THE GOOD OLD DAYS

 

Image Credit – CricInfo.

Venue – The Oval, London [July 12, 2022].

The Ireland-England tour has come to an end, and the same has exposed multiple cracks in the Indian set-up. The performance of the men in blue has been horrible in the T20s, wherein they struggled to win a single T20 international. Moreover, for the first time, we got whitewashed in the hands of Ireland, whereas the English hammered us 4-0, with one match ending in no result because of incessant rain.

In ODIs we did play better but lost the series 1-2 at the end. However, the same happened because of the top order of Rohit, Shubman and Kohli. Overall the squad's performance was below par, and the management now needs to rethink some of its decisions. After all, the batsmen struggled to bat in swinging conditions, whereas the bowlers looked helpless in front of English batsmen. To be honest, the Indian team never looked this helpless in white-ball cricket on an overseas tour before.

In 2022, India delivered one of the finest performances in England, wherein they defeated England 2-1 in both the ODI and T20 series. Who could ever forget the Oval ODI wherein we demolished and crushed the English. Indian Captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and decided to field first on what looked like a good batting surface.

However, the hosts received blow after blow as the duo of Bumrah and Shami rattled the English batting line-up. At one stage the English scorecard read 59/7, and it appeared that the Three Lions wouldn't even reach the three-figure mark. Fortunate enough, the tailenders got some runs at the back, and the English got past 100 runs. The hosts were eventually bowled out for 110 runs in 25.2 overs as Bumrah picked up 6 wickets and broke the spine of the English batting order. Apart from Bumrah, Shami picked up 3 wickets for just 31 runs as the Three Lions looked helpless.

In response, the Indians chased the target comfortably in 18.4 overs with 10 wickets in hand. The opening duo of Rohit and Shikhar hammered the hosts and stitched a match-winning partnership of an unbeaten 114 runs. Dhawan played slowly and steadily, whereas Rohit went ballistic and scored a quickfire 76 of 58 deliveries. It is pertinent to note that it took just 79 minutes to chase down the target of 111. It was truly a dominant performance by a champion side.

One could only hope that Team India will return to the winning ways in the upcoming bilateral. After all, the World Cup is just 14 months away now. We need to get our core squad right.

To watch the Highlights of the Oval ODI, Click Here.

A SINGLE TO REMEMBER

 

Image Credit – Cricket Australia.

Venue – The Gabba, Brisbane [December 4-8, 2003].

Cricket is a game of figures and stats. Every now and then we hear news of a particular player breaking one or another record. But there are certain statistics which are not only hard to break, but also no one wants to hold onto them. One such record is Ajit Agarkar's seven consecutive ducks against Australia.

In the summer of 1999-2000, India toured Australia to play 3 test matches. Agarkar, who was establishing himself as a promising all-rounder, started off decently in Adelaide, wherein he scored 19 runs. Unfortunately, things went downhill post this innings, as he was dismissed for a duck every single time he came onto bat.

The tragedy continued in Mumbai as well, wherein he was dismissed for a duck in both innings. As a result, when he came out to bat in Gabba, all eyes were upon him. Can Agarkar get off to the mark? Fortunate enough, he got a full toss on the leg side which helped him get an easy single. The crowd was cheering like anything when Agarkar completed his single. Interestingly, this one run meant so much to Agarkar that he waved his bat as if he had completed his hundred.

It is pertinent to note that Agarkar is one of those Indian batsmen who have a Test hundred at Lord's. Something which even the God of Cricket doesn't have. But against Australia he struggled to score even one, which was shocking and surprising for everyone. Fortunate enough, he got some runs in Gabba, which gave him confidence.

Interestingly, in the next test match, he bowled a match-winning spell in Adelaide, which helped India take a vital lead in the 4-match series.

To watch the struggles of Agarkar, Click Here.

To watch the match-winning spell of Agarkar, Click Here.