SI’m here to summarize the week’s cricket activities in this podcast, accept greetings from Sanjay Banerjee. Today’s podcast starts not with Indian cricket, but with the second ODI between Pakistan and Afghanistan played yesterday. This match has added to the excitement of the Asia Cup. The uncertainty of this shorter format of cricket makes it very popular.
The batsman, who did not even bowl 20 overs in the first match in Hambantonta, Afghanistan and was bowled out for just 59 runs, put up 300 on the board yesterday. However, despite this, a belligerent Pakistan defeated them with 1 ball and 1 wicket to spare. Rahmanullah Gurbaz played a memorable innings of 151 runs. Ibrahim Zadran scored 80 runs and the duo put on 227 runs for the first wicket.
On the other hand, Imamul Haq, Babar Azam and finally Shadab Khan played a crucial role for Pakistan. Chasing the 300-run target is a challenge for any team, but Pakistan finally did it. The signs are clear that India will have to put in an ad-peak effort to enter the World Cup with the Asia Cup title.
Earlier, the third match between India and Ireland was washed away due to rain. Amid the rain, Indian players watched the historic Chandrayaan-3 successful landing on the moon on TV and celebrated wildly. Despite the third match being washed out, India won the series.
The series win was some consolation for India after losing the T20I series in the West Indies. The importance of the series was such that India got a chance to work on team balance. For captain Jasprit Bumrah and bowler President Krishna, this series was the ‘litmus test’ of their comeback, and both were successful. Especially Captain Bumrah won everyone’s hearts with both his performance and captaincy.
However, the first match too could not be played completely due to rain, but India won by two runs using the Duckworth-Lewis method. Bumrah and the famous Krishna sealed their fitness by taking two wickets each. Ravi Bishnoi has also given a strong performance.
India has a growing list of bowlers. Bishnoi and the famous Krishna have given the selectors a new option. But it can also be a huge problem for selectors. Arshdeep Singh has not had much success in terms of wickets recently, but his bowling edge has not diminished. However, given the increased challenge, Arshdeep will have to repeat his brilliant performances in the IPL and some international matches.
One batsman or the other has proved difficult for the Indian bowlers in Ireland. First Barry McCarthy and then Andy Bilberley scored half-centuries. Barry McCarthy was also praised as he scored an unbeaten half-century in just 33 balls while batting at number eight in the first match and his partnership with Curtis Kemper proved difficult for the Indians. Andy Bilberley also scored 72 in the second match, significant in the sense that the rest of his fellow batsmen could not score more.
On the other hand, there is good news for Indian batting. Team India has got another attacking batsman in the form of Rinku Singh. Despite making his debut in the first match, he did not get a chance to bat due to rain, but the pace with which he scored runs in the second match is commendable. His innings of 38 runs off 21 balls earned him the Man of the Match award.
Although Ruturaj Gaikwad scored a half-century in this match and Sanju Samson scored more runs than him, Rinku’s innings was considered more impressive. The squad also features Tilak Verma, who struggled a bit in Ireland after playing well in the West Indies. By the way, Yashwi Jaiswal was also not very successful in this series. In such a situation, the pressure will increase on this opener.
This week, the 14th edition of the Asia Cup begins on August 30 with Pakistan and Sri Lanka as hosts. However when it was hosted at UEA last year, it was played in the T20 format and Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan to win the title. But this time it is happening in ODI format. India last won the title in this format in 2016.
In this regard, India will now have to struggle to defend their title in the ODI format. The Indian team led by Rohit Sharma will begin their campaign against Pakistan in Colombo on September 2. After this, India’s second group match will be against Nepal on September 4. India have won the Asia Cup seven times in both formats combined, the most by any country.
On the first day of August 30, a match will be played between Pakistan and Nepal in Multan. Both groups have three teams each and the top two teams will enter the Super Four. It is possible that India and Pakistan face off again in this phase. If everything goes well, the final between these two countries will also be played on September 17.
Shreyas Iyer and Lokesh Rahul, who returned fit, have been included in the Indian team. There is some concern about Rahul as he is also a bit injured. In this team, Yuzvendra Chahal and R. Ashwin is not included. Anyway, Chahal and Ashwin are at the top in terms of being sidelined. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah will obviously be watched as they will be India’s mainstay in the upcoming World Cup.
There are still many hurdles left regarding the World Cup. The Hyderabad Cricket Association requested to change the hosting of the back-to-back matches, which the ICC and BCCI rejected. The host association expressed its concern over the two consecutive days of matches to be held in Hyderabad on October 9 and 10. Even earlier, after the announcement of the World Cup program, the schedule of many matches has been changed.
Meanwhile, the ICC has also announced the schedule of practice matches, which will be held in Guwahati, Hyderabad and Thiruvananthapuram from September 29 to October 3. India will play two practice matches against England and Netherlands. A series of three ODI matches will also be played between India and Australia before the World Cup. New Zealand have included Stephen Fleming, Ian Bell and James Foster in their coaching staff ahead of the World Cup. All of them have a lot of experience on Indian soil. Gary Stead will be the head coach of the team.
Here is the news coming from Mumbai Indians for IPL that Lasith Malinga can become the bowling coach of the team. If so, he will replace Shane Bond. Ambati Rayudu has become the second Indian player after Pravin Tambe to play in the Caribbean Premier League. However, both their first matches could not be completed due to rain. Yesterday he appeared in the third match but could not open the account. Rayudu will play his next match against Amazon Warriors of Guyana. Rayudu plays for St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots.
And finally the performance of Indian players in domestic cricket in England. Cheteshwar Pujara played innings of 32 and 23 runs for Sussex this week. His team finished last in the ODI tournament and failed to enter the knockouts. Pujara will now be seen playing alongside Jaydev Undkat in the County Championship, which resumes from September 3.
The journey of Harmanpreet Kaur and Richa Ghosh, two of the four Indian players in the Women’s The Hundred tournament, has come to an end. Smriti Mandhana will now play in the final on August 27, although Smriti, who plays for Southern Braves, could not even reach the tenth position this week. Jemima Rodrigues’ team Northern Superchargers will play an eliminator match against Welsh Fire tomorrow. This team will reach the final if they win. So this was our weekly podcast – Suno Dil Se – Sanjay Banerjee Ko Ajaz Dijiye, Hello.