge dent...

The specially minted #coin for the match toss is beautiful though.

Powered by:http://www.whowillwinthecup.com

Will England Be Fourth Time Lucky?

#England teams have been enigmatic over the years.

They reached 3 Finals in the first 5 editions of the Cricket World Cup, losing on all three occasions

(to West Indies in 1979, to Australia in 1987 and to Pakistan in 1992). Until then, they were a very powerful force to reckon with in one dayers.

The advent of modern day cricket (pinch hitting, powerplays, etc) seemed to derail them completely from the format. Add to that key retirements including Ian Botham, Graham Gooch. Mike Gatting, Robin Smith, etc and their downfall happened pretty sharply over the years.

1996 saw them blown away by a rampaging Jayasuriya in the quarter finals

In 1999, they couldnt reach the #SuperSixes stage (in their home World Cup)

Repeat poor performances in 2003 (South Africa), 2007 (West Indies) and 2011 (India) indicated a big down-slide of this side.

However, with fresh new talent coming in, they have slowly crept up the ladder to top of the tree by 2012. Excellent combination of batting. bowling and all round ability led them to dominate both test and one day cricket for a while.

So, how does it look for them at the 2015 Cricket World Cup?

The team looks settled but low on pure skills. 

Batting:

Morgan, Bell will need to lead talented youngsters in tough situations and crunch moments in tight matches. 

Bowling:

Definitely their biggest strength especially with Anderson and Finn leading that attack. Spin is a worry since retirement of Graeme Swann.

All Round Ability:

Broad, Ali, Bopara should do well to contribute with either bat or ball.

All in all, they need to play well above their potential and ability to win this world cup.

All the best #Poms!

Team England for the Cricket World Cup 2015 

Eoin Morgan

Moeen Ali

Garry Ballance

Ian Bell

Ravi Bopara

Jos Butler

Stuart Broad

Alex Hales

Joe Root

Chris Jordan

James Tredwell

James Taylor

Chris Woakes

James Anderson

Steven Finn