Predicted XI India Vs South Africa 1st test

Mayank Agarwal

K L Rahul

Cheteshwar Pujara

Virat Kohli

Shreyas Iyer

Rishabh Pant

Shardul Thakur

Ravichandran Ashwin

Mohammad Shami

Jaspreet Bumrah

Mohammad Siraj

Predicted XI India Vs New Zealand T20 World Cup match 31 Oct 2021

Rohit Sharma (VC)

KL Rahul

Virat Kohli (C)

Suryakumar Yadav

Rishabh Pant (WK)

Hardik Pandya

Ravindra Jadeja

Shardul Thakur

Varun Chakravarthy

Jasprit Bumrah

Mohammad Shami

Predicted XI India versus Pakistan T20 world Cup Match (24 Oct 2021)

Rohit Sharma (VC)

KL Rahul

Virat Kohli (C)

Suryakumar Yadav

Rishabh Pant (WK)

Hardik Pandya

Ravindra Jadeja

Shardul Thakur

Varun Chakravarthy

Jasprit Bumrah

Mohammad Shami

Predicted XI for the 2nd T20 on 14th March 2021

Predicted XI:

Sikhar Dhawan

KL Rahul

Virat Kohli (c)

Shreyas Iyer

Rishabh Pant (Wk)

Hardik Pandya

Washington Sundar

Shardul Thakur

Bhuvaneswar Kumar

Yujvendra Chahal

Deepak Chahar

Playing XI:

Ishan Kishan

KL Rahul

Virat Kohli (c)

Shreyas Iyer

Rishabh Pant (Wk)

Suryakumar Yadav

Hardik Pandya

Washington Sundar

Shardul Thakur

Bhuvaneswar Kumar

Yujvendra Chahal

Predicted Indian XI for 1st T20 Match 12th March 2021

 Predicted XI:

Rohit Sharma

KL Rahul

Virat Kohli (c)

Shreyas Iyer/Suryakumar Yadav

Rishabh Pant (Wk)

Hardik Pandya

Washington Sundar

Axar Patel/Shardul Thakur

Bhuvaneswar Kumar

Deepak Chahar

Yujvendra Chahal

 Playing XI:

Sikhar Dhawan

KL Rahul

Virat Kohli (c)

Shreyas Iyer

Rishabh Pant (Wk)

Hardik Pandya

Washington Sundar

Axar Patel

Shardul Thakur

Bhuvaneswar Kumar

Yujvendra Chahal

Predicted & Playing XI for 4th Ind vs Eng Test Match ( 4th March 2021)

 My Predicted XI:

Rohit Sharma

Shubhman Gill

Virat Kohli (c)

Cheteswar Pujara

Ajinkya Rahane (vc)

Rishabh Pant (Wk)

Ravichandran Ashwin

Kuldeep Yadav

Axar Patel

Ishant Sharma

Umesh Yadav

 Playing XI:

Rohit Sharma

Shubhman Gill

Virat Kohli (c)

Cheteswar Pujara

Ajinkya Rahane (vc)

Rishabh Pant (Wk)

Ravichandran Ashwin

Washington Sundar

Axar Patel

Ishant Sharma

Mohammad Siraj

Some Polls taken during Ind Vs Eng 2nd Test Match

 

A Rohit Sharma Masterclass!

 Rohit Sharma is playing a very important innings in the 2nd Test between India and England. Well deserved hundred showing once again that form is temporary but class is permanent.

He made a very difficult pitch look easy with such a great batting display. As far as the test goes it is definitely advantage India, also lucky toss to win on this pitch. Need to push the total to 350 to 400 tomorrow. 

Playing XI for upcoming 2nd Test Indian vs England (Feb 13, 2021)

 Predicted XI

Rohit Sharma

Shubhman Gill

Virat Kohli (c)

Cheteswar Pujara

Ajinkya Rahane (vc)

Rishabh Pant (Wk)

Washington Sundar

Ravichandran Ashwin

Axar Patel

Ishant Sharma

Mohammad Siraj

Playing XI

Rohit Sharma

Shubhman Gill

Virat Kohli (c)

Cheteswar Pujara

Ajinkya Rahane (vc)

Rishabh Pant (Wk)

Ravichandran Ashwin

Axar Patel

Kuldeep Yadav

Ishant Sharma

Mohammad Siraj

Playing XI for upcoming 1st Test Indian vs England (Feb 5, 2021)

Result: England Won

Predicted XI

Rohit Sharma

Shubhman Gill

Virat Kohli (c)

Cheteswar Pujara

Ajinkya Rahane (vc)

Rishabh Pant (Wk)

Axar Patel

Ravichandran Ashwin

Kuldeep Yadav

Ishant Sharma

Jasprit Bumrah

Playing XI

Rohit Sharma

Shubhman Gill

Virat Kohli (c)

Cheteswar Pujara

Ajinkya Rahane (vc)

Rishabh Pant (Wk)

Washington Sundar

Ravichandran Ashwin

Ishant Sharma

Jasprit Bumrah

Potential Indian Payers for 2023 World Cup

Below are my list of potential Indian Players for World Cup 2023!

Rohit Sharma
Virat Johli
Rishabh Pant
Jasprit Bumrah
Khaleel Ahmad
Hardik Pandya
Ravidra Jadeja
Krunal Pandya
Yuzvendra Chahal
Manish Pandey
Shubhman Gill
Shreyas Iyer
Isan Kisan
Suryakumar Yadav

Maybe
Navdeep Saini
Sandeep Warrior
Kedar Jadav
Washington Sundar
Vijay Shankar
Axar Patel

Gully Cricket #0.1: An evening with Grandpa

As the evening sets in a 7 year old boy is walking home with his grandfather. They are returning from the local market complex, loaded with bags filled with an assortment of product and produce. The little boy is so focused on his ice-cream that he steps into a puddle splashing water everywhere including upon himself.

Grandpa: Dipu take care where you are walking, we don’t want to you to be all dirty when we arrive home. I am not going to protect you from your mom.

Dipu: I’m sorry grandpa. When will we be at home? Teen Titans will be starting soon on TV.

As they are walking back, they pass by a sports field filled with boys playing Cricket. Dipu watches the boys play and is curious this new game he is seeing for the first time.

Dipu: Grandpa what is that?

Grandpa: What is what Dipu?

Dipu: That game they are playing. (He asks while pointing towards the boys on the field)

Grandpa: Ah that, my boy, is the great game of Cricket.

Dipu: What is Cricket grandpa?

Grandpa: Hmm …. How do I start? Ok, let’s start from the beginning. Cricket is a game that was brought to India by the British colonist around1900’s. There have been many changes in the game but the basic rules have stayed the same. It has gradually become the most popular game in India.

Dipu: How do I play Cricket? Can I play with my friends? (The mention of a new game excites Dipu)

Grandpa: Sure you can play it. Cricket is bat-and-ball game played between two teams each with 11 players.

Dipu: Why so many players grandpa? Can’t I play with less number of players?

Grandpa: The 11 player rule is only for the official matches. You can play with any number of players you want. But what you definitely need to play cricket is a flat hard surface which is called the ‘pitch’. The length of the pitch is marked by two sets of sticks (3 in each) called ‘wickets’ or ‘stumps’ (yes, from tree stumps!). The game is played with a circular object called a ‘ball’ and flat piece of wood called a ‘bat’. Out of the two teams the one that handles the ball is called the ‘bowling’ team and one who holds the bat is called the ‘batting’ team.

Dipu: This is so complicated grandpa, what does it mean — batting or bowling, and why are some boys running which the others are standing still?

Grandpa: Don’t worry Dipu you will get this in time, but since you asked will try to explain a bit more for now. See the guy throwing the ball from one set of wickets towards the other. He is called the ‘bowler’ and he is trying to throw down the wickets on the other end.

Dipu: But won’t it be easier to throw down the wickets from closer distance? Why does he have to throw from the other end?

Grandpa: That Dipu is one of the rules of the game. If he doesn’t throw the ball from the other side wickets then it is called a ‘no-ball’ and he has to throw the ball again.

Dipu: I understand a bit now, but I have another question. Why is that boy swinging the flat piece of wood? Is he trying to hit the ball thrown by the bowler?

Grandpa: As always you have plenty of questions and you are absolutely correct. The piece of wood is called a ‘bat’ and the person holding it called the ‘batsman’. The batsman tries to stop the ball bowled by the bowler from hitting the wickets. Additionally he tries to hit the ball out of the ground, which the opponent bowling team players try to stop. Apart from the bowler the other team players have the responsibilities of stopping the ball from escaping out of the field boundaries and they are called ‘fielders’. If the batsman hits the ball out of the field boundary along the ground then the batting team gets 4 points or ‘runs’ and if the ball goes over the boundary then he gets 6 runs. If the ball stays within the boundary the batsman has to run across to the other side of the pitch to complete 1 run. Also you see the batsman playing in pairs such that as one guy is the batsman facing the bowler from the batting end, the other guy stands on the bowling end and is called the ‘runner’. As the batsman runs to the other side to score a run the runner crosses over to the batting end and faces the bowler next.

Dipu: So what happens if the bowler successfully throws down the wickets on the other end?

Grandpa: Then the batsman stops playing, and he gets ‘out’. Then he is replaced by another player from his team and the game continues until a fixed number of balls are bowled or all the players on the batting team get out. There are also other ways to get a batsman out. If a batsman tries to hit the ball out of the boundaries and instead a fielder grabs the ball before it hits the ground, called getting a ‘catch’, within the field boundaries they are also out. Also when the fielders are able to throw down the wickets on either end before the batsman or runner are caught still running then too they are declared ‘run-out’.

Dipu: So what happens if the batsman just stands in front of the stumps and blocks the wickets? There is no way then he can be out right?

Grandpa: Very clever Dipu. But you have to understand that simply blocking without scoring will also lead to a loss as in cricket the team that scores more runs wins. Once the batting team plays all the balls (the number may be fixed earlier), or the whole team gets out, they switch roles with the bowling team. And in the end the team which has scored more runs is declared the winner. Additionally a batsman can be declared out if he tries stop the ball from hitting the wickets with your body.

Dipu: I would like to play this game with my friends sometimes, you will also play with us grandpa. But now I am getting late for my cartoon on TV. Let’s hurry back home.

Grandpa: It has been a long time since I played cricket, so even if I cannot play I will help you and your friends play cricket. For now I will take the responsibility to take you home so you don’t miss your all-important cartoon.

And both of them continue walking down the darkening alleys as one by one the street lights come alight. Little did Dipu know that this game he just learned about would one day become the fulcrum of his life.

Kohli - the future of Indian cricket.

This man is pure talent. And the kind of form he has been (3 centuries and one fifty in pat 4 innings, 75 average in 2012) it seems the kind of 'God like ' form that Sachin was in 1998 and some time ago Hashim Amla was in. But form is nothing without the raw material needed to make it possible. The most pleasing things that I have always liked is his technique which in the beginning reminded me of Rahul Dravid and his strokes or rather whips down the leg side are pretty reminiscent of 'The Wall'. But more than that his aggression and passion is what is most liked by me and most other youngsters who are from the time when we Indians are competing with the best in the world.

He's without doubt the most promising among Indian players to take the world by storm after Irfan Pathan according to me, i just pray he can maintain this play in future and the fact that he is a batsman so at least injuries are not that big a concern. Hope he keeps learning from his time with 'The Little Master' and more importantly doesn't loose his head in the glamour surrounding today's cricket. His last two innings have again proved that when backed down a corner we are the worst nightmare you can face.

Thanks for making us all proud. May you continue to entertain us further.....

One of many opinions ....

          Just a few months ago there was no happiness comparable to witnessing India win World cup; and now I see the result before deciding whether I should watch the highlights or not. What can I comment on the unpredictable nature of Indian cricket fans when I myself am one among them. So one the eve of the final match of India's disastrous Aussie tour all I can do is vent out my frustration.

           First of all, I see many so-called-experts debating about the right time for Sachin's retirement. I guess its justified too; these are the same guys who tried and failed to reach the heights that he has achieved so its clear that finally they have some means to criticize him. But at least these guys have performed at the international level, what is even more irritating are the articles by these idiots who sincerely believe that if they have mugged-up a few tough English words and write correct grammar then it qualifies them to judge a sportsperson of Sachin's caliber. They are as can expected absolute unadulterated rubbish with opinions which change after every match. Well I guess they have a family to feed too so they gotta do what they are doing too. All I m saying is let the man alone, he has been and is still bearing a tremendous amount of pressure of a billion of us fans daily. Let him make the decision himself, let him leave when he is peaking with his held high, most importantly let him go when 'he' wants to. I think that's the least we can give him back for all the great moments that he has given us.

          Although I am saddened by the latest performances of India but I don't believe cursing them and playing the blame game is the solution. The kind of height that the team had achieved by achieving the top test ranking and winning the World Cup there was only one way to go which was down. In a way I was expecting something similar however not so drastic.

          Unfortunately I am not qualified enough to comment what went wrong but I hope the Indian team bounces back again soon. After all cricket is an unpredictable game and everything can change in a few balls. I don't worry too much whats is more important is to peak at the right time and if they can do that and keep winning the important tournaments then a few matches lost doesn't matter on bit. I guess I will always be cricket fan- fickle yes, but always hopeful too in the end. :D