Indian team T20 World Cup 2020

No sports. This has been the headline for the past month. Can't believe we all are living right now without sports. 

But with the World T20 coming there is only one question in mind. 

Who will be in India's team ?

With the IPL postponed till April 15 due to coronavirus we still have to wait which player performs the audition perfectly for getting a place in the Indian team. 

There are a lot of questions on which players will make the cut for the final 15. 

Who will partner Rohit as opener?

No.4 slot?

Wicketkeeper?

Bowlers?

Let's try to answer all of them..

Openers Slot

Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan has always been an unbelievable opening pair. 

Specially in ICC tournaments Dhawan is a different player all together. 

There is no doubt that right now no one can replace Rohit but there has been some question marks on Dhawan's form after his return from injury after the World Cup. 

The emergence of KL Rahul as a star opening batsman has been a joy to watch. 

He solves two issues for the team- 

1) Can play very aggressively right from ball 1. 

2) Wicketkeeper conundrum

If I would have been the selector then Rohit and Rahul would have been my first choice openers as by playing Rahul the team can play 1 extra batsman whenever it needs. 

                   Source- India Today

No.4 Slot

Rishabh Pant, Vijay Shankar, Manish Pandey,etc. How many players the Indian team have tried for the this slot. 

Then out of nowhere Shreyas Iyer came and slowly he started ticking all the boxes. According to me he has all the qualities that are required by a No.4 player. 

It is the most trickiest of all positions as the player has to adjust his game according to the situation. He should know when to accelerate and when not to. 

I think India has found a player that can stay on the big screen for a lot of time.

He is the ideal and favourite for the No.4 slot. 

                   Source- Gulf News

Wicketkeeper.

MS Dhoni. The name on everybody's lips. The GOAT. One of the greatest WKs of all time. 

It's hard to find a keeper like him. These kind of players are called generational talents and to tell a new player to perform like him, then I'm sorry you are putting a lot of pressure on him. 

I think that is what has happened with Rishabh Pant. This guy is an unbelievable talent, has immense potential. 

At 21 years of age to go to England and score 100s is not a joke. You need a heck of a technique and mental strength for that and that to in tests. Phew!!

And then there is Sanju Samson. No doubt he's a good player and a decent WK. But, so far he has not been able to justify his potential at the domestic stage, and his short stints in the National team. 

For me if I have to choose I would go with Pant. Give him space of mind and tell him to play as you want but according to the situation, then see his game. He's an unbelievable talent and India's future. 

                 Source- Times of India

Looks like we have solved all the issues of the team.  Find my playing 11 for this Cup. 

What will be yours, mention in the comments box. 

All rounders

Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja. 

No questions asked. They are the best in the business.

                  Source- Jagran.com

Bowlers ( Public Demand ) 

Spinners- 

Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav. 

Well Chahal is always going to be the first pick for me. 

What has happened with Kuldeep is pretty curious. 

From being Ravi Shastri's No.1 pick to being dropped entirely from NZ  T20 series. 

He has not been same since July 2019. 

According to a stat- 

In T20Is, Kuldeep had 39 wickets in 21 matches at an average of 13.76 before July 2019, but his performances have gone downhill since then, only making three appearances for the Men in Blue while scalping four wickets at an average of 20.75.

With each passing match the likes of Krishnappa Gowtham, Ravi Bishnoi, Shreyas Gopal are stamping their authority, Kuldeep has no option left but to revitalize his game if he wants to keep his place in the Indian squad.

India wants that fearless kid who took the international cricket by storm. 

Pace Battery- 

Jasprit Bumrah

Yorker king, Death over specialist, this guy has many names. 

We all know he's taking time to come to full form after coming back from stress facture, but all he needs is good quality game time and then he's good to go. 

Mohammed Shami and Bhuvi

This is a debate that keeps on going and going. Which player is a better fit for the team? Can both play? Then what will happen to Deepak Chahar and Saini?

It's a tough battle with both having good qualities which makes them effective. 

With Shami's pace > Bhuvi

But, Bhuvi's death bowling> Shami

Shami's pace could be a great asset in Australia, but, the biggest strength of Bhuvi is his VARIATIONS, which could prove vital in later stages of the game. 

In my opinion Shami should partner with Bumrah and Bhuvi in pace department. 

Why not Saini or Chahar? 

I feel this is where experience comes. 

Shami is more experienced than Saini and Bhuvi is more than Chahar. 

This pace department column is pretty debatable considering that we have such a good bench strength. 

Playing 11

Rohit Sharma

KL Rahul 

Virat Kohli

Shreyas Iyer

Rishabh Pant

Hardik Pandya

Ravindra Jadeja

Chahal

Jasprit Bumrah

Shami

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Substitutes

Shikhar Dhawan

Shivam Dube/Washington Sundar

Kuldeep Yadav

Navdeep Saini

All the views expressed are personal. 

Do share your thoughts in the comments section. ✌️

India vs New Zealand Review

Source- cricbuzz.com

New Zealand and Super Over. This love story is surely not coming to an end. New Zealand were stolen a World Cup triumph in the super over in 2019 and now they lost the 3rd T20 match to India in super over which they should have won in regulation time considering that they needed 3 runs from 5 balls. 

What really happened?

1st innings-

New Zealand won the toss for the 3rd straight time and this time they called out India to bat first on a lively Hamilton pitch. India's openers gave them a commanding start by posting a partnership of 89 runs. This wicket led to a loss of momentum and India lost 2 quick wickets. Both openers and Shivam Dube who was promoted to No.3 were back in the dressing room in no time. Rohitman Sharma scored his first 50 of the tour by making 65 of just 40 balls. 

Kohli, Iyer, Manish Pandey and Jadeja made sure that they posted a decent total and they carried India to 179 in 20 overs. 

Bennett was the most expensive but still the most successful bowler for NZ, as he picked 3 wickets while giving 54 runs. 

2nd innings-

NZ too started off brilliantly, specially Martin Guptill who scored 31 off just 21 balls. But the NZ innings was all about their Captain Cool Kane Williamson who scored a magnificent 95 off just 48 balls. He couldn't get NZ cross the finish line and lost his wicket to Shami who was the most successful bowler for India, as he picked two crucial wickets at the best time. One of Kane and another off Ross at the very last ball. 

Super Over-

NZ sent Williamson and Guptill to bat and India gave the ball to world's No.1 bowler Bumrah who had a rare bad day in the office. Bumrah started off brilliantly but soon lost his way as he gave away 17 runs in the over. 

Now it was time for KL Rahul and Rohit to deliever the goods. India too started badly but Rahul's 3rd ball boundary off Southee started a comeback. India after 4 balls were in a difficult  situation as they needed 10 runs off 2 balls. 

But when their is Sharma ji then anything can happen. He lodged 2 back to back sixes and steered India home with a memorable series win for the first time in NZ against NZ. 

Chelsea vs Arsenal ( 21/01/2020)

.               Source- Chelsea Twitter

The stage was set for another classic London derby between two giants. Chelsea and Arsenal. This was their 200th meeting overall which added more spice to the match.

Chelsea started the match brightly by pressing with a very high intensity and passing very accurately. Their pressing reaped rewards when Mustafi in pressure from Tammy gave a back pass to Leno but it couldn't reach him and Tammy went past the GK, and Luiz trying to save the goal tackled Tammy. This earned him a red card and a penalty to Chelsea.

Jorginho takes it and coverts it with his usual hopping style to make it 1-0 in the 26th minute. 

The 1st half totally belonged to Chelsea and they could have scored 3-4 goals if not for Tammy's poor headers. 

HT Highlights-

 1) CHO's crosses in the box for Tammy.

 2) Luiz's red card and Mustafi's back pass.

 3) King Jorginho penalty.

 The second half was no different for Chelsea as they started on the frontfoot. But this didn't bring anything as Leno made sure that no shots from Chelsea's players went inside the goal and they remain in the game till the end. 

Arsenal were always threatening in the counter attack and in the end it resulted in a goal. In the 63rd minute Kante slipped in front of Martinelli which gave him a free way towards Kepa. He shot in the bottom right corner to make it 1-1.

 But Chelsea showed their don't-giveup attitude and made it 2-1 through Captain Azpi's goal in the 84th minute. But the joy was short-lived as Bellerin cancelled out his national teammate's goal by scoring from outside the box in the 87th minute.

 But you expect Kepa to save those kind of shots and it was indeed very poor from his side.

 In 88th minute Chelsea had a chance to lead again when Michy couldn't score a simple goal from CHO's brilliant cross. (I clearly don't see him as a top club material)

 FT Thoughts-

1) CHO was amazing.

 2) Michy sucks.

3) Need a back up striker ASAP.

 4) Kepa needs to do better and I mean right now.

 5) Chelsea, please show some promise. 

.                Source- Chelsea Twitter

Premier League Review ( 20/01/2020)

Liverpool has beaten Manchester United by 2-0 after a brilliant display on the weekend. It was a fantastic display by Liverpool who clearly showed Manchester United who is the boss through the goals of Virgil Van Dijk and Mohammed Salah. They could have scored more if not for VAR or the post. That win has made them go clear of Manchester City by 16 points with game in hand and as far as the title race goes it's clearly over now but the question still remains can Liverpool beat Manchester city's 100 points barrier? 

Chelsea's top 4 chance suffered a big blow after they were beaten at Newcastle by 1-0. Chelsea failed to score in 90 minutes and were handed a big blow by Hayden after his superb header in the stoppage time. They couldn't take advantage of Tottenham's draw and United's loss but they still have five points lead over man united and currently sit on 4th position. If you look at Chelsea's next 6 fixtures it is a state of worry as they face Leicester, Arsenal,  Bayern Munich,  Tottenham and Manchester United and I hope they win against all of them specially the one against Bayern Munich and Manchester United. With January transfer window set to enter its last week there still hasn't been any signing been done by Chelsea which some can say lack of intent or lack of good players in the January window. As we all know lampard believes in quality more than quantity.  Players like Sancho cannot be bought in January as teams wouldn't want to let go of their best players in the winter transfer window he May be coming in April in the summer transfer window which could be thought of as a statement signing by Chelsea if it happens. 

Other results- 

Leicester City lost 2-1 to burnley and Manchester City drew 2-2 against Crystal Palace. 

My predictions for next week- 

Manchester City to win by 2-1 against Sheffield United. 

Chelsea will beat Arsenal by 2-1 considering they need to show a reaction after there latest defeat to Newcastle. 

Leicester City Tottenham and Manchester United will get back to winning ways against their respective oppositions. 

And the match of leaders Liverpool against wolverhampton wanderers will be a tough match but Liverpool will still be able to find a way to win by 3-1. 

That's all from my side thank you all and see you next week. 

WWE RAW Review ( 3-12-2019 )

This RAW episode was probably one of the best episodes that has been televised this past month. It had almost everything. From good story to good fights, a complete package. So let's hop into its complete review.

Rollins kicks off RAW

Source- https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2865150-wwe-raw-results-winners-grades-reaction-and-highlights-from-december-2#slide10

This segment was all about Rollin's character-building towards becoming a heel. Even though he came out to apologize to the WWE universe it didn't seem like he meant it. He called out KO whom he insulted and who he attacked when AOP dismantled Owens.
KO didn't accept his apology and said that this was all a huge act put on by Rollins and also said that maybe AOP are the closest of Rollin's family members.
AOP didn't give any heed to their interactions and challenged both of them for a match for which Rollins did agree but later walked out leaving Owens for a challenger from the locker room.

Grade
B-

Owens vs Lashley

Source- https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2865150-wwe-raw-results-winners-grades-reaction-and-highlights-from-december-2#slide10

This match had nothing special but it had a great effect on two of the topmost storylines going in the WWE right now. The AOP midway in the match attacked Owens and dragged him to the locker room. Lashley and Lana kept on watching. Suddenly Rusev attacked Lashley and ran away from his security. Later both Rusev and Lana were arrested and were taken out in the handcuffs.

Grade
A-

Mcintyre Segment

Source- https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2865150-wwe-raw-results-winners-grades-reaction-and-highlights-from-december-2#slide10

Drew was up against Akira who has lately made a lot of strides in the WWE. This match was a top-notch as Akira sold all the moves brilliantly and made Drew's offence look devastating.
After Drew's victory, he called out Randy who he told why this is his moment and time and why he is the future of this company.
Later the OC came as they also had some unfinished business with Orton as because of him AJ lost his US title to Rey. Drew who didn't wanted any part of it left Orton on his own who was later helped by Ricochet, Rey and Carrillo.

Grade
B+

Flair vs Kabuki Warriors

Source- https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2865150-wwe-raw-results-winners-grades-reaction-and-highlights-from-december-2#slide10

WWE really do know how to book the Queen. Just make her fight against Asuka and you have got a quality match. This was no other, but this time she fought the tag team champions without a partner. This made Flair look really strong who almost defeated the Warriors.
I think the whole motive of this match was to show how better Flair is from other WWE superstars.

Grade
B-

Rey, Carrillo, Ricochet vs The OC

Source- https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2865150-wwe-raw-results-winners-grades-reaction-and-highlights-from-december-2#slide10

This was a great match with great chemistry and energy. Every wrestler sold every move with unbelievable accuracy. But one thing is still unclear. Why do they have to make Ricochet get pinned every time? This guy was on the top of the ladder not more than 2 months ago but now he seems to have lost all that momentum. He has been told to play a third fiddle in the US title race. Carrillo out of nowhere has taken the spotlight.
This remains to be seen how WWE books Ricochet further because he is a serious talent who just can't be wasted.

Grade
A+