India hard pressed to defend reputation of being World Champions !

Now India is in the Carribean and two powerful teams are getting at them, the WI and SL !

Dhoni admits that expectations are high for India. The Indian fans want more victories and this will be difficult to give. You cant win all matches all the time. But Young India is very fit, to take challenges. Dhoni has gone on record that a gutsy player is better than a skilled player. Mental toughness is all that counts. 

WI meet SL today for the first match, which begins at 0800 PM IST.






For India, Shikhar Dhawan is now more experienced, wiser and stronger ! Is the the true replacement for Sehwag ? Time alone will tell.

Jupiter in the Second gives victory to India again !

The Indian fast bowlers worked as a team and this was responsible for India's emphatic 8 wicket win over SL. Another quickie, Ishant Sharma, struck form and SL was reduced to nothing by his accurate swing and he was declared the Man of the Match!  Virat Kohli struck form. It was B Kumar who first struck for India, removing the inexperienced Kusal Pereira, who edged one to Raina ! In 18 overs, the Indian speedsters had reduced SL to 41/3, in overcast conditions. It was a good toss for Dhoni who elected to bowl ! Ishant removed Mahela and Thirumanne in successive overs !

Ishant said  

"The wicket was two paced and there was lot of movement and bounce. I am happy that I could find my rhythm and hit the right lengths. It's very important to bowl in the right areas and I am lucky I did it." 

"I am not to bowl like this every day." he added. 



"It's a good feeling. I don't want to call myself the leader of the pace attack because we are working hard as a team and Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) and Umesh (Yadav) are bowling well as well. It's team work" 


"I was bowling well in the IPL and I am just taking that momentum forward. It's not only about conditions, it's about bowling in the right areas. I have been doing this from the IPL," he said. 

About Dhoni backing him, he said  "MS bhai is always supporting and it's a pleasure to have him as our captain" "Everyone is charged up. We are getting better as a fielding unit and bowlers are getting that confidence." He said he has no special plans against formidable England.

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Jove in the 2nd from Ascendant good for India !

Dhoni became the first Indian captain to defeat Pak in ODIs in ten matches. It was India's
tenth win in 17 matches. It was India's first victory in CT over arch rival,
Pak. Indian bowlers, both pace and spin, bowled superbly to shoot out Pak
for 165. And India won by 8 wickets. Dhawan again top scored with 48.
Dhoni's decision to bowl first was justified. He had the rain in mind and
Pak's poor batting form.

Presentation Quotes:


Bhuvneshwar Kumar: 'There was some bounce on the wicket and I managed to
swing the ball a bit. I was a bit nervous but I knew that I had to give
100%. It has been a good experience to bowl in England. I went in with my
mindset that I had to bowl in good areas. I talked to the captain and coach
and they told me to stick to the basics.'


Bhuvneshwar Kumar was adjudged Man of the Match for his spell of 8-2-19-2.

MS Dhoni: 'I think the fan support has been there. It is always good to have
fans around you. We are doing well in all three departments and some
individuals are taking up the responsibility. It helps to have gloves on,
especially when it is cold and windy. We are the top fielding side in world
cricket and we need to keep the intensity up. We have been working hard on
good throws and I had to get behind the line of the ball to stop it. I will
be alright in 2-3 days (when enquired about his shin injury). Bhuvneshwar is
not very quick and he bowls in the right areas. He has taken early wickets
and he will improve as he plays more games. If one talks about the last 2-3
games, the middle order has not got many chances. In the warm-up games, the
middle order did get a knock. Our lower middle order is settled. We need to
gave Raina some net practice. We have to be at our best in this tournament
and we need to improve in our death bowling.'

Misbah-ul-Haq: 'Our performance with the bat was poor. The weather also
played a part. It was difficult for the guys due to many stoppages. I cannot
pin-point any factor as to why we performed poorly with the bat. We did well
in the warm-up games but I think we felt the pressure in the main
tournament. We cannot afford to be starting off slowly. One bad day and we
are under pressure. In these sort of conditions, the team really needs some
good performance with the bat. The bowlers did a very good job. I have not
enjoyed the tournament due to the performances.'

Jove in the Second glorifies India !

Who says Jupiter in the House of Weath is not good ?  He is proving to be  good, as He gave a glorious win  over the mercurial West Indies.        

The Champions Trophy started with a bang with India beating SA  comprehensively. India, despite criticism that Indians are vulnerable to swing bowling and cannot bowl well in English condtions, played magnificently even in the warm up matches. Umesh Yadav bowled well at 145 mph and was instrumental in getting Aussies all  out for 65 in a warm up match.

In the first match, India beat SA and Shikhar Dhawan got a glorious hundred. Off 94 balls, he smashed the hapless SA bowlers to all parts of the field and was involved in a 127 first wicket partnership with Rohit Sharma.

"I am happy to help the team win", said the swashbuckling opener. "I am happy with the knock I played but happier because we won a game that was actually getting quite close".

India crushed WI yesterday by eight wickets. Jadeja starred with 5/36 and
and Dhawan pulled off another century againt hapless West Indies.

India bowled well to keep the WI to 233. When Jadeja came, WI was cruising
well at 93/1 and then he mesmerised the WI batsmen with some good spin
bowling.

Meanwhile Bravo blamed the WI batting line up for the debacle ! "Our batsmen
have to take the blame for this," Bravo said. "Another 25 runs could have
made a difference if the tail batted smarter," Bravo said, adding:"Most of
us played bad shots at the wrong time and I am part of that too. We keep
losing games in the middle. We need to address this issue and recover as a
batting group before our next match," the West Indies skipper said.

WI meet S A on June 14 at Cardiffl."Our destiny is in our own hands. It's
going to be a final for us and it's possible and I know we have the team to
make the second round," Bravo said.

Bravo praised Sammy for his blistering 56 off 35 balls. "It's not that he
was trying to prove anything. He played his natural game and I am very happy
for him," Bravo said.

But the Carribean skipper was fierce on Darren, his cousin. ."It was one of
the worst knocks he played and he has been spoken to. But with wickets
falling around him, you can't blame him," Bravo said.

Again Dhawan and R Sharma got India off to a formidable start, a century
partnership. Both Sharma and Karthik scored half centuries to support the
swashbuckling Dhawan.Thus spake the stars

      Jadeja: 'I enjoyed my bowling today. The pitch was a bit slow and I
bowled in the right areas. I was getting some turn. I played one match
before against England on this wicket and I got two wickets. I am happy with
the wickets in England. I am trying to bowl in the right areas and keeping
it stump to stump. In the Marlon Samuels dismissal, it seemed that the sound
came off the pad first. Dhoni told me that he was not sure but he told me to
take the review if I was sure.'

 Ravindra Jadeja is the MoM for his haul of 5/36.

MS Dhoni: 'It was a professional performance. The West Indies got off
to a good start and they seemed good to get to 280. We got regular wickets
and we did not allow the batsmen to rotate the strike. The pacers bowled the
right lengths in their second spells. Bhuvneshwar and Ishant bowled well. I
am finding out more new things about Jadeja. He has proven that he is vital
to the team. He is the best all-round option that we have got and he has
shown that he is a great performer. We needed to execute the end overs well
but if one looks at the bigger picture, we have done well. Rohit Sharmaand
Dhawan have accepted the challenge. Dhawan did well against Australia and
Rohit Sharma opted to open not only at home but abroad as well. The fielding
has also been great. The Indian team has never played a dead game, so the
game against Pakistan will be very important.'

Dwayne Bravo: 'We got off to a good start and we need to be 30-40 runs
more. The Indian bowlers bowled very well. Sammy played really well and I am
happy with his performance. The collapse in the middle was a combination of
poor batting and good bowling. We need to improve our strike-rates in the
middle overs. We need to improve our mistakes for the next game. There was
no swing for the pace bowlers and we bowled too wide on a fast outfield. The
bowlers needed to bowl a bit straighter but credit goes to the Indian
batters. We were not able to attack. During the drizzle, Narine could not
grip the ball but he bowled very well. The next game is like a final and it
will not be easy against South Africa.'

Jove in the Second from Ascendant redeems India !

 Jove in the 2nd from Ascendant  redeems India  

Who says Jupiter in the House of Weath is not good ?  He is proving to be  good, as He gave a glorious win  mighty South Africa.       

  

The Champions Trophy started with a bang with India beating SA  comprehensively. India, despite criticism that Indians are vulnerable to swing bowling and cannot bowl well in English condtions, played magnificently even in the warm up matches. Umesh Yadav bowled well at 145 mph and was instrumental in getting Aussies all  out for 65 in a warm up match.

In the first match, India beat SA and Shikhar Dhawan got a glorious hundred. Off 94 balls, he smashed the hapless SA bowlers to all parts of the field and was involved in a 127 first wicket partnership with Rohit Sharma.

"I am happy to help the team win", said the swashbuckling opener. "I am happy with the knock I played but happier because we won a game that was actually getting quite close".

"It was nice to play with Rohit.  He is such a pleasure to watch and really runs the singles very well. We adjusted to the conditions very well and once we settled down, the runs started coming. It was quite a job."

"Guys like Morne Morkel and Ryan McLaren are well known names in the world of fast bowling. So we knew they would attack us from the start. But we took our time to settle down and then scored off their pace" said the young dasher.

"I quite enjoy taking pressure but today it was more about waiting for the loose balls. The wicket was good to bat but it was important not to rush into strokes. This strategy worked very well after the first powerplay."Dhawan said that he practised well at the nets to get habituated to English conditions. He stepped out to the pacy bowlers .: "It's my nature. Courage comes normally to me. I am used to it."

---

Meanwhie, the South African skipper AB de Villiers attributed his team's defeat to losing Morne Morkel in the 34th over.

"But I still feel our boys fought back well to restrict India (to 331)...it could well have been 370,"

"The run outs proved to be costly but you can't do much about them. When the players are trying to do their best and your heart is pumping, the heat of the battle makes you make errors.,"

"We have to win our next two matches because in a short tournament, there are no margin for errors. We come here to win all games and we will take a lot of positives from the defeat against India."

"We will assessthe situation every day and then hope for the best, but missing both Steyn and Morkel will be a massive blow," said the formidable hooker and puller.