Tag Archives: india

Make Them Play 90 Overs on the Last Day

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This tweet from Homer says it for all India fans:

You get paid to play 450 overs/6 hrs a day for 5 days.. Why not play, unless u are losing? Why take your bat and ball and go home?

I have always found this “mandatory overs” and “optional 15 overs” stuff on the last day of a Test extremely weird. I mean, there are cases where it is pretty much impossible for any result other than a draw, but most of those situations are very clear even before the final 15 overs. For example, you could have 550 and 480 in the first two innings and then the first team bats again with 50 overs left on the last day. Or you lose 4 days to rain and you just have 90 overs on the last day for four innings. You pretty much know the match is going to be a draw and could end it then. So the 15-over thing serves as an arbitrary limit.

Theoretically, the captains could call it off anytime. Of course, that won’t work because people have bought tickets and will get upset if you just call off the entire day or even half the day. 15 overs (an hour or so) seems designed to avoid too much complaint. Until it is abused as in today’s match between India and West Indies. 86 off 90 is not an impossibility. I suspect that if the 15 overs were not optional, India would have scored more runs and thus had a more favorable equation.

In situations like this, it is not the absolute impossibility of a result that makes both teams agree to a draw. Ironically, it is the possibility of a result. Neither team wants to lose. India doesn’t like it because they don’t want a 1-0 series win become a 1-1 series draw in search of a 2-0 result. West Indies don’t want it because a 0-2 result would be traumatic after a major rescue effort by the tail, not to mention all the problems with their Board. Neither team gets an ideal result, but the compromise is the least worst result. Based on the justifications, it seems like India was more worried that losing 7 wickets was a greater likelihood in 15 overs than making 80-odd runs.

I am not going to blame either team for this, because the incentives for the teams (coaches, captains and players) are biased against taking risks. In the last few years, I can recall India settling for a 1-0 win when they could have tried for 2-0 at least three times (against England, Pakistan and New Zealand) through more challenging declarations. But the rules of the game need not be skewed towards encouraging such proclivities. Make the teams play the extra hour without any choice.

Also it is not very clear to me why there needs to be a distinction between the “wide” calls in Test cricket versus limited overs cricket. I think if there is less margin for wide deliveries, you could see more results.

Finally, I am reminded of that Adelaide Ashes match where Australia had 36 overs to chase 168 and they did it in 33 overs. Today India had 47 overs to make 180, reached 94 in 32 overs and then quit. Different match circumstances and all that, but there is a reason why nobody questioned Australia’s No. 1 rating.

Bonus: This is a good one by Zaltzman

A Pattern That Does Not Match

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Devanshu Mehta has a post about faltering, but ultimately successful chases by India. Too bad about this, though. But even otherwise, I think the analysis is wrong. Taking it apart:

  • India v Ireland: Yuvraj (50*) and Yusuf Pathan (30*)
  • India v Netherlands: Yuvraj (51*) and Dhoni (19*)
  • India v Australia: Yuvraj (57*) and Raina (34*)
  • India v Sri Lanka: Dhoni (91*) and Yuvraj (21*)
  • India v WI (1st): Rohit Sharma (68*) and Raina (43)
  • India v WI (3rd): Rohit Sharma (86*) and Harbhajan (41)

Notice the trends. In the first three matches, Yuvraj made a fifty and India won the match. In the Sri Lanka match, Dhoni promoted himself ahead of Yuvraj and did his job. In all the four matches in the World Cup, India won by at least 5 wickets. Yuvraj and Raina are specialist batsmen. Dhoni and Pathan have reputations as explosive batsmen. The 1st ODI against West Indies, India won by 4 wickets and Raina got out with only 33 runs to get.

Devanshu’s assertion that India bats “very, very deep” does not match the facts here because only the last match can even meet the case of the tail leading India to victory. In all the other cases, a genuine middle-order batting pair consolidated the task of chasing a target under control. In fact, watching the final against Sri Lanka was almost boring. The only worry was if suddenly several wickets fell against the run of play. But that didn’t happen and India always seemed in control.

India’s Test History

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India just marked their 100th Test victory with a thumping win against Sri Lanka. It was interesting reading the statistics of India’s Test history.

India is the nation that has taken the most number of matches (432) to reach 100 Test wins. The previous entry was Pakistan at 320 Tests. Sri Lanka have 60 wins in 191 matches and surely should make it before 300. Of course, they had a lot of help from Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, but still.

The only other nation likely to ever reach 100 wins is New Zealand who have 66 wins from 354 matches and are sure to beat India’s record. Bangladesh (3 wins from 61 matches) has a loooooooong way to go!

India has made a lot of strides in this decade, with more wins abroad than in the rest of their history. Many reasons, but a few I can think of: Sourav Ganguly’s captaincy, Rahul Dravid’s form abroad, Kumble turning around his overseas form, India holding their own against Australia in Australia, the decline of the West Indies, England no longer a threat, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe.

On the other hand, India has had a few setbacks at home. They lost a series against Australia after decades. They have conceded matches against South Africa, England and Pakistan. More aggression at home would have made Win #100 come earlier. We haven’t seen a whitewash for sometime now.

India Needs Bowlers Who Take 20 Wickets

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What was the difference between the India of the 1st Test against Sri Lanka and the India of the 2nd Test?

OK, I will wait while you compare the two scorecards.

The only difference was Mishra and Sharma went out, and Ojha and Sreesanth came in.

The batting pretty much clicked in both matches, but the main difference was the bowling.

It bears repeating. Batsmen do not win matches. Bowlers do.

From 1990 to 2000, recall how many matches did India win when Kumble (or Harbhajan) were on fire. How many did they win when neither clicked?

As a nation, we are too obsessed with the big-hitters and ton-makers. Spare a thought for the hard workers who convert the zero in a Test series to natural numbers.

Is India Going Down to Sri Lanka in this Test?

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What in the world has happened to the Indian cricket team? Before the series, I thought an Indian whitewash was a slam dunk. Instead, I look at a 165-run deficit with Sri Lanka still having 5 wickets in hand, and I cannot see how India is going to perform a rescue act.

But for Dravid’s huge ton on the first day, India would have already been sunk. Amazing!

I plead guilty to mocking Sri Lanka throughout this year for their meaningless triumphs against Bangladesh. But this year has really been a turnaround year for them. Beating Pakistan and New Zealand at home and before that, a good performance in a truncated series in Pakistan. And no single person responsible. A true team effort.

I still hope India can save this match. But Sri Lanka has all the cards. A hundred runs more and India will have to work really hard to avoid losing by an innings.

Who Will Replace Dhoni?

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In reply to my last post about firing Dhoni, a few of you have asked, “Who is there to replace Dhoni? There is NO alternative!”

My response is what would you do if Dhoni was injured and out of a year. Would India go with a captain? I don’t think so. We will find someone.

Regardless of Dhoni’s performance of a captain, we have to groom the second tier of leaders in the cricket team. With so many matches (international, IPL) being played today, India cannot afford to have a captain without any backup.

And it has to be a real backup. Not a puppet who is unaware of the strategies and tactics, and doesn’t have a mind of his own.

So let us take the 2011 World Cup which, I presume, is what all Indians cricket fans are looking forward to. It is a watershed event because it will probably mark the end of the Tendulkar era. I don’t think Tendulkar, Dravid and some players in other teams (Murali, Ponting?) will continue beyond that.

We have roughly 18 months to go before that. So what is our Grand Unified Strategy?

What is our core team? Who are the players? What is the backup plan for each of these players in case of injury and lack of form? What are we doing to ensure adequate playing time for the players and their backups, without overburdening them?

Are we planning to launch any special tactics for the World Cup (ala NZ 1992, SL 1996, etc.)? Are we going to pilot them or keep them hidden until the last minute? Will there be special tactics for batting, bowling, fielding or taking advantage of ODI rules (such as Powerplay times)?

What if we cannot execute these tactics effectively or they don’t yield the predicted results? Do we have a conventional plan to fall back upon? This is the most critical part, because if we cannot win by playing conventionally, then we will be blown out of the water by strong teams such as Australia and South Africa. Innovative tactics has to be built upon a team that can still play well otherwise.

What has India done in the last 12 months that gives you the confidence as an Indian cricket fan that India can bring the goods in 2011? My confidence was high at the beginning of the year, but with each passing month, I feel that India is losing its way.

Once again, we have 18 months. Do you think Dhoni can do his job and get the strategy right? Or should we persist with him and then see India keep experimenting with showmanship tactics that do nothing to advance our campaign for the World Cup?

How India Can Qualify for the Semis

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I have written a calculator for all the permutations tomorrow and put it up at BCC! (Bored Cricket Crazy Indians)

But everything depends on Pakistan playing well enough to beat Australia. Pakistan has already qualified for the semis while Australia needs to win to avoid any suspense.

And then there is rain. If either match is rained out, Australia and Pakistan will go through.

It is a tough deal for India, but as Leela points out, at least they have some hope, which they wouldn’t if rain had stayed away from the Australia match.

Irony of the Day

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Achettup at BCC!:

Great, now we depend on Pakistan even for the slightest chance of making it to the semis.

Just like Sri Lanka depended on England! As was more than adequately shown today, England had no interest in letting Sri Lanka through to the semi-finals via the back door. They couldn’t even make it seem not too obvious that they were throwing the match, what with Andrew Strauss leading the way with a duck. And New Zealand prolonging the misery of every Sri Lankan who tuned into the match by throwing away a few wickets towards the end.

Giving hope is the worst form of giving!

Turning to my blog reader, I find that Ducking Beamers has already made the point:

Pakistan fans will root for a victory against Australia, but in doing so, they will inadvertently root to increase India’s chances. Meanwhile, Indians will tune in for, of all things, a Pakistan victory. It’s a real cumbaya moment, but I’d hate just to mock it. This is the fun of sport, when love for the game supersedes even 60 years of mutual hatred — if only for a match against the White Man.

Meanwhile, I am waiting for Arm Ball to root for Pakistan tomorrow after writing this dreck:

Losing to Pakistan is a shame anywhere. We wont mind losing to Kiwis or Windies or even England, but no losing to Pakistan.

No Ifs and Buts: India Must Beat Australia or Crash Out

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I previously said that India’s campaign would last a whole of 5 days if they don’t qualify for the semis. Actually, make that three days. If they lose tomorrow against the Aussies, their chances end. They can then play West Indies for the wooden spoon.

The four-team group stage is rather a killer format in this respect. You lose one important game and you are looking at the brink. But India do have an opportunity to set things right, and any NRR calculations that come into place can be taken care of easily if they beat West Indies handily in the last match.

But India were disappointing in their first outing. Unless they make a remarkable comeback, it should be Pakistan and Australia through to the next round. I am hoping England and New Zealand join them. Should be a great set of semis and finals. On the other hand, I wouldn’t mind an India-Pakistan rematch in the finals, after they beat the Group B qualifiers.

India Done In By Tactical Mistakes and Pakistani Brilliance

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I was trying to recall the last time India lost to Pakistan in a big tournament and simply couldn’t. This was a historic win for Pakistan and it will mean a lot for them to beat the arch-rivals even if they don’t do much for the rest of the tournament. As for India, unless they beat Australia on Monday, they will not qualify for the semi-finals – a big blow to one of the Trophy favorites.

Two Pakistani pairs – one batting (Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Yousuf) and one bowling (Saeed Ajmal and Shahid Afridi) – did most of the work today. The Malik-Yousuf double century partnership took the match away from India at a time when Pakistan was on the backfoot (65/3). Yousuf deserved a ton for his effort.

India should have applied more pressure at the beginning of that long partnership. Bowling Kohli was a joke. A couple of more wickets at that juncture could have resulted in a target around 200. Dhoni did not seem to be thinking very clearly.

The batting was better and India could have probably achieved a target that was some 30 runs smaller. But the run-outs didn’t help. Plus the fact that Rahul Dravid stayed there instead of Sachin Tendulkar probably sealed the result of the match. You can make a case that an India with Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag may have overhauled that target and you may be right.

One last point which I have been harping on for sometime: Dhoni’s floating position. I don’t think it affected today’s result, but why does he keep shuffling the batting order between him and Suresh Raina? Not to say his weird tendency to come in at No. 3 if there is a platform.

India and Dhoni have to stop with this “flexible” batting order stupidity. It is a low percentage tactical move and the only person it seems to be benefiting is Dhoni. Take a look at his scores in the last several matches where he has promoted himself to No. 3.