Indian Cricket Team Updates

India lost their second match of the Carlton Mid ODI series to England by nine wickets in Brisbane. After MS Dhoni’s side succumbed to the Steven Finn-James Anderson attack for 153, Ian Bell took England to victory with an unbeaten 88. The opener was ably assisted in the chase by James Taylor (56*).  Finn and bounce were India’s undoing after electing to bat at the Gabba. Using the conditions to his advantage, the pacer left India tottering on 67/5 with his first three wickets after Anderson had accounted for Shikhar Dhawan in the third over of the day. Although Dhoni and Stuart Binny painstakingly worked to revive the innings, the bottom half crumbled after the end of the 70-run stand. While India had lost four wickets prior to the sixth wicket partnership for 10 runs, they lost the last five wickets for 16 runs. Finn finished with 5/33, his maiden fifer; while Anderson picked 4/18 to bundle India out in 39.3 overs.  Done in by extra bounce, Dhawan nicked the first ball h...

The All-India Senior Selection Committee met in Mumbai today and selected the Indian team for the Tri-series between India, Australia and England to be played in Australia from the 18th of January. The Indian squad for the Tri Series MS Dhoni (Captain), Virat Kohli (V Captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Stuart Binny, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Ambati Rayudu, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Md. Shami, Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Ishant Sharma, Dhawal Kulkarni. source: bcci.tv

This was the eighth Twenty20 International between these two sides. ( Also Read:  Only T20I: England v India, Birmingham ) Jason Roy, Ambati Rayudu and Karn Sharma were making their T20I debut. A total of 70 and 49 players have now represented England and India in T20Is respectively. MS Dhoni was playing his 50th Twenty20 International match. He became first Indian to do so. By an odd coincidence his counterpart Eoin Morgan was also playing his 50th match. R Ashwin conceded 17 runs in first over of England innings – most expensive opening over of the match by an Indian bowler. The previous record was of 13 runs. Eoin Morgan (71) became first England captain to score a fifty in T20 Internationals since November 2009 when Paul Collingwood made 57 against South Africa at Johannesburg. Morgan scored 15 runs off his first 15 balls (Strike-rate 100.00). Of his next 16 balls he scored 56 (strike-rate 350.00). Ajinkya Rahane became first Indian and only the fifth player to take four c...

Chasing 181 runs, India lost the only T20I of the tour against England by three runs at Edgbaston. A blistering 31-ball 71 by the England T20I captain Eoin Morgan helped the hosts to a competitive total after opting to bat first. This after Alex Hales had got England off to a good start with a quick-fire 40. In a late flourish, the hosts accumulated 81 runs off the last five overs to set the visitors a stiff target.  ( Also Read:  Stats Highlights: Only T20I - England v India, Birmingham ) Virat Kohli (66 off 41) then kept India in reckoning with two crucial partnerships with Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina. But the runs conceded in the last quarter of the England innings and the tight bowling by the host’s bowlers kept the pressure on India. Although MS Dhoni made a match of it as he took India within sniffing distance of the target, he couldn’t take the team across the line in the nerve-wracking last over.  Earlier, Ravichandran Ashwin opened the bowling after Engla...

With the series already decided at Edgbaston in India’s favour, England earned a consolation win in the last ODI at Headingley, beating India by 40 runs.  ( Also Read:   Joe Root century sets up win for England ) In the end, India took the series 3-1, owing to some brilliant individual performances by the likes of Suresh Raina and Ajinkya Rahane, combined with the perfect team effort in the field and with the ball in the previous three ODIs.  ( Also Read:   Stats Highlights: England vs India, 5th ODI ) At the end of the series, captain, MS Dhoni was a pleased man. He was satisfied with where his team stands just months away from the 2015 World Cup but also pointed out the areas where he would like to see improvement leading up to their world champions title defense. “There were many positives that came out of this series and we will have to take them forward in the coming matches leading up to the World Cup,” Dhoni said. “The intensity on the field was very good ...

Alastair Cook was captaining England for the 63rd time in an ODI. He now holds the record of captaining England on most occasions in ODIs, surpassing Andrew Strauss’ tally of 62 matches. ( Also Read:   Joe Root century sets up win for England ) Cook also became England’s leading run-scoring captain in ODIs. At the end of this match his tally stands at 2383, which takes him past Strauss’ tally of 2367 runs.  ( Also Read:  Skipper MS Dhoni lists positives from England series and points out areas that need improvement ) Joe Root (113) made his second ODI hundred in 36th match. This was also his highest score in ODIs. He had made 107 against West Indies at North South earlier this year. At 23 years 249 days Root is the third youngest England batsman to score an ODI hundred in England after David Gower (21 years 55 days) and Alastair Cook (22 years 239 days). Before this match, Root had scored 448 runs in 20 matches at home at an average of 23.58 with a highest of 68, whi...

India lost the last ODI of the five-match bilateral series by 41 runs at Leeds. Put in to bat at Headingley, England put up an improved performance, courtesy a diligently complied century by Joe Root to set India a challenging target. A 108-run partnership between the middle-order batsman and Joss Buttler gave the hosts the necessary boost to post 294/7 in fifty overs. The Indian batsmen were then kept on a tight leash by the English bowlers. They lost Ajinkya Rahane without a run on board and were left struggling on 49/3 at the end of 14 overs. The visitors couldn’t recover from the early blows and continued to lose wickets at regular intervals and were bowled out for 253 with eight balls to spare.  ( Also Read:  Stats Highlights: England vs India, 5th ODI ) Earlier, England’s brisk start showed positive intent after losing the toss once again. The opening stand was however halted for 23 by Umesh Yadav in the fourth over of the day. Replacing Dhawal Kulkarni in the team,...

For me failure is not a bad thing, because it teaches you how to succeed.” That is how Shikhar Dhawan summed up his England tour. After a wretched Test series with the bat, where the opening batsman scored 122 runs in the first three matches before being dropped, Shikhar’s run of low scores continued in the second and third ODI, with 10 and 16.  ( Also Read:  Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan seal series for India ) However, he turned a corner in style at Edgbaston with a magical blend of sense and authority. With an easy pitch, the target a modest 207 and his opening partner, Ajinkya Rahane, on song, Shikhar had a golden opportunity to play himself back in form. And that’s just what he did.    ( Also Read:  Stats Highlights: England vs India, 4th ODI ) The opener took his time to settle into his rhythm before unleashing the gems from his bat that were hidden for too long. The straight drives and the whacks over mid-wicket ruled his innings. And when he clo...

Dhawal Kulkarni was making his ODI debut – 203rd player to represent India in ODIs.  Joe Root, on 26, completed his 1,000 ODI runs. He became 32nd Englishman to do so. At 23 years 246 days, Root is the youngest England player to reach this landmark, taking the record from Eoin Morgan who was 24 years 12 days old while accomplishing this feat. ( Also Read:  Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan seal series for India ) The first wicket partnership of 183 runs between Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan is India’s best for this wicket against England in England. The previous record was of 150 between Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar at The Oval in 2007.   ( Also Read:  Tough series taught many lessons: Shikhar Dhawan ) Ajinkya Rahane (106) made his maiden ODI hundred. His previous best was 91 also against England at Mohali in 2011. Ajinkya Rahane’s 106 is the second highest score by an Indian batsman against England in England after Virat Kohli’s 107 at Cardiff i...