Story India's journey to World No.1|India 'A' 1st ODI: WI Innings

[arjind]

The face of Cricket is changing, and for India to maintain a good run which sees them competing for world No.1, they will have to battle some of the toughest opponents in some of the toughest games to cement a place in Cricket's finest

 

[Aussie Team]

Looks Like a Good Story, Good Luck..

 

[arjind]

India 'A' Fixtures and Squad Announced

The BCCI has announced a two tour schedule to the Caribbean and England. The team will first fly out to the Caribbean to take place in 3 ODIs, 2 Tests and one Twenty20 against the West Indies first team. The team then goes straight on to England where they will engage in what is sure to be a fantastic series consisting of 5 ODIs, 3 Tests and 2 Twenty 20 matches. The India first string team will follow that exact schedule a month after the India 'A' Team returns home, thus putting the nature of the India 'A' tour one of battle for selection. The main issues currently facing the tour are that of the timing of the tour will clash with the weather, thus meaning a non-extensive tour that leads to a huge disappointment for fans and players alike. The three boards are currently in meetings with head officials from the ICC to try and tackle the problem with the immediate suggestion being of shortened matches for Back to Back matches to take place and so that the match time can be shifted so that the weather doesn't ruin the Cricket.

The India 'A' squad features unlikely selections in the dropping of Suresh Raina, who was favourite to be captain for the tour. The team will rather be under the guidance of captain Virat Kohli, who became a natural second choice for the tour because of his success in winning the U19 World Cup with India. The team includes no regular Wicket - Keeper, with part timer Robin Uthappa to take the gloves for the tour, thus hinting at what the India team feels it needs in addition to it's current squad.

Squad:
Virat Kohli (C)
Robin Uthappa
Rohit Sharma
Manoj Tiwary
Ravindra Jadeja
Abhishek Nayar
Swapnil Asnodkar
Piyush Chawla
Pragyan Ojha
Manpreet Gony
Rudra Pratap Singh
Praveen Kumar
Vinay Kumar
Shantakumaran Sreesanth
Shadab Jakati

Raina misses out

Kohli is hoping to lead the team to success
​

 

[Gorro_124]

India "A" will tour windies and england??the titleof the thread says its India right???BTW good graphics. Made by you?

 

[arjind]

Yeah they are
Leading up to it, don't worry

 

[arjind]

India Team lands

The India 'A' team landed in the Caribbean today looking forward to a jam packed schedule kicking off in 2 days time. They arrived and wasted no time in beginning to train, realising the weather wouldn't hold out for long. The weather eventually turned for the worse and the team were forced to sit on the sidelines and try to come to a deal over the schedule if the heavy rain persists. Organizers have said they must try to play the first match according to the schedule but if the weather intervenes for a long period of time (which local forcasts suggest), they must reshape the schedule to play as much cricket as possible.
​

 

[arjind]

Exclusive Virat Kohli Interview

Virat Kohli will be captaining the India 'A' team on their two tours before he is likely to meet up again with the India team to follow the same schedule. Reporter Arun Madhaya will be following the team's progress:

Arun Madhaya: So how are things in the Caribbean?

Virat Kohli: They're good. We were unfortunate with the weather but we have to get past it and keep training since we have a big match in two days time and would really like to do well.

AM: What are your expectations for the big match? Obviously you've heard that West Indies are likely to field a lot of second string players, how does that make you feel?

VK: It's OK. We will have to play our best because they are still a good side and they will be out to win, no question of it. For us, the first game is about finding our feet, not going all guns blazing, a lot of guys realise that, but also realise the prospect of a shorter game is there.

AM: What about for you, any team news or people performing well in traning?

VK: People to look out for definetly. The Kumar brothers are playing well in all 3 disciplines but both are carrying injury niggles. It really depends on the conditions, the decision can't be made until the last minute before the toss. If we are playing 50 [Overs] then we may have to leave them out because both Prav[een Kumar] and Vinnu [Vinay Kumar] can be influential and it's important they are fit for the rest of the tour

AM: I'll leave you to get back to your team then. Thanks and Good Luck.

VK: Thank You it's been a pleasure

 

[TheGreemSim]

Good presentation KIU

 

[Gorro_124]

Waiting for the game to begin!!

 

[Varun]

Nice to see you focusing on "A" Team. Hope this story goes good!

 

[arjind]

Key battles:

With the tour just about to get underway, Arun Madhaya has been assessing some key battles that are likely to take place between players from both sides.

Virat Kohli vs Chris Gayle

Both Captains must realise that they are going to be the backbone for their teams. It will be interesting to see how Chris Gayle's laid back style clashes with Virat Kohli's hands on approach. Clearly, if the rain becomes a factor, Virat will have planned for that, but, the experience of Gayle could prevail in testing conditions in a testing schedule.

Swapnil Asnodkar vs Andre Fletcher

Both teams will be reliant on their aggresive openers to get them off to a good start. The openers play an enormous part in shaping a good innings and a quick, solid start is what these two will be entrusted with. Bowlers will have to try and contain both of these players but both are prone to making rash decisions.

Rudra Pratap Singh vs Jerome Taylor

The backbone of their respective pace attacks. Both will have to try and contain the players mentioned before whilst aiding the less experienced in the attack. RP will be influential with his left arm swing and Taylor with his combination of sheer pace, swing and accuracy.

Pragyan Ojha vs Nikita Miller

The job of these left arm spinners will be simple:
1. To keep a constraint of the flow of runs
2. To get through the overs quickly
3. To give the pace bowlers a rest
4. To try and pick up 1 or 2 wickets whilst achieving points 1,2&3

The job may be simple but the implications are not. If they can do what is required of them well, then they will be able to build pressure on the batting side so the wicket taking bowlers can do their job. If they don't stick to a plan, they could easily leak 15+ runs an over. Both will also be expected to chip in with handy late order runs in the longer formats of the game.​

 

[Gorro_124]

Good graphics once again.KIU!

 

[Aussie Team]

Wow, Excellent Presentation Mate.. You should have used the new image of this

 

[arjind]

Match Preview:

The underdogs in this match but still with plenty of potential to force a good game

No Kumar brothers due to the match expected to be 50 overs, but even during the toss, a steady drizzle was growing, hence the lack of a pitch report because it was still covered.Some dangerous players throughout but definitely an interesting decision playing the attacking leg spinner Piyush Chawla and a supporting left arm spinner, Pragyan Ojha.

Likely to run away with this game due to India's lack of training and the home advantage

A weakened West Indies squad but still with lots of dangerous potential. The squad was the same as the one expected to play. The conditions call for innovative batsmen as well as clever bowling, as reflected in West Indies Team selection

West Indies won the toss and chose to bat

Pitch Report:

Green Indicates areas suited to all bowlers
Red Indicates places ideally suited to right hand batsmen

The damp pitch will help the batsmen with most areas being good areas to hit in. The pitch will guide the ball on to the bat with pace, but won't skid uncontrollably. More rain could easily make this a sticky wicket suddenly turning the game on it's head. Anything short or 'Short of a Length' will sit up and easily be hit. for the left arm spinners and the leg spinners, a good area at one end of the pitch to draw the batsmen into rash shots. For bowlers, little margin for error. For batsmen, unpredictability.​

 

[just_cricket]

Nice innovative ideas there. Good luck with this, I'll be following!