The revenge season is finally upon us. We have England,
Pakistan and Australia coming to the land of cricket. But first up is England who
have not won a series in India for the last 27 years. It will be a keen contest
of batsmen, bowlers and coaches. So let us try to see who is better off in the
respective departments.
The batsmen:
England- The visitors come well equipped. They have the right
amount of temperament in Cook and Trott, aggression in Pietersen and Bairstow
and mental toughness of Ian bell to bail them out of sticky situations. A guy
like Samit Patel makes a world of difference for them as he provides them that
right balance in the team. The only problematic area as far as their batting is
considered is their inexperienced openers, they will surely miss the calm and
composed ways of Andrew Strauss. Overall, they have a set of batsmen who can
and will take responsibility.
India- Departure of Dravid, Laxman and Ganguly has indeed a left a gaping hole as evident by their embarrassing overseas tours. The transition must be smooth for Indian team to be as effective as they were before in the cricketing world. Kohli and Pujara have somewhat stabilized the ship. Gauti and Sehwag really need to get their mojo back, and have to build on the good starts. The middle order looks really good with the comeback man Yuvraj, Pujara and the (slightly off colour) God himself. But it is the lower order that has been a serious cause of worry. Dhoni looks uncharacteristically vulnerable, pokes at everything outside off and is short of confidence and barring Ashwin, the other bowlers just come to the crease to just complete the formalities.
But their biggest confidence booster is that they are playing in their backyard and Indians have always been Lions in their backyard. Thus taking this into consideration, this round ends in a draw. Meaning it would be a battle of equals as far as the batting department is considered.
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| Bell will be keen to continue his good run |
India- Departure of Dravid, Laxman and Ganguly has indeed a left a gaping hole as evident by their embarrassing overseas tours. The transition must be smooth for Indian team to be as effective as they were before in the cricketing world. Kohli and Pujara have somewhat stabilized the ship. Gauti and Sehwag really need to get their mojo back, and have to build on the good starts. The middle order looks really good with the comeback man Yuvraj, Pujara and the (slightly off colour) God himself. But it is the lower order that has been a serious cause of worry. Dhoni looks uncharacteristically vulnerable, pokes at everything outside off and is short of confidence and barring Ashwin, the other bowlers just come to the crease to just complete the formalities.
But their biggest confidence booster is that they are playing in their backyard and Indians have always been Lions in their backyard. Thus taking this into consideration, this round ends in a draw. Meaning it would be a battle of equals as far as the batting department is considered.
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| Sachin Tendulkar's form will be crucial for the Indians |
The Bowling:
England: They boast of world class bowlers like Anderson, Broad, Finn, Bresnan and Swann. But what will be interesting to see is how they fare in the ‘dust bowls’ of India where even playing 4 spinner is not considered to be a bad option. Given the fact that the Indian Captain has publicly asked for spin friendly pitches, it will a sight to watch the England speedies bending their backs to extract a bit of bounce to terrorize the batsmen. Swann will face a sense of Déjà vu, having debuted in India, having gone place after that and he returns to India with a definite lark of form. Considering India to be very good players of spin (The departure of the batting greats notwithstanding, I still believe this!) it will be a tough task. Bresnan I feel has a big role to play as the burly medium placer can reverse the bowl as the game progresses.
India: On the other hand, India have a genuine problem of lack of quality fast bowlers and selectors can be partly to blame for that. I believe Dinda definitely deserved a place in the squad. But as is India’s strength and the conditions here will suit the spinners. Spinners are in good touch. Ashwin, Bhajji combined with Yuvraj will definitely be more than a handful when they send down scores of overs in tandem. Zaheer though shockingly unfit is a tricky customer and is a big reverser of the old ball. Umesh Yadav fits in this scheme of things perfectly, rattling the opposition with his raw pace.
Considering the conditions and expected spin friendly pitches, I would award this round to the Indians. It might have a very different story if the series was played in Australia, West Indies or England though.
England: They boast of world class bowlers like Anderson, Broad, Finn, Bresnan and Swann. But what will be interesting to see is how they fare in the ‘dust bowls’ of India where even playing 4 spinner is not considered to be a bad option. Given the fact that the Indian Captain has publicly asked for spin friendly pitches, it will a sight to watch the England speedies bending their backs to extract a bit of bounce to terrorize the batsmen. Swann will face a sense of Déjà vu, having debuted in India, having gone place after that and he returns to India with a definite lark of form. Considering India to be very good players of spin (The departure of the batting greats notwithstanding, I still believe this!) it will be a tough task. Bresnan I feel has a big role to play as the burly medium placer can reverse the bowl as the game progresses.
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| Swann will be an important bowler in Indian conditions. |
India: On the other hand, India have a genuine problem of lack of quality fast bowlers and selectors can be partly to blame for that. I believe Dinda definitely deserved a place in the squad. But as is India’s strength and the conditions here will suit the spinners. Spinners are in good touch. Ashwin, Bhajji combined with Yuvraj will definitely be more than a handful when they send down scores of overs in tandem. Zaheer though shockingly unfit is a tricky customer and is a big reverser of the old ball. Umesh Yadav fits in this scheme of things perfectly, rattling the opposition with his raw pace.
Considering the conditions and expected spin friendly pitches, I would award this round to the Indians. It might have a very different story if the series was played in Australia, West Indies or England though.
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| Bhajji will be keen to cement his place in the team on his comeback |
We will have a look at the fielding, captains and the coaches in our next update!
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