Monday, 24 February 2014
Asia Cup 2014, What India needs to do to win it
India will start their Asia Cup campaign against host Bangladesh on Feb 26, 2014 with hope for winning the cup for the the 6th time. But given the recent form in ODI cricket it will not be easy for world champions to win the tournament.
India last time failed to reach the semifinals even though they had beaten Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the league stage. But they lost to Bangladesh in a match which saw Sachin Tendulkar reached hundredth century in all international matches.
Other teams in the tournament, especially Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh have been playing some good cricket recently. More importantly they have played their recent cricket on Asian Pitches. Afghanistan is other team in tournament but they are less likely to cause any upset. India on the other hand is woefully our of form and have lost badly in last 2 ODI series, albeit away from home in South Africa and New Zealand. In fact India did not manage to win a single match.
Apart from blip in form, there are other worries that Indian team is facing. To start off their most experience One Day cricket player and regular captain MS Dhoni is not playing due to side strain and captaincy responsibility is landed on shoulders of their best ODI batsmen, on current form, Virat Kohli. Will captaincy take its toll on Kohli, it remains to be seen. Other thing is the Indian team selected for Asia Cup lacks experience. Indian have had a good run against all teams in this tournament, but likes of Dhoni, Yuvra Singh, Virendar Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, and Gautam Gambhir had a big role to play in those performances. This time Suresh Raina is also missing who could have made a difference with his power hitting in asian conditions. With Rohit Sharma out of form and Ainkya Rahane not been able to come to terms with limited overs cricket, entire load of batting might fall on shoulders of Virat Kohli, which India would definitely not want to happen.
India's Squad for Asia Cup: Virat Kohli (captain), Varun Aaron, Ravichandran Ashwin, Stuart Binny, Shikhar Dhawan, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Amit Mishra, Mohammed Shami, Ishwar Pandey, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ainkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni (withdrawn player)
It will also be interesting to see if fast bowler Ishwar Pandey and middle order batsmen Cheteshwar Pujara get to play in starting 11. Especially everyone is looking forward to how Cheteshwar Pujara is going to adjust his game to meet the demands of ODI cricket. Many former cricketers have demanded his inclusion in squad in past as well.
Also See: Should Asia Cup squads be chosen keeping world cup 2015 in mind
Apart from batting, there is no secret, and forget about quality, as far as Indian bowling is concerned. Indian bowlers hardly win matches for them and in batting friendly conditions in Bangladesh they are likely to go for plenty of runs in flat fatullah cricket pitch.
What India, and Virat Kohli, needs to do is to back their spinners. Bat first, if possible, and bat out the opposition. Don't overestimate the 'dew' and other eternal factors. Inclusion of allrounders like Stuart Binny will help Indian team to strengthen both batting and bowling departments. Stuart Binny, son of former cricketer and current selector Roger Binny, has been in good form, particularly with bat, scoring a blistering 100 recently in domestic tournament. Also India should back themselves in the field with some exciting athletic fielders like Ravindra Jadeja available to them who has shown to turn matches on the head with smart fielding effort. There is no one more accurate than Ainkya Rahane when it comes to throwing down wickets by scoring direct hits off the deep position.
If Inda can bat well and field as if they have never before they might have a great chance of winning the Asia Cup, otherwise it will be yet another disappointing news as far as cricket is concerned for Indian cricket fans.
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| Asia Cup Trophy, Can India win Asia Cup 2014! |
Other teams in the tournament, especially Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh have been playing some good cricket recently. More importantly they have played their recent cricket on Asian Pitches. Afghanistan is other team in tournament but they are less likely to cause any upset. India on the other hand is woefully our of form and have lost badly in last 2 ODI series, albeit away from home in South Africa and New Zealand. In fact India did not manage to win a single match.
Apart from blip in form, there are other worries that Indian team is facing. To start off their most experience One Day cricket player and regular captain MS Dhoni is not playing due to side strain and captaincy responsibility is landed on shoulders of their best ODI batsmen, on current form, Virat Kohli. Will captaincy take its toll on Kohli, it remains to be seen. Other thing is the Indian team selected for Asia Cup lacks experience. Indian have had a good run against all teams in this tournament, but likes of Dhoni, Yuvra Singh, Virendar Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, and Gautam Gambhir had a big role to play in those performances. This time Suresh Raina is also missing who could have made a difference with his power hitting in asian conditions. With Rohit Sharma out of form and Ainkya Rahane not been able to come to terms with limited overs cricket, entire load of batting might fall on shoulders of Virat Kohli, which India would definitely not want to happen.
India's Squad for Asia Cup: Virat Kohli (captain), Varun Aaron, Ravichandran Ashwin, Stuart Binny, Shikhar Dhawan, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Amit Mishra, Mohammed Shami, Ishwar Pandey, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ainkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni (withdrawn player)
It will also be interesting to see if fast bowler Ishwar Pandey and middle order batsmen Cheteshwar Pujara get to play in starting 11. Especially everyone is looking forward to how Cheteshwar Pujara is going to adjust his game to meet the demands of ODI cricket. Many former cricketers have demanded his inclusion in squad in past as well.
Also See: Should Asia Cup squads be chosen keeping world cup 2015 in mind
Apart from batting, there is no secret, and forget about quality, as far as Indian bowling is concerned. Indian bowlers hardly win matches for them and in batting friendly conditions in Bangladesh they are likely to go for plenty of runs in flat fatullah cricket pitch.
What India, and Virat Kohli, needs to do is to back their spinners. Bat first, if possible, and bat out the opposition. Don't overestimate the 'dew' and other eternal factors. Inclusion of allrounders like Stuart Binny will help Indian team to strengthen both batting and bowling departments. Stuart Binny, son of former cricketer and current selector Roger Binny, has been in good form, particularly with bat, scoring a blistering 100 recently in domestic tournament. Also India should back themselves in the field with some exciting athletic fielders like Ravindra Jadeja available to them who has shown to turn matches on the head with smart fielding effort. There is no one more accurate than Ainkya Rahane when it comes to throwing down wickets by scoring direct hits off the deep position.
If Inda can bat well and field as if they have never before they might have a great chance of winning the Asia Cup, otherwise it will be yet another disappointing news as far as cricket is concerned for Indian cricket fans.
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