Cricket Special Report: India’s dominance in 2010 - Part II
(Contd. from Part I)
If the onslaught on Australian was not enough, the young second string squad of India went one step further and handed New Zealand with a 5-0 whitewash. The team for the Kiwis tour had their senior players- Sachin Tendulkar, Virendar
Sehwag, and even dependable captain MS Dhoni-rested for the upcoming tour against the Proteas.
Yusuf Pathan is another shining player who has proved himself with his form to be a potential all-rounder. He has also been spinning the ball and it has come quite handy at times.
The IPL might have been under scrutiny regarding the shady works behind the curtains but it has certainly worked wonders for the potential future players of the country. The Indian team has Chanaka Welegedara and Suraj Randiv who
are potentially good defensive bowlers. Then there is http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Dinesh-c54134 Kartik who played this year at the Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka. His half century earned him the Man of the Match as well as winning the Asia Cup. Even though he had the spot in the absence of
Sehwag, his outstanding half century proved that he has the potential of performing in the top order.
Cheteshwar Pujara is another 22-year old player who has proved himself in the Test matches against Australia. His form in the Test match could help him if the selectors decide to give him a shot in the limited overs form of cricket.
Harbhajan Singh was another highlight of 2010, who came in with back to back centuries in the Test matches against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754, helping him seal a strong No. 8 to help his team win the matches or at least manage a draw.
The Test matches are another milestone for India. The number 1 ranked team played five series this year in which they managed to draw two matches against the Proteas and Sri Lanka. They convincingly won against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747
(2-0) yet considering their number one status they need to work extra hard in the upcoming series and the next calendar year.
However, the year’s success story has to be the captaincy of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Gautam-Gambhir-c58623 who charged the young team to a whitewash against the Black Caps in the Test series as well as the ODI series. Gambhir showed potential in stepping up
the pressure on the other team making some right decisions along the way. Of course, Dhoni is the most exciting leader since http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rahul-c83321 Dravid however, the future of Indian cricket belongs to the youngsters.
Gambhir’s confidence in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ravichandran-Ashwin-c84208 showed that the selectors could include a second spinner in the World Cup preliminary squad. Ashwin is not afraid of giving the ball slight air even when the ball needs to be pushed flatter
and quicker.
The youngsters would of course be slowly gelled into the team combining them with the senior and more experienced players. Sachin Tendulkar, who is more than just a cricketer, can help tame these youngsters in learning how to manoeuvre
the fame and the fortune along with being pure to the game.
His unbeaten 200 against the Proteas in just 147 balls has a lot to say about this veteran batsman. Tendulkar will be going into his sixth and probably his last World Cup and if his dominating double century is anything to go by,
then surely http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 are the early favourites for taking the coveted title on their home ground.
Therefore, India will be going in the World Cup as favourites in a relatively stronger group with England and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758. Critics, however argue the fact that the year has been good for India because of a home advantage, yet this
could not be attributed as the only reason for their fantastic year.
The selectors would be looking for the “perfect” World Cup squad given the many options. The South African tour which is scheduled to start from the 16th of December will be the ultimate test for India’s bowling. The
spinners would need to up their game as they would be the key for India’s World Cup chances.
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