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SERIES PREVIEW; AUSTRALIA’S TOUR OF INDIA, 2017 The Australian’s are all set to begin their tour of India, starting February 23rd, in Pune. What makes this series all the more interesting is that Australia have a complete new look team this time around, something that is not usually the case with Australia. This is probably the youngest Australian side to tour India (considering the average age). Let us discuss the Aussie batting line up. As is expected, Steven Smith and David Warner will be carrying the onus of scoring the bulk of the runs this time around. Whether Shaun Marsh will bat in the middle order (most likely), or in the opening position, is to be seen. He had performed well in Sri Lanka back in 2011 against a potent spin attack, and is one of the better players of spin from Australia. Youngsters Peter Handscomb and Matt Renshaw have a very challenging task ahead of themselves, as they look to make a mark in Test Cricket. “India tour can get you the status of all-...

Player Analysis- Stuart Broad Welcome to the new segment on my blog, which is called 'Player Analysis'. The analysis will be done on 3 bases, on a 5 mark rating; The X-Factor Consistency Exploits away from home England's Stuart Broad is the player in focus for today's analysis. Broad deserves more than just being in the shadow's of his peer, James Anderson. Whenever Broad is being talked about, Anderson seems to be getting a mention alongside him. It seems as if Broad's exploits for the 'Three Lions' seem to be getting lesser credit than what they deserve (368 Test Wickets at 28.54). Add to that his more than handy skills with the bat (2691 runs at 21.35), Broad has all the makings of a fantastic Test Cricketer. The 'X-Factor' is basically the mojo that separates the good from the great. It is the ability to shell out 'performances of distinction' on a regular basis. Time and again, this man has produced unthin...

2016, The Year in review! As 2016 has come to an end, it's only fair if we have a look at the highlights of the year. We will have a look at a few moments which shaped the cricketing world (for better or for worse). From splendid knock's to 'ball tampering', let us quickly have a look at a few events that are worth remembering; 1) Carlos Brathwaite, World T20 Final, 2016 (34 runs off 10 balls) If you ask any sportsperson what their dream is, he or she will definitely say that it is to perform at the big stage, when it matters the most. When the chips are down, that is when the stage is set for heroes to be made. "CARLOS BRATHWAITE, REMEMBER THE NAME!" - These words said by Ian Bishop during the commentary of the finals, still give me goosebumps, each time I hear them. With 19 needed off the last over, a lot of televisions were turned off, as people wrote the Windies off. What happened in the next couple of minutes, left Ben Stokes and the en...

Key Battles to watch out for; Pakistan's tour of Australia, (2016-17) (Test Series) Welcome to the second edition of 'Key Battles to watch out for', this time featuring Pakistan's tour of Australia! What makes this series all the more interesting is that the Aussies are fresh from a series defeat against the South Africans. The last match would have allowed the Aussies to gain some lost confidence though. Pakistan, too, after a humiliating series defeat at the hands of New Zealand, will be playing with a lot of expectations on their shoulders. Nobody taking the field at The Gabba on December 15th will be more determined than Steven Smith . With critics doubting his skills as a leader, Smith will definitely be under the gun, come December 15th. Now let us have a look at some of the individual battles that have the potential to change the course of the entire series. 1) Sami Aslam vs. Mitchell Starc Sami Aslam, the young 21 year old, was given the ...

My Test XI(2016) A simple glance at the photo above is enough to express the beauty of the dying art that is Test Cricket. I use the word 'dying art' because of a number of reasons. The first being that currently, there is no team in the world that can win away from home on a consistent basis. I'll get into the reasons of that in another article which i will be writing soon, which also happens to be based on Test Cricket. Secondly, there seems to be a paucity of quality spinners. By quality spinners, I do not mean winding up the opposition on a dusty wicket. I mean getting wickets outside of the sub-continent. Currently, only one spinner stands out for me, and that is Yasir Shah. Anyway, without diverting too much off the main topic, here is a compilation of my modern day Test XI; 1) Tom Latham (New Zealand) Tom Latham, being just 24 years of age, is one of the better openers out there. Highly under-rated, this Kiwi batsman proved his mettle in the recentl...

Key battles to watch out for; England vs. India, 1st Test. Cricket, sometimes defies the fact that teamwork is required to be successful in any sport. So often we see one in-form player single handedly carrying the team forward. That is exactly what Alastair Cook did, back in the 2012 series. Both sides happen to have some phenomenal players within their ranks. This is exactly why I have decided to add a segment called 'Key battles'. Quite often these individual battles tend to have an impact on the entire game as a whole. 1) Joe Root vs. Ravindra Jadeja All the talk seems to be only about Alastair Cook and his technique against the spinners being the decisive factor in this series. But, if you look at the English batting line up, there seems to be an unusually high amount of left handed batsmen. Root, firstly being the backbone to this English batting line up for the past couple of years and secondly being a right handed batsman, will definitely be targeted by ...

Series Preview: England's Tour of India, 2016-17. With just a day away from the first Test of the series to be played at Rajkot, the excitement in the city is buzzing as it gears up to host it's first ever Test Match. Certain players too, from both sides, would be looking to put in a string of strong performances. With that in mind, the crux of this preview will be to have a look at the players to watch out for; 1) Virat Kohli (IND) Virat Kohli definitely has a point to prove against the Englishmen. Statistics say that Kohli has a measly average of 20 against England. Not just away tests, but this includes 7 home Tests. This surely speaks volumes about the fact that the English bowlers have figured Kohli out. Will be interesting to see if Kohli will carry on with his sublime form in this series or whether he will fall and succumb into the pressure of his past record against the same side. Though, the fact that Anderson has been sidelined from the first Test will ...