Decisive moments in the India-South Africa test series

India managed a stunning comeback win at the Wanderers to improve the series scoreline and salvage some pride. But despite a 2-1 victory, it wasn't a series where South Africa dominated India completely. In fact, India claimed all the opposition wickets on offer - the first time this has happened in an away tour (outside the sub-continent), since the 1986 England tour - and for that, a lot of credit should go to the bowlers themselves and the bowling coach. It takes a lot of practice and significant mental adjustment to alter the natural length when bowling. Except for the first innings at Newlands, where barring Bhuvneshwar Kumar everybody else leaked runs and looked largely ineffective, the bowlers came to the party more often than not. For this, they deserve a lot of credit. Had they received slightly better support from their batting lineup (as well as fielders), India may well have achieved their first series victory in South Africa.

So what were the turning points in this test series? Following are some decisive ones.

1st Test - Cape Town

AB de Villiers' counterattack - 9th over of SA's 1st innings

Bhuvneshwar Kumar had taken three top order wickets in his four overs (and conceded only 7 runs) and he bowled the 9th over to AB de Villiers. ABDV counter-attacked India's best bowler, crashing him for four boundaries in that over (between point and covers) and shifting the pressure back on Bhuvi. South Africa, who were 15/3 after 8 overs, plundered 92 runs of the next 18 overs (run rate of 5.11) to go to lunch in a strong position at 107/3.

Dhawan's drop reprieves Maharaj - 47th over of SA's 1st innings

In the 45th over, Bhuvi had dismissed de Kock for a quick-fire 43 (off 40 balls) and hence, had broken a very threatening partnership with Philander (60 runs in 9 overs). In his next over, he moved the ball away, took the outside edge of Keshav Maharaj's bat but Dhawan put down a straightforward chance at third slip. South Africa were 202/6 then and by the time Ashwin found him short of his crease with a direct hit, Maharaj had compiled 35 brisk runs and put on 56 vital runs with Philander and Rabada. South Africa were eventually dismissed for 286 runs.

Elgar's drop lets off Pandya - 42nd over of India's 1st innings

India were struggling at 91/6 with Hardik Pandya on 15, when he punched a short ball outside off and it flew to Dean Elgar at gully. The South African opener dropped the catch (Steyn being the unlucky bowler) and Pandya went on to score 78 out of India's next 118 runs (he was also let off on 71 when de Kock missed a stumping chance). The Indian all-rounder put on a crucial 99-run partnership with Bhuvi and saved India from a massive first innings deficit.

Shami's misjudgement reprieves Elgar - 2nd over of SA's 2nd innings

South Africa, leading by 77 runs, hadn't opened their account in the second innings when Dean Elgar, on a pair, pulled Bumrah's first delivery and got a top edge. Shami ran in from mid-on but misjudged the skier slightly, and eventually missed the ball. A quicker fielder would've got to it and it was a missed opportunity that proved really costly for India. The two SA openers put on a 52-run opening stand before they lost their entire side for the addition of only 78 additional runs as the Indian quicks ran amok.

Philander setting up Kohli - India's 2nd innings

Chasing 208 for victory, India got off to a decent start before losing the top 3 for merely 9 runs and finding themselves in a spot of bother at 39/3. The stage was set for India's best batsman to take India through. Kohli and Rohit put on a confident stand and Kohli was looking very assured. In the 18th over (India had reached 60/3), Faf du Plessis brought on Philander with a specific plan. In a 15-ball spell (11 balls bowled to Kohli), Philander kept bowling outswingers outside the off-stump and the Indian skipper kept shuffling across in an attempt to cover the swing and defend the ball. Then Philander slipped in the in-swinger that caught Kohli napping. He had shuffled to off-stump and tried playing around his pads. However, he missed and was nailed in front of his stumps. It was a big moment in the game and one that surely broke the back of India's chase. India eventually lost by 72 runs to go 1-0 down in the series.

2nd Test - Centurion

Strange team selection by India

Bhuvi was India's highest wicket-taker and the second highest on either side at Cape Town (6/120). He had also scored more runs than all the specialist batsmen in his team. But in the strangest of selections in recent times, India dropped him for the second test and brought in Ishant Sharma (citing Ishant's ability to extract extra bounce). Not satisfied with that, the coach-captain duo of Shastri and Kohli also dropped the in-form Shikhar Dhawan and inducted KL Rahul.

Parthiv's drop lets off Amla - 51st over of SA's 1st innings

SA were 160/2 and Hashim Amla was on 30 when Parthiv Patel dropped him off the bowling of Ishant Sharma. The tall Delhi seamer had bowled a length ball slanting down the leg stump and Amla tried to glance it and got a thin edge which Parthiv failed to pouch. Amla would go on to score 82 and push South Africa to a challenging 335.

Pandya's brilliance & Philander's brain-fade - Overs 81-83 of SA's 1st innings

The hosts were sitting pretty at 246/3. Amla alongwith Faf du Plessis had stitched together a steady 47 run partnership and South Africa were looking at a 400+ total. Then, in the space of 14 deliveries, aided by some exceptional fielding, good bowling and poor running, the Proteas lost three wickets (two of them to run outs), including that of the innings top scorer Hashim Amla. Although, du Plessis batted well with the tail to take his team to 335, it was well below the 400 mark that looked very much achievable before this mini-collapse.

Ashwin's loose shot - 82nd over of India's 1st innings

India had fought back nicely from 164/5 with Kohli putting together two solid partnerships - first one worth 45 runs with Pandya (who got run out because of appallingly casual running) and then, an even more fruitful one of 81 runs with Ashwin. The tall offie was batting fluently on 38 (off 54 balls) and India, at 280/6 (and only 55 runs in the arrears), must have been targeting a slender first innings lead. Then du Plessis brought on Philander (who had gone wicketless till then) and took the second new ball. Off the third ball of Philander's over, Ashwin played a slightly loose shot to a widish out-swinger and the South African skipper took a really sharp catch at second slip. This was a crucial blow (Kohli was on 135 at the stage) and the Indian innings folded up for the addition of only 27 more runs, thereby conceding a crucial lead of 28 runs.

Parthiv's non-attempt benefits Elgar - 25th over of SA's 2nd innings

South Africa had recovered well, although not sufficiently so, from 3/2 to 70/2. Both Elgar and de Villiers had settled nicely into their respective batting rhythms before a rain-break held up proceedings for an hour. Post the resumption of play, Kohli immediately brought on his most successful bowler, Bumrah, and the lanky Gujarat seamer extracted disconcerting bounce from round the wicket that had Elgar fending. The ball took his glove and flew to the left of Parthiv Patel (Pujara was standing at widish first slip) who simply let the ball go by. It was clearly a keeper's catch and it went to Parthiv's natural side, yet he didn't even go for the catch (blaming Pujara later). This proved to be another crucial moment in the game as Elgar and de Villiers added another 74 runs to their partnership with Elgar, who was then on 29, going on to score 60.

Umpire's call reprieves du Plessis - 65th over of SA's 2nd innings

Philander and du Plessis had staged a solid recovery after South Africa had lost three quick wickets (from 144/2 to 163/5) but the target was still not out of India's reach as yet. On the third ball of his 2nd over of the innings, with the South African score at 199/5, Pandya trapped du Plessis in front with an in-swinger. The on-field umpire gave it not out and India used the Decision Review System (DRS). Everything was perfect except that the ball was just clipping the bails and hence the system went with the umpire's call. Had that been given out, the DRS would've stayed with that decision too. This turned out to be a crucial rub of green going South Africa's way as du Plessis, then on 20, went on to score 48 and took his team to 258, thereby setting India a target of 287 which proved well out of reach. South Africa won by 135 runs to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.

3rd Test - Johannesburg

Umpire's call reprieves Pujara - 6th over of India's 1st innings

India chose to bat first on a greentop and already Philander was making that decision look like a foolish one, by moving the ball menacingly both ways. He had first taken out KL Rahul for a duck and Pujara too was on zero (team score was 7/1), when a series of out-swingers were followed by one that went straight on and hit Pujara in front. The on-field umpire didn't uphold the LBW appeal and the South Africans reviewed using DRS. In a sort of reversal of fortunes, the ball was just clipping the bails and hence umpire's call came to Pujara's rescue. This proved crucial as Pujara went to score a half-century (exactly 50) and put together a very crucial 84-run partnership with Kohli.

No-review reprieves Pujara - 20th over of India's 1st innings

Pujara again got lucky in the 20th over, while (incredibly!) still on duck. Ngidi bowled it fuller and beat Pujara for pace. The South Africans went up in an LBW appeal but after the umpire turned it down, they didn't opt for a DRS review. Replays showed all three reds, meaning Pujara would've been on his way had South Africa reviewed that decision. India, at 27/2, were still not out of the woods at that point.

Umpire's call reprieves Amla, twice - 27th and 35th over of SA's 1st innings 

The nightwatchman Rabada and Hashim Amla had put together a useful little partnership of 46 runs when Kohli brought Ishant Sharma back, to bowl the 27th over. He swung his first delivery back into Amla and the stylish batsman, who was shuffling outside the off-stump throughout this test match, got beaten by the swing and was wrapped on his pads. As the appeal wasn't upheld, the Indians opted for a DRS review. It showed umpire's call for height and Amla, on 20 then, got a massive reprieve. 

Then again in the 35th over, Bhuvi pinged Amla in front and after the appeal was turned down, Kohli opted for a DRS review. It was once again umpire's call on height and Amla (on 34 then) got another life. He went on to score 61 runs.

Amla's dismissal leads to SA collapse - 60th over of SA's 1st innings 

Philander and Amla had put together a decent 44 run partnership for the 7th wicket, when Amla, batting well on 61 and having had a couple of lives, played an uppish flick to a leg stump half volley from Bumrah, straight into the hands of Pandya at deep square leg. His dismissal started a mini collapse wherein the last four wickets fell for the addition of only 25 runs, thereby restricting South Africa's lead to only 7. In the context of the match, this wicket assumed massive significance.

A life each for Rahane & Bhuvi as SA drop catches - 59th and 60th over of India's 2nd innings

India's 2nd innings saw an intriguing battle between bat and ball on a highly treacherous pitch. Kohli first combined with Vijay and then with Rahane to put India in a slightly better position but then India lost Kohli and Pandya in quick succession. Rahane was then joined by Bhuvi and the duo, overlooked in the previous test, were taking India to a stronger position when du Plessis brought Morkel back. Morkel produced steep bounce from round the wicket to induce a false shot from Bhuvi but Elgar couldn't cling on to an outside edge at gully. Three balls later, it was Rahane's turn to enjoy some luck. Rabada, probably getting tired from a longish spell, dropped one short outside the off-stump. Rahane tried to play an upper cut but lost control and skied it to Phehlukwayo at deep point but the South African all-rounder put down a relatively straight forward chance. India were 178/6 then and only 171 ahead. Eventually, this pair added 25 more and Bhuvi also combined with Shami to steer India to 247, in the process setting South Africa a far more challenging target of 241.

Amla's loose shot triggers another SA collapse - 53rd over of SA's 2nd innings

South Africa were chasing a target of 241 and contrary to all expectations, Elgar and Amla put together a gritty partnership of 119 runs for the second wicket. The hosts looked on course for a 3-0 series victory. With victory just 117 runs away, Amla played a loose shot. Ishant bowled a fuller length delivery, angled into the middle stump and the constantly-shuffling Amla flicked uppishly, straight to Pandya at short mid-wicket. South Africa then went on to lose their next four established batsmen (including Philander) for the addition of only 33 runs. This was mainly on account of some outstanding bowling by the Indian seamers, esp. Shami and Bumrah. South Africa were shot out for 177 thereby handing India a famous victory (by 63 runs). 

Is no. 25 achievable for Federer?

Roger Federer capped another remarkable fortnight Down Under as he overcame the highly impressive Marin Cilic 6-2 6-7 6-3 3-6 6-1 in five pulsating sets, to win his 6th Australian Open and an incredible 20th grand slam title. The Croatian had a brilliant tournament, taking out the World no. 1 Nadal in the quarters, and more importantly, had the belief needed to beat the Swiss. And Federer must have known that it wasn't going to be easy.

Cilic first mounted a solid comeback after an ordinary opening set (which he lost 2-6), by winning the second set in a tie-break and then after losing the third set and down a break in the fourth, he unleashed his powerful, flat-out, big-hitting game to win five consecutive games to level the match and take the final to a decider. He even had two break-point opportunities in the opening game of the fifth set but once Federer snuffed them out by way of strong serving, it was one-way traffic as the Swiss maestro broke twice in the final set to win the first grand slam of 2018. Federer out-aced Cilic (24 to 16), made far fewer unforced errors (40 to 64) and trailed only slightly, in terms of winners (41 to 45). He returned remarkably well - getting a whopping 47% of Cilic's huge first serves in play and winning 27% of first serve points; Cilic's respective numbers were 36% and 17%. Also, the Swiss was much more efficient on his own serves (getting 60% first serves in) - winning 80% of first serves and 58% of second serves vs. 69% and 51% respectively, for Cilic. In a match of short points (76% of rallies were 0-4 shots long), both these aspects made a huge difference.

There's also the small matter of Federer's ability to come up with special shots or incredible improvisations when the situation demands. Serving at 4-2, 15-15 in the third set, Federer hit an incredible, inside-out, forehand flick half-volley from the baseline while out of position, back-pedaling and tracking down a heavy backhand - the Croatian, stunned at that recovery, found himself out of position and could only dump his reply into the net. Every Federer match has shots like these - they shock opponents and fans alike.

So what next for the maestro? By winning his 20th grand slam, he has already reached where no man has. His nearest rival is four slams behind and Sampras' 14 slams seem like a distant memory. Federer's smart scheduling has reaped rewards and hence he may curtail his appearances in the clay court season again. If the Swiss keeps up his fitness levels, he'll start as a favourite at both Wimbledon as well as the US Open. A 2-slam year like 2017 is very much on the cards and a 3-slam year (last achieved by Federer in 2007) isn't unfathomable. While it would be very difficult to achieve, a 3-slam year will leave Federer with 22 slams by September 2018, tied with Steffi Graf and just two short of the all-time grand slam leader, Margaret Court. Could we then witness the great man win grand slam no. 25 by 2020? It may sound incredulous today, but then, Federer has made a career out of making the impossible, possible.    

US Open 2017: The "Injured" Open!

Andy Murray announced yesterday that he would be pulling out of this year's US Open due to the ongoing hip injury. The British no. 1 and the 2012 US Open champion, who hasn't played since Wimbledon, has seen his no. 1 ranking slip away in this absence. He is the 5th player in the ATP Top 11 rankings to have pulled out of this year's US Open. Both the last year's finalists, Wawrinka and Djokovic, have already pulled out. And so have the 2014 finalist, Kei Nishikori, and the 2016 Wimbledon finalist, Milos Raonic. In fact, Wawrinka, Djokovic and Nishikori have called time on their 2017 season. And Roger Federer, the player who set this very trend last year, comes into his 17th US Open after recovering from a minor niggle.

It's hard to recall the last time when so many top players withdrew from a Grand Slam, on account of injury. Hence, it might seem that the field is wide open and that we might even see a surprise winner this year. However, what many fail to appreciate is the depth in men's tennis, esp. in the top 50. Left in the fray still, are four former US Open champions as well as five former semi-finalists. Let's look at the strong contenders for this year's Open and how the draw plays out.

Strong contenders

As the new world no. 1, Rafael Nadal comes into the tournament as a strong contender. His performances since achieving the historic La Decima in Paris, have been less assuring though. After the surprising defeat in the 4th round of Wimbledon, he lost in the 2nd round in Montreal and then was blasted off the court by Nick Kyrgios in the quarter-finals at Cincinnati. He's got a relatively easy passage till the 4th round where he could meet either Fabio Fognini or Tomas Berdych, both dangerous players. From there on, the path becomes difficult as he could square off against the Cincinnati Masters Champion, Grigor Dimitrov, in the quarters and then could meet his 2017 bête noire, Roger Federer in what would be their first ever US Open meeting.

With the exit of Murray, Roger Federer, is the next highest seed and he would like to make 2017 as his fourth 3-slam year, remarkably a decade after the last one. He was having a dream run after winning Wimbledon without dropping a set and then reaching the finals at Toronto before his chronic back problem returned in a straight-set defeat against Alexander Zverev. He skipped Cincinnati as a result and hence is coming into Flushing Meadows with a suspect back, which hasn't been thoroughly tested against the top players on the hard courts. And he's been handed a tough draw. Federer opens against the talented American teenager Frances Tiafoe (their 2nd meeting this year) and then, could face two-time semi-finalist, Mikhail Youzhny in the 2nd round, either of Fernando Verdasco or Feliciano Lopez in the 3rd round, the Cincinnati finalist Nick Kyrgios in the 4th round and possibly the 6th seed, Dominic Thiem in the quarters. In a way, this isn't dissimilar to the Australian Open 2017 where he was handed out a tough draw, mainly due to his ranking, and was coming into that tournament without match practice. If he's fit, then Federer will continue to mount a serious challenge for his 20th Grand Slam title and at 36, he continues to be one of the best hard-court players on tour.

The Wimbledon finalist and the 2014 US Open champion, Marin Cilic, also comes into the final grand slam of the year, on the back of an injury. He pulled out of both Montreal as well as Cincinnati Masters on account of an abductor injury. He doesn't have any major obstacles till the quarters (he could meet the rejuvenated David Ferrer in the 4th round), where he could meet the Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and his potential semi-final opponent would be the rising star and the in-form German, Alexander Zverev. Like Stan Wawrinka, the 28-year old Croat generally brings his A-game to the Grand Slams and he's at his best at the US Open (also a semi-finalist in 2015, and quarter-finalist in 2009 and 2012). He's definitely a strong contender for his 2nd US Open. 

Dark Horses

So who could spring a surprise? Could it be one of the old warhorses? In a depleted field, Tsonga, Berdych, Ferrer and Monfils could fancy their chances to land their first slam. Or would it be one of the young guns who'll make a breakthrough at Flushing Meadows, much like Safin, Hewitt and Roddick in the early 2000s? Zverev, Thiem, Kyrgios will also think that their time has come. And what about the in-form Dimitrov, the late bloomer Querrey or the 2009 champion Del Potro?

The 26-year old Bulgarian, Grigor Dimitrov, is the most successful hard-court player this year. He's 24-6 on hard-courts and with 3 titles, is equal with Federer for most number of hard-court titles in 2017. He won the Cincinnati Masters without dropping a set, had a great start to the year and came very close to his first Slam Final at Melbourne (see my previous blog). He's in the same half of the draw as Nadal and Federer, and that would mean he needs to go through both of them to win his first slam (something he's done only once in 15 meetings with them). 

What does one make of Alexander Zverev? He's had a great season so far, having won two ATP Masters 1000 titles (beating Federer in the final at Montreal & beating Djokovic in the final at Rome) and 5 titles in total. Yet, he's failed to progress beyond the 4th round in the three Grand Slams this year, as success at the highest level continues to elude him (yet to reach the quarters at any slam). He's seeded in the top 4 for the first time at a Grand Slam, and has an easy path till the quarters. May be this is the tournament where the younger Zverev sibling, breaks his Grand Slam hoodoo.

Nick Kyrgios hasn't won any titles this year. He hasn't progressed beyond the 2nd round in any of the Grand Slams this year. So what makes him a dark horse? His performance against big players on big stages on the hard-courts, sets him apart. He demolished Nadal in Cincinnati, knocked out Djokovic at both Indian Wells and Acapulco, without dropping a set in any of those matches. He also has two wins over Zverev. He had a very close match with Federer in Miami, losing in three tie-break sets. His explosive game poses a grave threat to all top players but questions remain over his temperament. Despite this, he has enough firepower to cause a flutter or two in the top half of the draw. 

The Wimbledon semi-finalist, Sam Querrey has had a late resurgence of sorts. He's won two titles this year (both in Mexico incidentally) and was a semi-finalist at Wimbledon where he upset Tsonga and Murray along the way. Even more impressive was his title win at Acapulco where he went through Goffin, Thiem, Kyrgios and Nadal. He's got a kind draw and should progress to the quarters with relative ease. Here, Zverev lays in wait in what would be their first ever encounter. A repeat of the Wimbledon semi-final (vs. Cilic) can't be ruled out.

The year's final slam may have been depleted on account of pullouts but this gives a great opportunity for someone to make a mark. Will we get a first-time slam winner?     

     

Sri Lanka test series: Key takeaways for India

This blog is available as a video blog on https://youtu.be/LytF_FFwfWY

A three-test series, billed as part of the first full tour by an Indian team since 2009, ended in 11 days of play. Sri Lanka managed to cross 300 only once in the first two tests, and then, couldn't even cross 200 in the final test. Such was India's domination that they had a first innings lead in excess of 300 in all three tests and enforced follow-on in the last two matches. When one team scores nearly 2,000 runs in three and a half innings (avg. RPW of 61), while the other team cannot even manage 1,500 runs in six innings (avg. RPW of 24), it demonstrates, not just the different performance levels, but also the gulf in class between the two sides. The winning team, therefore, finds it difficult to take positives from the series. However, on account of bold team selection as well as some luck, India managed some positives from this series.

Hardik Pandya's emergence as an all-rounder

With 178 runs in 3 innings and 4 wickets in the 32 overs he was asked to send down, Hardik Pandya began repaying the faith that the team management has shown in him, over the last 12 months or so. His rise through the ranks has been meteoric. A first class debut in November 2013 was followed by selection in the Mumbai Indians playing XI in the 2015 IPL season. The India limited overs cap didn't take too long and he impressed one and all with his explosive batting and effective bowling. In fact, it was the rapid improvement in his bowling that encouraged the Indian team management to earmark him for the longest form of the game. A casual glance at his batting numbers in this series, esp. his strike rates, may give the impression that he played the same way as he does in the ODIs and T20s. But while he did provide the impetus in the first test by scoring a quickfire 50, his maturity stood out in the 3rd test. He strode in at 322/6 after the fall of Ashwin's wicket and India quickly lost Saha at 339. On a pitch that was giving some assistance to the bowlers, Pandya first stitched together a patient 62-run partnership with Kuldeep Yadav and then, when running out of partners, smashed 70 out of the last 86 runs while consuming 42 of the last 69 balls. Three out of the four wickets he took, were that of established batsmen. He also pouched four catches, second only to Rahane amongst non-wicket-keepers. A genuine all-rounder is worth his weight in gold and given that the overseas tours of South Africa, England and Australia are coming up, a pace-bowling all-rounder like Pandya could make a big difference.

Kuldeep Yadav firmly established

It was only due to the suspension of Jadeja from the 3rd test, that allowed the left-arm chinaman, Kuldeep Yadav, to play a test match in this series. Despite his series-winning performance in his debut test against Australia in March, once the captain and coach had made up their minds to play Pandya as the third seamer, it was always difficult for Kuldeep to feature in the starting XI. However, it didn't take Kuldeep too long to make a mark. He ran through the Sri Lankan middle and lower order in the first innings to hasten them to 135 all out and then broke a dangerous partnership between Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews in the 2nd innings. Overall, he picked up 5 wickets in his only test match at an impressive average of 19 and an even more impressive strike rate of 36 balls per wicket. Once again, the selectors and the Indian team management deserve a lot of credit for blooding this Kanpur lad and what has been very impressive is that Kuldeep has been effective across all formats of the game. The fuller length that Kuldeep prefers is ideally suited for test matches; yet it has worked wonders in the slam bang variety too. This is mainly on account of the disguise that Kuldeep deploys, wherein he's able to bowl both the normal chinaman as well as the wrong-un, with a scrambled seam. Given Ashwin and Jadeja's struggles in the Champions Trophy, Kuldeep would ideally be the no. 1 choice spinner in both ODIs and T20Is. And his performances in the limited opportunities he's got at the test level, should firmly establish him as the no. 3 spinner. In fact, I believe that in the upcoming overseas tours, if India decide to play with 2 spinners, Kuldeep's wrist spin would be far more effective on the bouncy pitches as compared to the finger spin of Ashwin and Jadeja.

KL Rahul continuing from where he left

KL Rahul was in a rich vein of form before injury halted his golden run. Till the 4th test against Australia in Dharamsala, Rahul had hit a half-century in each test of that series including five consecutive ones. Given his form in IPL 2016 and his vastly enhanced attacking strokeplay, the Bangalore lad was supposed to make a big impact in the IPL as well as in the Champions Trophy. Unfortunately, his shoulder injury required a surgery and that meant, 4 months out of the game. Then again, in Sri Lanka, he was laid low by viral fever and had to sit out of the first test at Galle. However, the tall right-hander was amongst runs as soon as he was back in the playing XI. He scored a half-century each in the two innings he batted, thereby becoming the first Indian batsman to score 7 consecutive test 50s. The only worry for Rahul would be that his last 8 test scores in excess of 50, have all ended short of the century mark. Nevertheless, the captain would be very pleased to see Rahul back in the team and his inclusion at the no. 4 spot for the upcoming ODIs is a sure indicator of the high esteem in which Rahul's technique, temperament and performances, are held by the Indian team management. 

Mohammed Shami's successful return from injury

Mohammed Shami, India's best quick bowler in test matches over the last few years, has had long-injury layoffs over the last two and a half years and this has caused him to miss many test matches. He returned to play in the West Indies tour in July 2016 after the knee surgery post-the 2015 World Cup, kept him out of the game for several months. Then, he was laid low again by knee injury against England and he missed out the 2nd half of the England series as well as the entire Australian series. A penetrative, test match class, quick bowler is such a rare commodity for Indian cricket and hence, his performances in this series must have been keenly watched by both selectors as well as the team management. And Shami didn't disappoint. He picked up 10 wickets, which was 3rd behind Ashwin and Jadeja, at a very impressive average of 17.7 and an amazing strike rate of 36.5. He was truly in his elements in the 3rd test, bowling at blistering pace and prising out 5 wickets while conceding less than 50 runs. All this augurs very well for future tours but India needs to manage Shami's workload properly so that there's no recurrence of the knee injury.

India has rested all their main test bowlers for the ODI leg of the tour. While this seems to be a sensible strategy for fast bowlers, at least one of Jadeja or Ashwin should've been part of the squad, as their one-day form, of late, hasn't been impressive. On the other hand, the ODI batting line-up seems to be at full-strength and the likely first choice line-up for the 2019 world cup. Interestingly, while Yuvraj has most likely been left out for good, Dhoni seems to have secured his swansong as his closest rival, Rishab Pant, has been unfairly dropped from the squad. India is expected to experiment and use this series as a build-up to the 2019 world cup. Here's then, wishing for a more competitive one-day series!

Reliving Federer vs. Cilic at Wimbledon 2016

As Roger Federer and Marin Cilic prepare to face-off in the Wimbledon 2017 final on Sunday, it'll be good to review their previous encounter. Federer and Cilic squared off in the quarter-final of Wimbledon 2016 and what a classic five-setter it was!

The Croatian had demolished the Swiss Champion in their encounter, previous to this one. That was in the semi-final of the US Open 2014 where Cilic simply destroyed Federer in straight sets on his way to his maiden Grand Slam title. Federer of course, remembered this and he mentioned how "he was blown away" by Cilic, in the press conference after his 4th round win over Steve Johnson. He specifically mentioned how Cilic had improved his serve considerably (see press conference video) and this was in ample display in the first two sets of their quarter-final encounter. Federer was unable to get any read on the Cilic serve as the tall Croatian quickly went up 2 sets to love. Then, the decisive, match-turning moment came in the 7th game of the 3rd set. The 7-time champion had his backs to the wall as he was serving at 0-40, virtually three match points down, given the way Cilic was serving. He somehow managed to extricate himself out of that situation with guts and grit. Then, with the momentum swinging back to his side, the Swiss broke Cilic in the very next game and held on to take the third set 6-3. The biggest difference now, was that Federer was able to read Cilic's serve and he was beginning to look comfortable with the pace of the serve as well as the power of Cilic's groundstrokes.

The 4th set was a mini-classic as both players upped their respective games. Serving at 1-2, Federer made a couple of errors from either wing to go down 15-40. He once again summoned his inner-genius to hit a few unreturnable serves (including a few second serves) and hold for 2-2. In the very next game, Cilic faced a similar situation. When 15-40 down, the Croatian sent down 4 consecutive aces to hold and pay tribute to his coach, Goran Ivanisevic. Serving at 4-5, 30-40, the Swiss saved the first match point of the day. Then at 5-6, 30-40, Federer saved another match point. The inevitable tie-break arrived and it was no less dramatic than the entire 4th set. Serving at 6-4, Federer had two set points, but Cilic won three straight points to earn his 3rd match point. The tension was palpable as a big second serve again saved Federer. The Swiss finally won the 4th set tie-break 12-10 to level the match.

The first half of the 5th set had lesser intensity as compared to the 4th set as both players held on to their service games. Serving at 3-4, 30-40, Cilic saved the 2nd break point of the set via a forehand winner but couldn't save the third as he sent a forehand fractionally wide. Serving for the match at 5-3, Federer decided that he'd had enough of drama as he closed out the match with an ace.

It was just an incredible match (see my short Facebook post after the match) and one of the best comeback wins by Federer over his career. He would go on to lose in the semi-final against Milos Raonic and an injury sustained in the 5th set of that match, convinced the Swiss to call time on his 2016 season. He's currently tied with Pete Sampras and William Renshaw, for the most number of Wimbledon titles (7), and would be acutely aware that breaking away from this pack won't be easy against an in-form Cilic on Sunday. Fingers crossed for a high-quality encounter; another pulsating 5-setter won't be bad at all!    

Wimbledon 2017: Previewing the pre-quarters

This blog is available as a video blog on https://youtu.be/2RrcWlAtMGk

Wimbledon remains the only Grand Slam where no play is held on the middle Sunday. This then provides us the opportunity to pause and take stock. To start off, a pop-quiz! When was the last time that each member of the Big Four survived the first week of a Grand Slam tournament? Believe it or not, it was more than 2 years and 8 Grand Slams ago - in the French Open 2015. So the headline of the week surely must be about the strong comeback by the Big Four. And it's not just the fact that they've all reached the 4th round but also the manner in which they've gone about their business. Between them, Murray, Djokovic, Federer and Nadal, have lost just one set on their way to the Round of 16. They've all overcome tricky opponents with relative ease. The other strong contenders, namely Milos Raonic and Marin Cilic, have also been impressive as they too have lost just one set between them.

The upsets amongst the Top 10 aren't really shocking. Both Wawrinka and Nishikori don't consider grass as their favourite surface, have a below-par record at Wimbledon and to make matters worse, they were both handed out brutal draws. What has been slightly surprising though, is Dominic Thiem's performance. He wasn't in great grass-court form coming into this tournament, but he's through to his first Round of 16 at Wimbledon.

The other talk dominating headlines is how the surface is playing. Some players have complained about the quality of the grass, how it is playing slowly, how some courts are slippery, how the grass is uneven. Of course, the lack of rainfall has made the surface behave like a slow hard court and that probably explains the lack of big upsets or even contests. However, I do think that the contests will become very interesting from hereon.

The most interesting match-up in the top half of the draw is between 2-time champion, Nadal and the in-form Gilles Muller. Muller, a tall leftie from Luxembourg, is a grass court specialist and is coming into this match on the back of an impressive grass-court season. He reached the semis at Queen's, falling to Cilic in a tough 3-setter, and won the Rosmalen Championship a week earlier, beating Alexander Zverev in straight sets on his way to the title. The two southpaws have met twice at Wimbledon in the past. Muller won the first encounter in 2005 while Nadal exacted revenge in 2011. Nadal has been in sensational form, having not dropped a set in his last 10 grand slam matches but this could be a tough test. Muller has a huge serve, hits a lot of aces (he's at the top of the ace-chart) and employs a classic serve-and-volley game. But will his game stand up to scrutiny against Rafa's relentless baseline game? This will be an entertaining match and may even go the distance, but I expect Rafa to come through.

Amongst other Round of 16 matches in the top half, I expect Murray and Cilic to come through their encounters with relative ease. Sam Querrey has racked up some impressive wins again this year and he's up against Kevin Anderson in a battle of tall players with huge serves. Both these guys are joint third in the aces count, having hit 68 aces each. Hence, don't expect long rallies. Tough one to call, may even go to five sets but I expect Querrey to come through this one and reach his 2nd consecutive quarter final at the Big W.

The bottom half of the draw has some potentially mouth-watering match-ups. Strong contender Raonic comes up against the rising star, Alexander Zverev. Both players are very good on grass but recent form suggests a slight upper hand for the German. Raonic obviously has the better serve but Zverev is very good from the baseline, esp. on the backhand side. The last year's finalist has gone deep in various Grand Slams previously while for Zverev, this will be his first Round of 16 match at a Grand Slam. In their only previous meeting, Zverev got the better of Raonic on clay at Rome Masters earlier in the season. I expect him to do an encore on grass and make his first Grand Slam quarter-final.

Federer and Dimitrov go up against each other for the first time since 2016 Australian Open. The 7-time Wimbledon champion has looked sensational this season, having won his 18th Grand Slam in Australia followed by the Sunshine Double in March. His clay court hiatus was followed by a stupendous victory at Halle. He's considered as the strongest contender at this year's Wimbledon. Dimitrov, on the other hand, has had a topsy-turvy season. He started the season very strongly, winning titles at Brisbane and Sofia, and coming very close to upsetting Nadal in a thrilling 5-set semi-final in the Australian Open. He racked up an impressive 16-1 win-loss record before his season went pear-shaped at Rotterdam. He went on to suffer a shocking loss of form in the remaining hard court season and that losing spree continued in the clay court season. From 16-1, he went 5-9 leading up to the Queen's Club Championship where he finally found some form and reached the semis. The question though, is whether he's ready for the born-again Federer. I would say, difficult given the evidence. I'm going with Federer in 4 sets.

Dominic Thiem and Tomas Berdych have met only once before. That too was a 4th round encounter, three years ago at the Flushing Meadows, when the 6th seed Berdych steamrolled the unseeded Thiem in three easy sets. Things won't be easy for the Czech this time though. Thiem, the higher seed, has been outstanding this season and although he suffered two shocking losses at Halle and Antalya and his high backlift is generally considered unsuitable for grass, the Austrian has surprised one and all with his performance in London. Berdych too hasn't had a great grass-court season falling to Feliciano Lopez in the quarters both at Queen's as well as in Stuttgart. His Grand Slam performance hasn't been up to the mark in 2017 and he hasn't yet won a title this year. This one is tough to call and most likely, the match will go the distance. Thiem has already proved that he can play on the big stage and seeing him in his first Wimbledon quarter-final shouldn't surprise anyone anymore.

The no. 2 seed and the 3-time Wimbledon champion, Novak Djokovic, faces Adrian Mannarino for the second consecutive year at Wimbledon. They met in the 2nd round last year and Nole came through in straight sets. The significance of that match isn't lost on anyone as Djokovic lost in the very next round to Sam Querrey and his career has undergone a major slump that continues till today. Mannarino has caused some upsets already this year, first overcoming a red-hot Feliciano Lopez in 4 sets in the first round, and then defeating Gael Monfils in 5 sets after being down 2 sets to 1, in the previous round. Djokovic himself has started to find his bearings and his straight-sets victory over the dangerous Gulbis in the previous round was very impressive. Does Mannarino have enough fuel in the tank to cause the 3rd and his most significant upset? I think Djokovic will find a way and should come through in 4 sets.

We are all set then for a Super Monday. It's Love All!

Champions Trophy 2017: Asian Party in London

Let's start with a short quiz. When was the last time India played Pakistan in a major tournament final? Most of you will get it right - it was indeed the ICC T20 World Cup final 10 years ago. But what if the question was limited to finals of ODI tournaments involving more than 3 teams? One has to go back more than 23 years i.e. to April 1994, when the then reigning world champions, Pakistan, beat India in the finals of Australasia Cup (in Sharjah) to win their 3rd successive title. And the last time India and Pakistan met in the finals of a major global ODI tournament was in March 1985, when the then World Cup holder, India, beat Pakistan in the finals of the World Championship of Cricket (held in Australia).

The Romance of India-Pakistan encounters!

The South Asian cricketing giants have met less frequently in the last decade or so, as volatile political environment has restricted bilateral tours. The cricketing world has been poorer for this. This, and the fact that Pakistan is still banned from hosting cricket in their own country (8th year running) as well as excluded from IPL, has seen India-Pakistan matches lose their edge recently. This is such a far cry from those two decades (mid 80s to mid 2000s) when India and Pakistan ODI encounters produced edge-of-the-seat thrillers. Cricket fans would remember the match when India won while defending a lowly 125 runs in Sharjah (1985) or when Miandad hit a last-ball six off a Chetan Sharma full-toss to help Pakistan win the first Australasia Cup, also in Sharjah (1986). We all remember the world cup encounters, esp. the 1996 quarter-finals and the 2003 slug-fest. But, how many of you remember that 40-over ODI in 1987 where India, having set Pakistan a target of 239 and having them struggling at 174/6, still lost mainly due to Salim Malik's brilliance (who scored 72 of the last 80 runs at a strike rate of 200!)? Or, even that 1991 match in Sharjah where a young Tendulkar almost helped India chase down 258 against a bowling line-up comprising Wasim Akram, Aaqib Javed and Waqar Younis, in fading light (India lost by 4 runs!). Sharjah may have slowly faded into insignificance but India and Pakistan continued producing thrilling encounters - in Toronto (1996), when India lost by 2 wickets when defending 264 and despite having Pakistan down at 221/8 (Salim Malik the tormentor again); in Dhaka (1998) when India won the Independence Cup by chasing down a then-record 315 (won by 3 wickets); in Brisbane (2000) when Pakistan won by 2 wickets when chasing 196 and looking down and out at 153/8 (Saqlain and Waqar, as batsmen!); in 2004 (Karachi), when India sneaked home by 5 runs despite setting Pakistan a huge target of 350, as Moin Khan couldn't do a Miandad off the last ball, despite getting a full-toss.

Although, India and Pakistan produce the occasional brilliant game even now, since 2006 India have dominated their neighbours, having won 17 out of 27 completed games. Contrast this with the overall record - it still stands at 72 wins for Pakistan vs. 52 wins for India. Their first game in the Champions Trophy 2017 was representative of how India has dominated Pakistan since 2006. Pakistan will hope that there's no encore in the final.        

What has India done well so far in Champions Trophy 2017?

India, the pre-tournament favourite, has lived up to their reputation and are functioning like a well-oiled machine. The top order has been both solid as well as swashbuckling, with Dhawan and Rohit topping the run charts and Kohli too in the top 5. Each of the middle and late order batsmen have played at least one significant innings or cameo. While Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar haven't picked up a bunch of wickets, they've been very economical (going at less than 4.75 RPO). The fielding has been very good too, with the fielders effecting 6 run outs so far and catching having improved significantly since the first match against Pakistan. Except for the 2nd innings against Sri Lanka, India has been very clinical in all their other games. They've won when defending a target (against Pakistan) as well as when chasing one (South Africa, Bangladesh).

Yet, certain phases of their bowling performance in the league game against Sri Lanka as well as the semi-final against Bangladesh will worry Virat Kohli and Anil Kumble. India's bowling has been largely unsuccessful to pick up wickets in the middle-overs. Sri Lanka successfully chased down 322 quite comfortably while Bangladesh, having crossed 150 in the 27th over for the loss of just 2 wickets, were on course for a 320+ score before the part-time off-spin of Kedar Jadhav induced a mid-innings collapse. In the finals, India will surely demand more wickets from their front-line spinners (esp. Ashwin) as well as their pace-bowling all-rounder, Hardik Pandya.

What has propelled Pakistan to their first Champions Trophy final?

Pakistan has been the most improved side in this tournament. They were the bottom-most ranked team when the tournament began (at no. 8) and even their most ardent fans gave them little chance to make the finals. But the Pakistani team decided to live up to its age-hold billing as "mercurial and maverick". After the big loss against India in their tournament opener and having lost Wahab Riaz due to injury, facing the top-ranked South Africa in a must-win game was daunting. But they've strung together a series of such amazing bowling performances that they've restricted strong batting line-ups of South Africa, Sri Lanka and England for less than 250 in 3 successive games. This has mainly been on account of penetrative middle-over pace bowling by Pakistan and this hasn't allowed the opposition to follow the tried-and-tested model of accumulation in the middle-overs followed by acceleration towards the end. Hasan Ali and Junaid Khan are amongst the top 5 wicket-takers and as a result, they've been economical too (less than 5 RPO).

However, Pakistan's batting is still a big concern. They got slightly lucky against South Africa with rain and D/L coming for help. Then, they were staring at defeat against Sri Lanka when chasing a modest 237 before an unbroken 8th wicket partnership of 75 runs rescued them. It was only against England in the semi-final that Pakistan produced a clinical batting display to chase down 212 with 8 wickets in hand and 77 balls to spare. Yet, Pakistan will be very aware of India's batting depth and it's unlikely, in case they are chasing, that they'll face a less-than-250 target in the finals.

So how does it look like?

If one looks at the strong and weak areas of both teams, they represent perfect contrasts. India will love to have Pakistan's bowling penetration in the middle-overs while Pakistan will feel complete if they can match India's batting prowess at the top order. To the die-hard fans on either side, this would sound very similar to a recurring theme in the 90s - Indian fans wished their team had a bowling attack (esp. fast bowlers) like Pakistan and Pakistani fans wondered when they'll get the kind of batting depth like India. 

The weather seems to be clear for the final and hence, toss may prove critical. Both teams would like to chase, esp. Pakistan. The final will be played on a fresh track and this may aid run-scoring. For Pakistan, Mohammad Amir will likely be back while India may retain the same team that won the semi-final. If India bat first, they'll look for a score close to 300 (may not want to go hard for a 325+ score). If they bat second, the Indian team would be confident of chasing down any score upto 325. Let's hope for a repeat of the high-scoring Independence Cup final in 1998 (the third final). That'll surely rekindle the old romance!