Asia Cup Preview: India Vs Bangladesh in Fatullah

After facing humiliating defeat in South Africa and New Zealand, the sub-continent giant and the current world champion side would hope for a turnaround under a new captain when they take on the home side in the second match of this year’s Asia Cup. For the five time champions India, the build up to the tournament is not great. However, playing against an opponent, who is struggling with its own set of problems, India would hope of notching their first win of 2014. Bangladesh’s opener Tamim Iqbal is not playing because of injury while Shakib-al-Hasan, the star all-rounder, is suspended due to his obscene gesture on Live TV. There are fitness concerns about Mashrafe Mortaza and Captain Mushfiqur Rahim.

All this has given a golden opportunity to Team India to make a winning start despite the absence of their charismatic skipper MS Dhoni, who had to withdraw from the tournament after suffering from side strain. The team’s command is in the hands of young Virat Kohli, who has another duty of performing as a batsman. This guy is in exceptional form and lot is expected from him in the prestigious event. All eyes will be on Cheteshwar Pujara, who is labeled as classical Test batsman. He has a chance of proving his critics wrong in the fifty over game. He has all the shots in his batting arsenal to succeed even in this format of the game. Apart from him, Ajinkya Rahane is the other lad, who is looking forward to cement his permanent place in the playing XI before the 2015 cricket World Cup. There would be pressure on Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja and R Aswhin to prove themselves after their respective failures in the recent times. India has a better chance of prevailing through but they have to be careful from the attacking abilities of Bangladeshi cricketers. The home team stunned Men in Blue in the 2012 edition of the Asia Cup and they could repeat their feat once again.

India (probable) 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Cheteshwar Pujara, 5 Ajinkya Rahane/Ambati Rayudu, 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Stuart Binny
Bangladesh (probable) 1 Shamsur Rahman, 2 Imrul Kayes/Anamul Haque (wk), 3 Mominul Haque, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt), 5 Naeem Islam, 6 Nasir Hossain, 7 Ziaur Rahman, 8 Sohag Gazi, 9 Mashrafe Mortaza, 10 Abdur Razzak, 11 Rubel Hossain

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AB de Villiers: A modern day genius & world record maker

AB de Villiers, the right hand batsman, is nothing short of sensation across all the formats. He recently became the first batsman to score 12 consecutive scores of 50 in the Test matches. His latest half century in the second Test match against Australia made him the proud owner of this important record. He went pass Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Vivian Richards, who had 11 consecutive half centuries to their names. The South African batsman has also completed 7000 Test runs. He captured this feat when he hit Peter Siddle for a boundary in the 75th over of the day in the second Test match of the series. The back bone of the Proteas middle order has played 91 matches and has 18 centuries and 35 half centuries to his name.

He is now the fourth South African batsman to cross the 7,000 mark. Jacques Kallis, the former all-rounder, leads the table with current captain Graeme Smith and Delhi Daredevils coach Gary Kirsten are in second and third spot respectively. He has been a pillar of strength for a team which is playing pathetic cricket against the visiting Aussies team of late. He is the face of modern day cricket, who is fearless in his approach. This inform player is ruling Test cricket despite playing some unorthodox shots in this version. He has scored over 4000 runs (46 matches) at an average of 63.66 since 2008-09 in Test cricket. Villiers has got the highest average among all the batsmen in the period talked about. If he is the best in the five day game, then there is no letting up in the one day internationals. The captain of South Africa has accumulated 4129 runs (87 matches) at an average of 61.62. His average and strike of 100.43 is enough to keep him at the top of list since 2008-09. He has been doing this day and night out and that too being under severe pressure. Apart from this, he is renowned for his wicket keeping abilities in the Test matches. The guy has back problem but has performed exceptionally well behind the wickets. He has taken some unbelievable catches, which is enough to prove that he has improved a lot as a wicketkeeper.

The best thing about AB is his consistency in his performances. This proven talent has never let his team down in the time of crises. He has played uncountable match winning knocks for South Africa and has bailed them out from loosing positions. The rate at which he scores is phenomenal. He hardly gets troubled by even the best bowlers of the world. The best example was the first Test match against Australia. The whole team had no answer to Johnson’s brutal pace but De Villiers went on to score 91 and 48 in the two innings. In short, he is god gift for our beloved game. Let’s hope he continues to entertain us for long as world cricket certainly need someone like him in order to promote the game in different parts of the world. for more information please visit our site-http://www.crictoday.com/

Million-dollar buys rule IPL auction

Indian Premier League, the T20 extravaganza, is known for providing fun, excitement, sadness and unlimited action at a faster pace. The auctions were held in Bangalore in order to finalize the teams for the upcoming edition. Let’s take a look at the formation of the teams after the all important auction process.
Kings XI Punjab
Squad: 23 (Indian 16, overseas 7)
Cost: INR 55.90 crore
Batting arsenal: George Bailey (INR 3.25 crore), Virender Sehwag (INR 3.2 crore), Shaun Marsh (INR 2.2 crore), Cheteshwar Pujara (INR 1.9 crore), Gurkeerat Singh (INR 1.3 crore), Mandeep Singh (INR 80 lakh), David Miller (retained), Manan Vohra (retained)
Allrounders: Glenn Maxwell (INR 6 crore), Rishi Dhawan (INR 3 crore), Thisara Perera (INR 1.6 crore), Akshar Patel (INR 75 lakh), Karanveer Singh (INR 10 lakh)
Wicketkeeper-batsmen: Wriddhiman Saha (INR 2.2 crore)
Bowling unit: Murali Kartik (INR 1 crore), Shivam Sharma (INR 10 lakh), Mitchell Johnson (INR 6.5 crore), Beuran Hendricks (INR 1.8 crore), L Balaji (INR 1.8 crore), Sandeep Sharma (INR 85 lakh), Parvinder Awana (INR 65 lakh), Anureet Singh (INR 20 lakh), Shardul Thakur (INR 20 lakh)
Expensive player at auction: Mitchell Johnson (INR 6.5 crore)
Best bargain buy: Shaun Marsh (INR 2.2 crore)
Strengths: They were able to play their cards with perfection in the recently held auctions. Kings XI Punjab has added firepower in almost every department of the game. Virender Sehwag is out of form since long but this could be his IPL. Moreover, the likes of Glenn Maxwell, Thisara Perera, Mitchell Johnson and Rishi Dhawan can dismantle any unit with their individual performances. It would be interesting to see how Cheteshwar Pujara goes about his business in this format of the game.

Weaknesses: Kings XI Punjab doesn’t have a quality spinner in their side. Murali Kartik has lost his touch and is at the end of his career. Shivam Sharma is still a budding spinner, who will be under pressure to make his performance count in the IPL. The wicket keeping area could be another concern as Wriddhiman Saha is only known for his keeping skills rather than his batting.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Squad: 21 (Indian 13, overseas 8)
Cost: INR 59 crore
Batting arsenal: Manish Pandey (INR 1.7 crore), Chris Lynn (INR 1.3 crore), Suryakumar Yadav (INR 70 lakh), Gautam Gambhir (retained)

Allrounders: Jacques Kallis (INR 5.5 crore), Yusuf Pathan (INR 3.25 crore), Shakib Al Hasan (INR 2.8 crore), Ryan ten Doeschate (INR 1 crore), Andre Russell (INR 60 lakh)
Wicketkeeper-batsmen: Robin Uthappa (INR 5 crore), Manvinder Bisla (INR 60 lakh), Debabrata Das (INR 20 lakh), SS Mondal (INR 10 lakh)
Bowling unit: Piyush Chawla (INR 4.25 crore), Kuldeep Yadav (INR 40 lakh), Sunil Narine (retained), Vinay Kumar (INR 2.8 crore), Morne Morkel (INR 2.8 crore), Umesh Yadav (INR 2.6 crore), Pat Cummins (INR 1 crore), Veer Pratap Singh (INR 40 lakh)
Expensive player at auction: Jacques Kallis (INR 5.5 crore)
Best bargain buy: Andre Russell (INR 60 Lakh)
Strengths: Kolkata Knight Riders have assembled a good squad for the best T20 league across the globe. They have strength in the batting department while their bowling is capable enough of defending low scores. The whole world knows about the destruction Robin Uthappa is capable of causing in the IPL. The arrival of Morne Morkel, Umesh Yadav and Pat Cummins has certainly boasted the strength of the fast bowling unit.
Weaknesses: The only problem with the Kolkata Knight Riders could be the form of their players in the upcoming season of the cash rich league. Gautam Gambhir and Yusuf Pathan have been struggling for runs since long and if this continues in the IPL, things could become bad for the former champions. Their evergreen all-rounder Jacques Kallis has a good record but his growing age could affect his performance in the fast pace game.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Squad: 21 (Indians 14, overseas 7)
Cost: INR 60 crore
Batting arsenal: Nic Maddinson (INR 50 lakh), Vijay Zol (INR 30 lakh), Tanmay Mishra (INR 10 lakh), Virat Kohli (retained), Chris Gayle (retained)
Allrounders: Yuvraj Singh (INR 14 crore), Albie Morkel (INR 2.4 crore), Yuzvendra Chahal (INR 10 lakh)
Wicketkeeper-batsmen: Parthiv Patel (INR 1.4 crore), Yogesh Takawale (INR 10 lakh), AB de Villiers (retained)
Bowling unit: Muttiah Muralitharan (INR 1 crore), Shadab Jakati (INR 20 lakh), Mitchell Starc (INR 5 crore), Varun Aaron (INR 2 crore), Ashok Dinda (INR 1.5 crore), Ravi Rampaul (INR 90 lakh), Harshal Patel (INR 40 lakh), Abu Nechim (INR 30 lakh), Sachin Rana (INR 20 lakh), Sandeep Warrier (INR 10 lakh)
Expensive player at auction: Yuvraj Singh (INR 14 crore)
Best bargain buy: Albie Morkel (INR 2.4 crore)
Strengths: They have a batting line up which can score 300 runs in the allotted 20 overs of the game. They have bought Yuvraj Singh for the whopping Rs. 14 crore and he is one player who can win tournament of his own forget about winning the few games. This team has done a great business by adding Albie Morkel and Mitchell Starc in their team as these two are renowned T20 players, who are always consistent. Albie Morkel has played an important part in winning two league crowns for his former team Chennai Super Kings and has been brought in to do the same.
Weaknesses: They have a habit of over relying on Chris Gayle, which could once again hamper their winning chances in the Indian Premier League. Moreover, they have exhausted much of their cash on acquiring the services of foreign stars despite knowing that they can field on four of them in a match. Apart from Yuvraj Singh and Virat Kohli, there are hardly any other Indian batsmen in the team, who could score heavily for them.
Mumbai Indians
Squad: 21 (Indian 13, overseas 8)
Cost: INR 59.95 crore
Batting arsenal: Michael Hussey (INR 5 crore), Apoorv Wankhede (INR 10 lakh), Rohit Sharma (retained), Ambati Rayudu (retained)
Allrounders: Corey Anderson (INR 4.5 crore), Jalaj Saxena (INR 90 lakh), Kieron Pollard (retained)
Wicketkeeper-batsmen: Aditya Tare (INR 1.6 crore), CM Gautham (INR 20 lakh), Ben Dunk (INR 20 lakh), Sushant Marathe (INR 10 lakh)
Bowling unit: Pragyan Ojha (INR 3.25 crore), Shreyas Gopal (INR 10 lakh), Harbhajan Singh (retained), Zaheer Khan (INR 2.6 crore), Jasprit Bumrah (INR 1.2 crore), Josh Hazlewood (INR 50 lakh), Krishmar Santokie (INR 30 lakh), Marchant de Lange (INR 30 lakh), Pawan Suyal (INR 10 lakh), Lasith Malinga (retained)
Expensive player at auction: Michael Hussey (INR 5 crore)
Best bargain buy: Corey Anderson (INR 4.5 crore)
Strengths: This team is renowned for its strong base which has helped them in winning their first title in the last edition of the Indian Premier League. Mumbai Indians have retained their top five players while have added new established names. Michael Hussey is a match winner, who was the highest run scorer in the IPL in 2013. They were successful in picking up Corey Anderson, who is the new sensation of world cricket. He has been literally hitting the bowlers out of the park since scoring fastest ODI hundred. Zaheer Khan will add new dimension to their fast bowling.
Weaknesses: The only problem could be the lack of high quality batsmen in the team. Apart from Captain Rohit Sharma and Ambati Rayudu, there is hardly any other batsman from India who is a T20 specialist. Sachin Tendulkar has retired while Dinesh Karthik has moved to Delhi Daredevils. The absence of such talent could affect the reigning champions in their title bid. Also, there is hardly any good wicket-keeper batsman in the team.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Squad: 24 (Indian 17, overseas 7)
Cost: INR 59 crore
Batting arsenal: David Warner (INR 5.5 crore), Aaron Finch (INR 4 crore), KL Rahul (INR 1 crore), Venugopal Rao (INR 55 lakh), S Anirudha (INR 20 lakh), Manprit Juneja (INR 10 lakh), Ricky Bhui (INR 10 lakh), Shikhar Dhawan (retained)
Allrounders: Darren Sammy (INR 3.5 crore), Irfan Pathan (INR 2.4 crore), Moises Henriques (INR 1 crore), Parveez Rasool (INR 95 lakh)
Wicketkeeper-batsmen: Naman Ojha (INR 50 lakh), Brendan Taylor (INR 30 lakh), Amit Paunikar (INR 20 lakh)
Bowling unit: Amit Mishra (INR 4.75 crore), Karan Sharma (INR 3.75 crore), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (INR 4.25 crore), Ishant Sharma (INR 2.6 crore), Jason Holder (INR 75 lakh), P Parameswaran (INR 30 lakh), Ashish Reddy (INR 20 lakh), Chama Milind (INR 10 lakh), Dale Steyn (retained)
Expensive player at auction: David Warner (INR 5.5 crore)
Best Bargain buy: Irfan Pathan (INR 2.4 crore)

Strengths: They have the most dangerous pair in this format of the game. David Warner and Aaron Finch are no pushovers and containing them is next to impossible for any team. They can chase any score and has the ability of putting tons of runs on the board that too against the best bowling attack. The addition of Irfan Pathan is good news for the team as he will be gearing up to prove his worth again to the Indian selectors. Sunrisers Hyderabad was able to win back Amit Mishra and Karan Sharma. These two were their star performers in 2013.

Weaknesses: Apart from Shikhar Dhawan, they have no one from India, who could take the responsibility of scoring runs in the middle order. They will be counting on the performance of their foreign stars but if they are unable to score the much needed runs, life won’t be easy for a team which surprised everyone with their performance in the last edition of the Indian Premier League.
Chennai Super Kings 
Squad: 20 (Indian 12, overseas 8)
Cost: INR 59.80 crore
Batting arsenal: Batsmen: Faf du Plessis (INR 4.75 crore), Mithun Manhas (INR 30 lakh), Suresh Raina (retained)
Allrounders: Dwayne Smith (INR 4.5 crore), John Hastings (INR 50 lakh), Vijay Shankar (INR 10 lakh), B Aparajith (INR 10 lakh), Dwayne Bravo (retained), Ravindra Jadeja (retained)
Wicketkeeper-batsmen: Brendon McCullum (INR 3.25 crore), MS Dhoni (retained)
Bowling unit: Samuel Badree (INR 30 lakh), Pawan Negi (INR 10 lakh), R Ashwin (retained), Mohit Sharma (INR 2 crore), Ashish Nehra (INR 2 crore), Ishwar Pandey (INR 1.5 crore), Ben Hilfenhaus (INR 1 crore), Matt Henry (INR 30 lakh), Ronit More (INR 10 lakh)
Expensive player at auction: Faf du Plessis (INR 4.75 crore)
Best bargain buy: Dwayne Smith (INR 4.5 crore)
Strengths: This team has retained their best five players who are capable of winning matches against all the other franchises. Apart from them, the availability of all-rounders makes Chennai Super Kings a dangerous unit. Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum, the two new entries, are renowned for their exploits in the shortest format of the game and if they are picked in the playing XI, let’s be sure of some breathtaking display from their willows. The addition of Samuel Badree will help this team on the turning tracks.
Weaknesses: I know Mohit Sharma was superb in the last edition of the Indian Premier League but he is still learning about the dos and don’ts of the cricket. Their fast bowling is looking weak as only Ben Hilfenhaus has an experience of playing at the highest level.
Delhi Daredevils
Squad: 23 (Indian 16, overseas 7)
Cost: INR 60 crore

Batting arsenal: Kevin Pietersen (INR 9 crore), M Vijay (INR 5 crore), Manoj Tiwary (INR 2.8 crore), JP Duminy (INR 2.2 crore), Ross Taylor (INR 2 crore), Kedar Jadhav (INR 2 crore), Mayank Agarwal (INR 1.6 crore), Saurabh Tiwary (INR 70 lakh), Milind Kumar (INR 10 lakh)
Allrounders: Laxmi Ratan Shukla (INR 1.5 crore), Jimmy Neesham (INR 1 crore), Jayant Yadav (INR 10 lakh)
Wicketkeeper-batsmen: Dinesh Karthik (INR 12.5 crore), Quinton de Kock (INR 3.5 crore)
Bowling unit: Rahul Sharma (INR 1.9 crore), Shahbaz Nadeem (INR 85 lakh), Nathan Coulter-Nile (INR 4.25 crore), Mohammad Shami (INR 4.25 crore), Jaydev Unadkat (INR 2.8 crore), Wayne Parnell (INR 1 crore), Siddarth Kaul (INR 45 lakh), Rahul Shukla (INR 40 lakh), HS Sharath (INR 10 lakh)
Expensive player at auction: Dinesh Karthik (INR 12.5 crore)
Best bargain buy: Ross Taylor (INR 2 crore)
Strengths: They have learned a lesson from the drubbing they had in the last edition of the Indian Premier League. Delhi Daredevils have got rid of all their failing stars and have formed a team which is complete in every department of the game. Kevin Pietersen is back for them and is available for the whole season. Murali Vijay, Manoj Tiwary, Saurabh Tiwary and Dinesh Karthik are the leading Indian players in the shortest format of the game and their presence in the batting lineup is enough to guarantee a much required stability.
Weaknesses: It is difficult to find any weaknesses in the squad of the Delhi Daredevils as they have cover for each and every department of the game. They are bit tight in the all-rounder’s category, which could hurt them. The players of this team will have to make sure that they give their best in the important moments of the games as this format is cruel and unforgivable.
Rajasthan Royals
Squad: 25 (Indian 17, overseas 8)
Cost: INR 54.45 crore

Batting arsenal: Brad Hodge (INR 2.4 crore), Karun Nair (INR 75 lakh), Unmukt Chand (INR 65 lakh), Ajinkya Rahane (retained)
Allrounders: Steven Smith (INR 4 crore), Rajat Bhatia (INR 1.7 crore), Abhishek Nayar (INR 1 crore), Ben Cutting (INR 80 lakh), Kevon Cooper (INR 30 lakh), Rahul Tewatia (INR 10 lakh), Shane Watson (retained), Stuart Binny (retained), James Faulkner (retained)
Wicketkeeper-batsmen: Dishank Yagnik (INR 30 lakh), Ankush Bains (INR 10 lakh), Sanju Samson (retained)
Bowling unit: Iqbal Abdullah (INR 65 lakh), Ankit Sharma (INR 10 lakh), Pravin Tambe (INR 10 lakh), Tim Southee (INR 1.2 crore), Dhaval Kulkarni (INR 1.1 crore), Kane Richardson (INR 1 crore), Deepak Hooda (INR 40 lakh), Vikramjeet Malik (INR 20 lakh), Amit Mishra (INR 10 lakh)
Expensive player at auction: Steven Smith (INR 4 crore)
Best bargain buy: Rajat Bhatia (INR 1.7 crore)
Strengths: When you have Rahul Dravid in the camp, the planning and strategy has to be perfect. The Rajasthan Royals were able to buy lot of players despite not spending their full amount and the credit should be given to their former captain. .Tim Southee is another great buy.
Weaknesses
They have a squad where many of the players are inexperienced when it comes to shortest format of the game. Moreover, there could be an issue with the fast bowlers. There is no big Indian name in their fast bowling recourses. This has been the case with them over the years and might once again find some solution for this. They will certainly miss Rahul Dravid’s services as a captain, who was influential in the last edition.
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