CricPredict

Bhajji in struggle to call for a worthy comeback

On 10:10 AM By kalicharan nt

BHAJJI WAITS TO BE PAID FOR HIS HARDWORK

"He has made a comeback,he is probably trying too hard,but there is nothing looking on the experience front.He knows what to do in which condition,"Venkatapathi Raju.

Harbhajan Singh had consistently played a main role in the vanguard of spin bowling for the Indian side.He is a player having colossal talent with controlled aggression to match his role for the side.In many of his matches it is quite evident that his techniques of turning tables of victory on to his side were stupendous.He was successfull in creating reign of his own in Indian cricket and proved to be the best spinner to rely on after Anil Kumble.He was at his best,spinning the ball to Australian batsmen in March,2011 where he took 32 wickets in three test matches which included a first test hat-trick ever made by an Indian while his team-mates managed to pick a two or three.He is a fiercefull bowler and a nightmare to some good batsmen when he puts all his aggression and talent in correct path and in a right proportion.But later this controlled aggression of the Indian spin driving force lead him to build up some personal rivalries with other players on field which left him having some black marks in his cricketing career.
Click here to see Harbhajan Singh's hat-trick vs Australia- First time by any indian in test cricket

The biggest controversy was his tangle with Andrew Symonds which included a racial insult and was later reduced to abuse on appealing.Another scene on field which made the then headlines of the sports column was Bhajji slapping Sreeshanth which followed a ban on him for that whole IPL season.He then started to run out of his form and was dropped from the test squad bringing all this onto him by himself.He had to pass through tough times when he was reported to have an action which seemed to be throwing but climbed the hill of hard times by changing his length and pace of his deliveries.Following all these there came a decision from BCCI of dropping him for West Indies test series at home.

Another chance came searching his talent when India was in need of spinner for completing Virat's three spinners strategy.Need of an experienced player as it was prestigious for Indian side to make a win in series was the point where Harbhajan stood ahead many others.Moreover he is proved to be capable of giving a stand,batting at his position.But his vapid performance in the first against Srilanka at Galle puts him under pressure as he could only manage to take only one wicket where there was actually spinners show all through the test from either of the teams.He being a stardom spinner,is struggling to prove that he has made a worthy comeback and lived upto the expectations.But sometimes doing something more may not leave behind something exciting.Same is happening in the case of Bhajji.He lacks no experience and talent but unfortunately it is not working correctly for him this time leaving him to try more.

Former Indian cricket player Venkatapathi Raju also feels the same. "He went through that rehabilitation phase while correcting his action.Then he was out of contention for a while and now when he has made a comeback,he is probably trying too hard,but there is nothing looking on the experience front.He knows what to do in which condition",expresses the Indian cricket alumini,Venkatapathi Raju. He said that he was part Indian team under Azaruddin in 1993 defeating Srilanka in test.He said that they too had three spinners strategy where they had batsmen like Sehwag who would put up runs on board leaving the bowlers only with the duty of taking wickets.He adds that in todays senario spinners should be able to back up the batting line up sometimes after the early downfall of top order batsmen.It needs someone well-experienced like Harbhajan to take up this job though Ashwin is doing his best.Looking forward for a good performance like the one's in past from Harbhajan Singh and wishing him and the Indian team all the very best for their second test ahead from August 20th,2015 to be hosted at Colombo.Please leave your opinions and comments on his comeback

Chris Rogers and Michael Clarke to retire from internationals after Ashes

On 8:48 AM By Unknown

The 37-year-old Australian batsman Chris Rogers has confirmed on Tuesday that he will retire from Test cricket at the end of the ongoing Ashes series in England.Rogers had already indicated that the series would be his last and the 37-year-old told reporters in London he had no reason to change his mind.Rogers is the oldest member of the current Australian team and has scored 1,972 test runs at an average of 42.86. He is Australia's leading run-scorer in the current Ashes series, with 437 runs at 62.42.He made 173 in the first innings of the second Test at Lord's, but retired hurt in the second innings, complaining of dizziness after being hit in the head earlier in the match.Chris Rogers joins the Australian captain Michael Clarke as he is also retiring after the fifth test, which starts at The Oval on Thursday with England holding an unbeatable 3-1 lead.

Rogers struggled for years to solder a place in the team.He has been in the best form of his career, in which he has excelled at first-class cricket but managed only 24 test appearances since his debut in 2008.Following are some of the words spoken by Rogers before confirming his retirement on Tuesday

"Greg Chappell said to me a few months back that he was wrong about me and I was quite proud of that," Rogers said. "I think a few people had a certain impression of me and particularly with my age and to be able to change that was quite satisfying. He was happy to admit I've proved him wrong. It was a really nice thing to say.

"You are never 100% sure but I felt like this was the last one, there's been a few things, particularly the head issues lately. I am quite happy to call it a day," Rogers said. "People tell me you know when you know and I felt like this is the right time."

"It's kind of bittersweet (the farewell). It's pretty special, someone said to me, (because) not many people go out when they're scoring runs or taking wickets, it's generally not how it happens. So that's something to be proud of as well," said Rogers.

Earlier this year Rogers hit seven consecutive Test fifties, equaling the world record, but his career was briefly interrupted by a jolt that saw him miss both of Australia's Tests in the West Indies in June.Despite his imminent international retirement, Rogers may yet return to county cricket after a break, having already held discussions with Middlesex where he has captained previously.

Dhawan ruled out of Sri Lanka tour and Binny fills the allrounder cavity

On 11:02 AM By Unknown

Shikhar Dhawan expresses his disappointment on Twitter

Shikhar Dhawan,who scored a century in the first innings of the first Test, did not come out to field during Sri Lanka's second innings and was cramped when he was batting in the middle of India's fumble chase.According to the sources,the Indain team management said "He (Dhawan) underwent tests that confirmed a hairline fracture in his hand. He would require four to six weeks to recover from the injury".

Shikhar Dhawan suffering from hairline fracture on his right hand

Dhawan remained the last hope for the Indian cricket fans as the wickets were tumbling from one side by the Sri Lankan spinner forces.Eventually,he too gave up because of his hairline fractue.Dhawan will miss both the second Test starting at the P. Sara Oval in Colombo on Thursday and also the final match at the Sinhalese Sports Club in the Sri Lankan capital from August 28.Shikhar Dhawan expressed his disappointment on Twitter on missing out on the remaining two Tests against Sri Lanka after a hairline fracture in right hand ruled him out of the remainder of the series on Monday.

Murali Vijay or K.L.Rahul or Cheteshwar Pujara ?

As on one side,team India is suffering from injuries and finding a bit troubled to have a correct batting opener pair.Inida's opener Murali Vijay was ruled out from first test with a hamstring injury and eventually K.L.Rahul was also ruled out due to dengue.Team director Ravi Shastri said "Murali Vijay is recovering and recovering well.Let's not forget it's a hamstring. We want to absolutely make sure he's fully recovered before we field him," . A final call will be taken only a day before the Test.Vijay has been doing fitness drills in the practice sessions.

What if Vijay doesn't recover at the right time? Well,the team management even has a solution for that.In the case that Vijay does not recover in time, the Inidan team management has an eye on Cheteshwar Pujara to pinch-hit.Many cricket devotees feel that Pujara must be given a chance.Pujara has opened in four innings, all in India, in his 27 Test career and has 203 runs at 101.5. In international cricket, he opened, most recently, in the Delhi Test of the Border-Gavaskar series against Australia and scored a brisk 82 in India's chase of 155.

Stuart Binny to replace Shikhar Dhawan

At a time when Indian batting line-up is struggling to show consistency, Dhawan's injury has certainly come as a major mishap for skipper Virat Kohli.This has not been a foil to the skipper,but also to the team management to get the right combination.So,the Indian cricket team revived Stuart Binny as the 16th member of the Test squad ahead of the second test,starting Thursday.According to the sources,the BCCI media release states, "All-rounder Stuart Binny will join the Indian Cricket Team before the second match of the three-match Test series in Sri Lanka."

It's not been official that Stuart Binny will replace Shikhar Dhawan.But,according to Virat Kohli's 5 bowler strategy a strong positioin must be provided at the 7th position and Wriddhiman Saha showcased his talent in the first innings providing a base for the 6th position.Virat Kohli feels that Binny who is more of a batting all-rounder can fill in the fifth bowler's slot and can also be a reasonably dependable No 7.

Is it Rohit's luck or his class that is backing him in test.

On 9:16 AM By kalicharan nt

Rohit Sharma's class vs form

"You have to back your best players and the reason why Rohit started getting more chances because Pujara was going through a phase where he wasnt getting too many runs,"Virat Kohli.

Rohit Sharma who holds the record of scoring 264 runs in a single innings in an ODI against Srilanka is the known to perform well at home than at overseas.Indubitably he is a class player and has his own good style of driving the ball to boundary.But these days this young talent is consistently failing to prove himself at overseas mainly in test format.After scoring two tons in his first two tests against West Indies at home,he is not seen scoring such big individuals totals in international test matches and after that he has managed only two half centuries against New Zealand and Australia.This figures on board clearly state that he struggling a lot with bat and has to work upon it to sustain in the test team.

His test average is 35.84 and seeing his score in few past matches some feel that a chance is to be given to Chetheswar Pujara to bat at position 3.But things seem to be happening in the other way.Rohit Sharma is in safe on shore whereas Pujara is in turbulent water inspite of better stats in average and strike rate than Rohit Sharma for Pujara scoring less figures in last 11 matches he played in XI.Team director and Indian test skipper Virat Kohli back Rohit Sharma and their decision of denying Pujara in the XI.Ravi Shastri says that Pujara inspite of having an average of 47.11 has not fetched some good number of runs for the team from last 11 matches and has not scored atleast one ton and adds that they felt that he has been given enough chances to play in XI and now the time has come to give Rohit Sharma who is capable of playing some big shots a chance to help him show his tight techniques.

Click here to watch Sunil Gavaskar saying NDTV " India need to stop being aggressive and play proper cricket"

Chandimal and Herath drive Srilanka to victory

On 6:13 AM By kalicharan nt

SRILANKA ENJOYS TASTE OF VICTORY AND GIVE A TRIBUTE TO THE LEGEND SANGAKKARA

At the end,Galle has hosted the homeside spectacular victory.It was Herath and Chandimal's show driving Srilanka to victory by 63 runs.Indian batting order fails in the second innings.

On the 69th Independence day,India was standing ready to salute the Indian cricket team for their expected victory as their outstanding all round performance till day 3 in the first test against Srilanka always kept India in a commanding position in the game.In Srilankas second innings Indians failed a little bit in controlling Dinesh Chandimal in their second innings as he fought brilliantly with the bat scoring a beauty of 162 runs when Srilankans were struggling to keep up their position in the match.At last Indians were successfull in restricting them to give a lead of 175 runs.Everyone all over India were sitting confidently in front of the TV to applaud Indians on their victory on Srilanka.All of a sudden in their second innings Indians started losing things off their hands.The waters of victory changed its course towards Srilanka as Indians found it very difficult to row against it.This time it was Indians turn to fight back for control over game.Yes,it was Rangana Herath,the Spinning spearhead of Srilanka team was the person behind all this.All praised Ashwin for his beautiful figures in the past innings and Herath boldly accepted the challenge.

RAHANE DEPARTING AFTER HEAVY STRUGGLE

He took 7 wickets with an impeccable line,length and spin of the ball as youngster Kaushal seconded him by picking up 3 wickets for Srilanka and quench their thirst for victory.Though Dhawan and Rahane were players who gave a stand to the Indian batting line up during their respective time on the field batting all others along with Indian skipper failed to put up some runs on board.Rohit Sharma and K.L.Rahul are now pointed to be the major failures all through this test as they failed with their bat in both the innings.Dhawan says that he gave a knock which was needed for India from his side and he seems to be speaking right as the opener scored and also gave a good standing and commanding position for his team.The second innings had no one with a great knock like the one's from Dhawan and Kohli in their first innings to support the team.And finally this stands to be a great tribute to Sangakkara and Chandimal and Herath are the players to be credited for making this happen.

The Galle also hosted the lap of honour of Sangakkara when Srilankan players carried Sanga on their shoulders praising him for his stupendous performance all the while for Srilanka.Sanga waved his hand amid the cheers of crowd saying a very good bye to his cricket.All smiles in and out of the field on Srilankans face on their victory but a bit of sadness somewhere deep in their hearts as they are not going to see Sanga amongst them in team as player.

Not only them everyone is going to miss a great player and his great knocks in cricket field.Indian players also come down to the field to congratulate for all his success and wishing him a great life ahead.Sangakkara gets a memento from Southern Province Cricket Association and Cricbuzz donates 5000USD on his retirement.Speaking of the match Herath says that it was a great comeback into the game.He adds that a chat with his spin coach about use of the body more helped them make this happen.Meanwhile the losing side captain Virat says that they failed to captailise after early fall of wickets and thats the point from where the Srilankans took over them in their second innings.He appreciates his boys for their performance in the first days of the match.At the end it was fabulous tribute to the lion Sanga and an astounding performance by Herath and Chandimal.This leaves Indian team with many more lessons to learn and execute in coming future.Congratulating Srilanka cricket team and wishing the both the teams a better luck in the coming test matches.GOOD BYE SANGAKKARA,THE GAME WILL MISS YOU...!!!
Spectators and cricket fans hold your nerves as this is not the last,the second test is going to hosted by Colombo at P Sara Oval from August 20th,2015.Stay anxious...!!!

Kohlli's 103 and Dhawan's 134 keeps India in a commanding position (India vs Sri Lanka 1st test at Galle,Aug 12-16,2015)

On 10:57 AM By Unknown

Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan and skipper Virat Kohli banged stylish centuries keeping India in a commanding position by taking a considerable 192-run lead on the second day of the first test at Galle.Having dismissed Sri Lanka for 183,India were down for 2-28 loosing K.L.Rahul and Rohit Sharma at an early stage.At this stage,India was struggling to pile up the score board.Then,here arises the mammoth partnership between skipper Virat Kohli adn opener Dhawan.Both these batsmen made a partnership of 227 which is the highest third-wicket stand for India in Tests against Sri Lanka.Their partnership was India's 16th third-wicket stand of 200-plus runs, but their first in a Test against Sri Lanka.Virat Kohli scored 4 centuries in his first four matches as captain. Only two other players have scored four centuries in their first four matches as captain - Alastair Cook and Sunil Gavaskar. Cook scored five centuries in his first five Tests as captain.

Soon Kohli was dismissed for 103 by Kaushal during 74th over.Hopes upsurged as talented Rahane made his way to bat.But he failed to lend a partnership hand to Dhawan as he was dismeed for duck by Kausha. After Rahane's disappointing dismissal,even Dhawan was bowled by Pradeep.The end was near for the Indian side as all the top order was collapsed for 294-5.Hope the Sri Lankan's were in a happy mood to finish off the things.But,that didn't prevail for long time for them as Wriddhiman Saha made his maiden half century.The number of of Indian wicketkeepers who have made a 50-plus score in Tests in Sri Lanka.The only keeper to do this before Wriddhiman Saha (60) in this Test was MS Dhoni, who scored 76 at the SSC (Colombo) in 2010.

The Sri Lankan bowlers were successful in ripping apart the Indian opening as they got K.L.Rahul and dangerous Rohit Sharma in back to back encounters.But when Kohli and Dhawan made their contribution for the third wicket partnership,it became even worse for the Sri Lankan bowlers.The Sri Lankan off-spinner Tharindu Kaushal was the most successful bowler with figures of 5/134 in 32.4 overs.He bagged skipper Kohli's and Rahane's wicket.That was a good counter from the young bowler.Many uncapped players were in the Sri Lankan squad.Yet,their response was soliditary.Herath failed in picking wickets as he didn't bag none.Pacer Nuwan Pradeep also finished with 3/98.Havning a look at the Indian side bowling,Ashwin's 6 wicket haul was mind blowing.He completely took the Sri Lankan side single handedly with his spin attack.Amith Mishra and Ishanth finished off the remaining things for the Indian side.

At the end of the second day,Sri Lankan's opened their second innings with Karunaratne and Karunaratne. Ravichandran Ashwin opened the bowling atttack and bowled Dimuth Karunaratne for duck with a doosra.Skipper Kohli implementing a double spin attack bought in Amit Mishra for the second over and it worked as Mishra too bowled Kaushal Silva for duck with a googly leaving the Sri Lankan's in a daze.Still with 3 days in hand,India eyes for a 1-0 against the hosts

How is the tribute to the legend going to turn and where it ends

On 10:54 AM By kalicharan nt

Is Srilanka cricket team is really going to him a spectacular tribute he truly deserves or he has do it for himself ? Is Lanka going to pay him back for all his efforts all these years or leaving the burden on Sanga and asking him to do it for them and help them pay tribute to him ?

SANGAKKARA

Kumar Chokshanada Sangakkara, Srilanka cricket iconic player is a legend who has Lanka's 12305 test runs,14234 ODI runs and 1382 T20 international runs from his account.This left handed batsman stood as a nightmare to the bowlers through out his time on the field,batting.This powerful cricket decendant of his preceeded left handed Srilanka's batsmen Arjuna Ranathunga and Asanka Gurusinha defined the words batting stardom in his own way more beautifully than many others during his batting tenure.May it be a ODI or test for that matter may it be any format of cricket with his perfect shots which seemed to be cut from a very fine cloth he marked his name on some of the milestones in cricket history.Mainly for Srilankan spinners,there is no amplification in saying that part of their confidence was standing behind the wickets saying them"Dont worry,the ball is going to be in safe hands if its going be an edge or stumping".Sangakkara also contibuted alot as wicket keeper since long.

He guarded Lanka standing behind the stumps as captain.He is even great in person as he not only stands for a long at crease but also on his words.Before world cup 2011 he openly stated that we would give up his captaincy if he couldnt get the cup for his homeside.He selflessly blamed himself for the same and as said he left captaincy after Srilanka's fall at the finals against India despite of much struggle.

From then he is playing under Mathews captaincy but the fire within was undoubtedly the same.With Mahela on the other side,he reigns over the game and carried a Mahela-Sanga legacy.But sadly he had announced that 2015 will be his last ODI.

Even now his fans were a bit happy as they will be watching him ruling the game with bat in the best format,the test matches.But this happiness didnt last very long.He has announced his test retirement in the middle of India's tour of Srilanka 2015 leaving everyone downhearted.

Now the Lanka's decided to give him a great tribute.They decided to win this series for him.Spectators all over the world and even Indians are eagerly waiting for a spell-bounding performance from Sangakkara but things are happening in a different way.Srilankans won the toss but were not up to winning fans hearts with their performance.They fell at the very first fence and its shocking to see Sanga dismissed early at just 5 runs.

The whole batting order failed in the first innings and this failure is seemed to be carried even in their bowling as Indian skipper Virat Kohli(103) and batting stardom Shikhar Dhawan(134) were seen driving India with their excellent figures.In second innings too Srilankan's openers themselves failed both being dismissed for a duck leaving the pressure again on Sangakkara even in his last days of cricket.

SL 1st Innings - 183

Batting	Out Desc	R	B	4s	6s	SR
Dimuth Karunaratne	c A Rahane b Ishant	9	19	0	0	47.4
Kaushal Silva	c Dhawan b Aaron	5	24	1	0	20.8
Lahiru Thirimanne	c A Rahane b Ashwin	13	38	2	0	34.2
Kumar Sangakkara	c Rahul b Ashwin	5	12	0	0	41.7
Angelo Mathews (c)	c Rohit b Ashwin	64	92	6	1	69.6
Jehan Mubarak	c Rahul b Ashwin	0	7	0	0	0.0
Dinesh Chandimal (wk)	c A Rahane b A Mishra	59	77	9	0	76.6
Dhammika Prasad	lbw b Ashwin	0	6	0	0	0.0
Rangana Herath	b Ashwin	23	24	4	0	95.8
T Kaushal	c Rohit b A Mishra	0	1	0	0	0.0
Nuwan Pradeep	not out	0	1	0	0	0.0

SL 2nd Innings - 5/2 (4 overs)

Batting	Out Desc	R	B	SR
Dimuth Karunaratne	b Ashwin	0	5	0.0
Kaushal Silva	b A Mishra	0	6	0.0
Dhammika Prasad	batting	3	11	27.3
Kumar Sangakkara	batting	1	3	33.3

This is form and scoring figures of Srilanka's team is giving birth to a question within the spectators that is Srilanka cricket team is really going to him a spectacular tribute he truly deserves or he has do it for himself ? Is Lanka going to pay him back for all his efforts all these years or leaving the burden on Sanga and asking him to do it for them and help them pay tribute to himself ? What is going happen to on the field next.Your anxiety can only be answered after the further commencement of the match.Please stay connected to get updated on what his happening out there in Galle and to know who is going to rule whom.Your analysis and opinions about the match will be appreciated.