India - Sri Lanka Series: The Abnormal Analysis !

Another India - Sri Lanka limited overs Cricket series came to an end and India came out winners. They won the ODI series 4-1 and the lone match of the T-20 series. It has already been dissected by everyone from Yahoo to ESPN Crickinfo. So I find no fun in doing it in normal. So here is my 'abnormal analysis' of the series.

The total time Rohit [Nohit] Sharma spent at the batting crease in the 5 matches was no longer than the time Ashok Dinda takes to return to his run up.

WOE-HIT SHARMA

The series will seriously be remembered as "The Return of the Pathan" series. Irfan wants to save Tigers but he was definitely too hot for the Lions.

Rohit Sharma speaks out on his troubles

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Rohit Sharma: Demand for a DNA Test !

After finding nothing interesting to write on Cricket for over 100 days, I return to write on Cricket because of the magnitude of the event that is happening right now.

I have always considered Dhoni as an extremely recalcitrant Captain who will play some of his favorites with the 'come what may' attitude and will keep some away with equal passion. He has done that with Ravindra Jadeja before and now it is Rohit [Nohit] Sharma. Everyone following Cricket in India must have felt dismayed to see the name of Rohit in the India list this afternoon and Rohit hasn't belied our belief in him ! 

So much so, even people not even remotely connected to Cricket have expressed anguish, anger and exasperation. Here are some of the reactions pouring in as India slide towards another defeat thanks to a middle order batsman who can't score a run but can't be dropped either.

Anna Hazare: I have decided to go on an indefinite fast till Rohit Sharma is dropped from the team. Cricket is sustained by the Aam Aadmi's money and not by the BCCI, Selectors or the Captain's whims. We need a strong Jan Team-Pal bill. This bill will ensure that the Indian team for every match will be selected by people's vote. 

Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown

Following  international cricket through Twitter and Facebook is sometimes more entertaining than the action on the field. The battle on social media can match or even better the intensity displayed on-field by the 22 players. While the contest may be between two teams, the online interaction features participation from fans of non-playing teams as well. This makes for an all-inclusive forum where you get perspectives and opinions of all kinds and where debates can stretch for hours and days after the match has concluded. In this context, the reactions following England’s huge loss to South Africa at the Oval, made for interesting observation.

The South African fans were understandably overjoyed, but they were not alone. Indian and Australian supporters, who have bore the brunt of England’s dominance in recent times, were blessed with a host of topics to mock the English team – the ease with which the number 1 team lost to South Africa, the impotency of their bowlers, the ineptness of their batsmen on a flat track and a favorite target – the English media. Understandably, the English fans were more subdued, with reactions ranging from muted acknowledgments of South Africa’s dominance to frustrations over performances of certain players, and even anger over the celebratory reactions by the ‘neutral’ fans.

Wait! Let's Give Ravi a Chance

"People try to put us down," rock band The Who used to wail in their 60's anthem, My Generation. Ravi Bopara must know what they meant, having surrendered his second innings wicket cheaply on day five at the Kia Oval, leading to more questions as to why he had been given another chance in England's middle order for this summers box office test series against South Africa. 

Day five at the Kia Oval this time around was a dismal place for England, despite previous high points, and what England required in order to save a game they had been thoroughly outplayed in was caution and restraint from their premier batsmen, particularly following the loss of their top four batsmen late on day four.

That Bopara chopped a wide delivery from the imperious Dale Steyn onto his own stumps was cavalier in the extreme given the context of the game, and is a mistake that Bopara will have to live with as he returned to Essex for T20 action this week. He scored only one for them by the way - bad week.

England vs South Africa - The Batsmen To Watch

The series between England and South Africa that starts at the Kia Oval on Thursday, is the most eagerly awaited, non-Ashes series I can remember for quite a spell. And well it might be, for it pits the world’s best test team, England lest we forget, against the team ranked third. Further, it brings forth a battle between what are widely considered the best two bowling attacks in world cricket. The juices are flowing alright! 
 
England take on South Africa in this three match series having made light work of their summer warm-up act, the West Indies, beating them 2-0 in a three match series. The final match at Edgbaston was all but rained off, otherwise it would almost certainly have been a clean sweep.
 
Having also beaten Australia 4-0 in an ODI series this summer, England will be in buoyant mood right now, although South Africa will provide a much stiffer challenge than either of those two managed. 

With a bowling attack led by the imperious Dale Steyn, the world's best bowler, who is backed up superbly by the improved Morne Morkell, Vernon Philander, who performed so well for Somerset earlier this season and not forgetting the leg breaks of Hampshire old boy, Imran Tahir, South Africa have an attack that will give England's batting order a rigorous examination.