Virat Kohli - India's man for 2015 ICC World Cup

Virat Kohli heaves a sigh of relief after scoring his 20th ODI ton

Cricket in the Caribbean sunk to a new low when their players decided to pull out midway from the bilateral series against India due to an ongoing pay dispute between the West Indian Players Association (WIPA) and the West Indian Cricket Board (WICB). They didn’t stand too much to gain out of their short trip except the ire of the Board of the Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). India, on the other hand, got back something that they were in pursuit of since the last few months: Virat Kohli’s form.
The abrupt end to the tour may have cost the BCCI dear; however, as an Indian cricket fan, if the series managed to bring Kohli back to form, it doesn’t bother me too much. The replacement ODI series against Sri Lanka to compensate for the BCCI’s losses would probably only help his confidence further. The Delhi batsman has often brought out his best against the Islanders, scoring 5 out of his 20 ODI centuries so far against them. His 133* at Hobart in the 2012 CB series, when India needed to chase over 337 in less than 40 overs, immediately comes to mind.
The true mark of a great player is to perform on the greatest of world stages, and what better stage in cricket than the ICC World Cup? Didn’t the legendary Sachin Tendulkar always bring out his best at the mega event? He scored 2278 runs at an average of 56.95 (substantially more than his career average of 44.83). His batting was instrumental in India’s successful campaigns in the 2003 and 2011 editions of the World Cups.
But does Kohli have it in him to score big in Australia? His record suggests so. He made his mark during India’s last tour Down Under, in 2011-12, when he was India’s highest run-getter in the 4-match Test series. Also, when India toured New Zealand earlier this year, he made centuries in both Tests and ODIs. In fact, his recent tour of England and the West Indies tour of 2011, when he first burst on to the scene in the Test arena, seem to be the only aberrations in his otherwise largely consistent 6 years of cricket so far.

Why Kohli at No. 4, and not at No. 3
But is his current batting position necessarily right for the team? He was sent in at number 4 in the second ODI against the Windies, while Rayudu was promoted to number 3. MS Dhoni, in his post-match presentation, mentioned it was a move to ensure that the most experienced players viz., Kohli, Suresh Raina and the captain himself bat in the lower-middle order. Kohli did get a useful 50, only to be sent in at his usual number 3 again in the next match. The logic behind the move is hard to decode, but, in hindsight, no one questioned it, either, since Kohli scored the much awaited century in the 4th ODI.
Still, I believe that it will serve India well if Kohli is slotted in at number 4 for the World Cup. With Rohit Sharma out of the side with injury, Rayudu, who is not a regular in the side, batted at number 3 in the 2nd ODI and couldn’t make the most of the opportunity. But once Rohit gets fit, the Indian think-tank will face another conundrum as to whether Rohit or Rahane should open with Dhawan. With Rahane giving good starts fairly consistently with the southpaw, I feel he should be continued in that position, as he wasn’t too useful at number 4 and plays to his potential only while opening.
Rohit, in a recent interview, conveyed that he too is inclined to open, since the discipline that is needed to face the new ball gets the best out of him. In such a situation, it would make all the more sense to bat Rohit at number 3 and Kohli at 4. That way, it would be a win-win situation for everyone.
Rahane would play at a position he is best utilized in, Rohit would get to bat at the next best position to opening and get to face the new ball (something similar was done with Gambhir when Sachin and Sehwag opened for India in the World Cup 2011, and he did quite well) and Kohli, Raina and Dhoni at numbers 4, 5 and 6 would bring in utmost solidity to the lower middle order.
Statistics don’t lie. They reveal more than they hide. In this case, they are in favour of playing Kohli at number 4, too. In his 30 innings at number 4, he has scored 5 centuries, which means 1 in every 5 innings. At number 3, he has scored his remaining 14 centuries, in 93 innings: 1 in every 6.5 innings. He averages 62.54 at number 4 as against 51.97 at number 3. This should really clinch it for him.
Also, after the recent slump in his form, he should come out stronger as real champions do. He said all the right things in the post-match interview after his match-winning performance in the 4th ODI against the Caribbean side. He admitted that he has realized the importance of both good and bad times and learnt to take successes and failures in the last few months. Hopefully, he will have to build on from here. If India are to have any realistic chance of having a crack at defending the crown next year, they need to zero in on their opening pair, sort out their death bowling woes and, most importantly, need Virat Kohli to fire.

Although the men in blue did win their last two bilateral series against England and West Indies, they couldn’t win a single match in their previous two outings against much stronger teams, South Africa and New Zealand, away from home. It remains to be seen whether they can raise their game come February 2015.

PS: This article by the same author was originally published in SportsKeeda.com here

Could New Zealand finally win the ICC World Cup?

The Black Caps are strong contenders for ICC World Cup 2015

In an interview ahead of South Africa’s three-match ODI series against New Zealand, AB de Villiers said that New Zealand are “one of the favourites” for the 2015 World Cup.
Are New Zealand really favourites and not just the dark horses this time around?
They might currently be at number seven in the latest ICC ODI rankings, but if rankings could decide who won World Cups, South Africa would have won it at least once by now.
New Zealand has been in the World Cup semi-finals on six occasions (1975, 1979, 1993, 1999, 2007 and 2011), a feat no other team has achieved.
De Villiers knows a thing or two about New Zealand’s knack for punching above their weight – the Kiwis ousting South Africa in the quarter-finals of the 2011 World Cup. One could argue that game was more a case of South Africa choking in the knockout stages, but New Zealand’s ability to perform in big tournaments cannot be doubted.
The current New Zealand ODI team boasts fearless young cricketers in Corey Anderson, Jimmy Neesham, Kane Williamson and Trent Boult. Add to that the experience Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor bring to the table, and New Zealand are a force to be reckoned with. Throw veteran spinner Daniel Vettori’s possible comeback into the mix and the squad is strengthened further.
New Zealand also have the advantage of playing at home this time. In 2011, India proved it was indeed possible to win a World Cup despite the pressure of expectations from the home crowd. New Zealand will play all their league games at home, and if they manage to make the quarter-finals and semi-finals, they will play those at home too.
They should be quite comfortable with the Australian pitches as well, which suit their bowling attack, and they should benefit from the crowd support whether at home or in Australia.
The last time New Zealand hosted the world event they came agonisingly close to winning it, making them all the more desperate to finally get their hands on the coveted trophy. That they thrashed the current World champions India 4-0 at home earlier this year would have done their confidence no harm.
For me, New Zealand definitely have a strong chance this time.

PS: This article by the same author has originally been published on Roar Australia here

Cricket - A part of me

Cricket is a way of life in India

Cricket is the game that Indians love, the game that can bring the nation to a standstill and the game that is nothing less than a religion to us. The fact that I learnt playing pool when I was 20, table tennis when I was 19, chess when I was about 9, football when I was 8, but first held a cricket bat when I was 6, says it all.

Being from a small town, where cricket is such a ubiquity, unlike some other sports, I played cricket from a very young age. There is nothing else that I have done in my life over such a long period of time so far. I have played cricket in the evenings after school, day long on holidays and even in school recesses. No wonder, it has played a key role in shaping the person I am.

I played competitive cricket in school for the first time when I was in 9^th grade. I vividly remember the finals. Our team was chasing and I was one of the openers. My role was to hold an end and build partnerships while others around me played their shots. My opening partner and I didn’t give a wicket away while we chased down the total easily. I learnt how to just play for my team, without the need to be in the limelight. I also experienced the other side while still in school, when I was in the 10^th grade. I along with some of my teammates were considered to be among the best players in school and were favorites to win the tournament We were so over-confident, we didn't practise enough; the result, we lost the first match and were knocked out from the tournament; important lessons from both winning and losing.

After about a break of two years, I got a chance to play cricket again in college. That was the first time I played season ball cricket for more or less four straight years. Set out to be an opening batsman, I ended up being a spinner (born out of a decision to bowl a few offies in the nets, more to hold a season ball for some more time before I was thrown out of selections than anything else). I was selected, not for my batting, but bowling. Guess I was just destined to be in the team. It was simply meant to be that way. Playing cricket in college was an incredible journey in itself. There were both ups and downs, but just being a part of it was special.

I remember, in my first year, I was not a certainty in the playing XI for the first match of the season. No one played the second spinner at the cost of sitting a batsman out; certainly not my team. Unfortunately, it was a knockout tournament; we lost the first match, and were thus eliminated from the tournament. On one hand, I was excited to have watched my college team play the first match of the season, but disappointed to see us lose from the sidelines. I just kept bowling consistently accurate in the nets, and it was becoming more and more difficult to keep me out of the team. I eventually played in the third tournament of the season and put up one of my best shows till date on debut. That was the time I realized the importance of persevering.

I took a lot of wickets especially in the first two years of college. To be honest I did not think much while bowling, especially in the first half of my college cricket years. In the latter half, I used to try and outwit the batsman, anticipate what the batsman might do and bowl accordingly. I was miserly in doing this and hardly gave away runs, but I took far less wickets. I wonder if there was a pattern to it. Either ways, I can say that somehow for a large part, I used to bowl at the same uncomfortable spots to the batsman consistently. I believe, focusing and constantly keeping on doing the right things is a part of my personality as well.

Being a team sport playing cricket taught me a lot about team spirit. Our team had never gone on beyond quarter finals in the home tournament. In my first year, unfortunately, I was not available for the last match that we lost (the quarter finals). Probably, the word ‘finals’ made us jittery; sport is as much about the mental strength as it is about the physical aspect after all.

But over my four years in college, we kept improving. We reached semis in my second and third years, and went on to play the finals in my last year. After I had graduated from college, our team did finally make it the next year and went on to win the home tournament. Probably, the cultural shift in the team required time to take its full effect.

Our only tournament win in my four years in college apart from many semis and finals came in my third year. The finals will forever remain etched in my mind. We were batting first and were 5 wickets down for barely anything. We were staring at another choke on a big day. The mood in the sidelines was gloomy and our last pair of batsmen was our only hope. Everything was so dull, me and a friend of mine decided to change things a bit. We went and talked to our team mates one by one and tried to cheer them up and they did smile. Their smiles grew wider as our last two batsmen put up a fight and played out the remainder of the 20 overs. We put on a paltry 120, but the mood wasn’t bad. We had something to defend. The opposition started well, and we soon looked deflated. We needed an inspiration and inspiration we got, a brilliant diving catch! That was the opening we were looking for and we pounced on it. We dived and fielded like our lives depended on it and went on to win the match by a small 13 run margin eventually. That match taught me how a team that is down and out can be inspired back to win. It just takes someone to lead the change with individual brilliance and inspire the team.

I don’t think I am ever going to give up cricket in my life, I will continue following the sport if not actually playing it. It has after all been one of the most important things to have shaped my personality. Life has different way to teaching everyone. Cricket has certainly been that for me.

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