India in Australia

a masala series with 5 ODIs and 3 T20s
somehow about 2 tests would have been great.
good to see Rishi dhawan break in......doubt if Dhonis will use him well
who is brainder singh saran?
Raina and Rayadu out....Pandey in.....Majumdar got a hundred in Zim and should have been in ODI squad
Yuv, Nehra, Bhajji still in T20s.....is a step or two back
who is hridik pandya?

Team declared and here it is new entrants highlighted in bold

ODI squad: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni (C) (Wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd. Shami, Axar Patel, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Rishi Dhawan, Brainder Singh Sran.

T20I squad: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (C) (Wk), Suresh Raina, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd. Shami, Harbhajan Singh, Umesh Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra.

Some pretty good calls in the ODI squad. Most important, the dropping of Suresh Raina. Raina is been a good ODI player overall, but his performances outside the subcontinent and in the subcontinent have been terrible to average over the last year or so, and the time has surely come to tell him so in no uncertain terms. The return of Jadeja and Shami are 2 excellent calls. Rayudu has never convinced me as an ODI player and he was rightly dropped in my view. The return of Manish Pandey is a good call as well.
The decision of the selectors to drop the son of former selector Roger Binny who was forced to resign by the new BCCI president due to conflict of interest is an outstanding call. The guy was never international class, with bat or ball.
I have been a strong supporter of Rishi Dhawan over these boards for quite some time. But I have always believed that Rishi is a much better longer format player than the case in the limited overs. Hartik Pandya, who can consistently bowl quicker, and is a much better hitter could have been better, and hopefully, in a couple of years from now, he can become India's all format all-rounder. From that point of view, his selection in the T-20I format is a good one. Looking forward to Rishi getting a good run though His Ranji season hasn't been as spectacular as the last 3 ones, but he has been India's most consistent seam bowling all-rounder for the last 4 years and this call up is just reward.
The player I am really looking forward to seeing in action is young Gurkirat Singh Man. He has the attributes to fill up the Raina slot, and his bowling is better than parttime. With Raina gone, he's sure to get a run?

Binny is still in frame for tests...but if Dhwan is played by Dhoni and if he takes his chances, he is likely to challenge Binny in tests

Brainder Saran is a left arm seamer and it's evident that the selectors are looking to have this variety in both forms....nehra for now in T20s.

Pandya is also a good selection.....Bhuvi is not the favored one in all forms by this regime....Mohit has dropped out too.

Vijay missed out as did Jadhav

Both Rishi and Pandya are miles ahead of Binny in all formats. Pandya is the one I have long term hopes about. Sran's selection has to be a lot down to the left-arm option. Shardul Thakur otherwise is more experienced, is similarly quick, and has India A experience as well.

On the 3 veterans.......
Yuvraj. Yes he has had a decent Vijay Hazare tournament and an average Ranji season so far. His overall past record is second to none in limited overs. But is that the same Yuvraj that we are talking about in 2016? I would be really glad if this experiment comes through, but I am not betting my house on it.
Ashish Nehra. Nehra had a couple of fine IPL seasons. But apart from that he hadn't been playing any meaningful games. He's still good at the death over stuff and he might still be able to do a better job than many of the current, younger lot. But even during his best days, fitness has never been Nehra's strength. He's 36 now, hasn't playing intense cricket regularly. Not sure about this selection I must say.
Harbhajan Singh was luck, very, very lucky to make it back to international cricket early this year. He absolutely didn't earn it. Yes, perhaps a a mention in selectorial discussions in T-20s because of a decent enough IPL that should have given him a backup status just in case....... Harbhajan 2015 was a disaster in tests, a pale shadow of his good self in ODIs. As such, there was absolutely no need to go back to him. Particularly when they are leaving out someone like Amit Mishra. Mishra over Harbhajan in team or squad any day!

Finding it hard to get involved with this one. Almost identical results in Perth and now Brisbane.

India, despite some massive input from Rohit Sharma in both games, were unable to score much above 6 runs an over when 7 was needed.

Interesting experiment with Australia throwing both Paris and Boland into the side with several choice picks either out injured or involved with the BB. Tough work for all bowlers for both sides; the batsmen seem to be having a jolly good time out there in the centre though. Too easy for batting in fact. Melbourne will be the same - too safe and consistent.

Dhoni has given up.....he never was a captain who could use bowlers to win or set-up games...

now he has completely given up.

India rises to #1 in test rankings though

and so they put up 300 runs on a more helpful pitch....and lost again
Dhoni has gone from bad to worse to hopeless as a captain aiming to defend totals

KP_fan wrote:and so they put up 300 runs on a more helpful pitch....and lost again

Better game though : actually quite tight.

A serious run out chance unaccountably not even attempted in the last few overs (???!) - had he thrown , and hit the stumps . the result may well have been reversed.

I never thought I'd see the day a team would fail to defend 300 in three successive games. Crazy

Dhoni.....he is finished mentally for a long time.
he can't defend even 350

Our bowling in limited overs is hopeless as Dhoni says. The pitches in Australia are losing it for sure! Our bowlers are even more hopeless on flat tra. Dhoni seems to have lost his touch as captain. We don't seem to have batsmen who can play explosive ODI knocks any more. It was a bit nostalgic to see Dhoni today, but don't think he's up for that sort of stuff like he used to in his prime.
Think it is time for MS to leave the captaincy in limited overs as well. Have been saying that for some time, naver has been convinced about the 2 captain system....... Lets see what Kohli can do.......
Haven't watched a lot of the series, just a bit of the Dhawan-Kohli partnership today and some allover the shop bowling from Ishant Sharma. The pitches make it impossible to hold any interest in these games for me. Think if things go on like this any further, I'll be done with limited overs cricket.
I am all for both the limited overs formats, but the batsmen only games are so borring as they come in day in and day out.......

msp83 wrote:Our bowling in limited overs is hopeless as Dhoni says. out.......

This is what he told us in test matches also

He just doesn't know how to take wickets...
which is a combination of wanting to take wickets instead of saving runs
planning the dismissals
making his bowlers understand he wants wickets
motivating the bowlers to bowl wicket taking line / length
put fielders to get wickets.....
smell the blood....go for the kill.

One day with similar bowlers, Kohli will win such 300 totals by a safe  50 runs regularly......
and then the obvious will dawn on the rest:D
that he is a bull-shi-tt-er....who survived on the Srinivasan subsidy for so long

and it was apalling to see 6 and a half foot tall, broad shouldered Rishi Dhawan run and never cross 122kph

Little Binny hit 132kph some times

Rishi.....neither uses his run up, nor the delivery stride nor the shoulder to generate speed...

I felt for a time that India's energy levels were well up after the dismissal of M. Marsh particularly and then Wade a few overs later.

You could see Virat firing away at the other players... trying to encourage them further; a "Come on!! Let's go for the throat now boys!" type g-up. Not sure Dhoni has that same verbal fire though. I agree with you kp_f and msp that Kohli has all the right credentials for the captain's role and he thoroughly deserves it too.

However, as Alfie said, that potential throw at the stumps from Udesh had to be taken (instinctively and without the slightest hesitation... which was no fault of Dhoni, btw) and then, if that had been successful, Australia would have been well and truly reeling and India's tails would have been further up. One or two other minor chances as well - which fell Australia's way - but that's the way it is in a pressure situation. On another day....

As I alluded to above; given the extremely fair and even nature of the batting strip and outfield; perfect weather conditions in all 3 matches - it was always going to be up to the bowlers to either take wickets and/or restrict the run rate at crucial times. That was the real test so to speak.

We all knew there was class batting strength on both sides. Running between wickets and sharpness in the field were the two areas where Australia clearly had the upper hand and these two aspects proved to be the difference between 2 very evenly matched (for the most part) sides.
It's not easy beating the leading team at home not long after another WC win either but India came close in all three matches.

The Manuka Oval match might be more interesting still. Large boundaries too, even more of a batsman's paradise and no doubt some more delirious Indian fans close to the action on that very picturesque ground. Wouldn't surprise me at all to see India come away with a win there... and then here in Sydney as well. That would probably be a fair indication of where the 2 teams stand at present; with Australia having the slight upper hand.

when they bat first Dhoni concedes 350

Actually I thought that was 20-30 runs short the way India got out of the blocks.
India were cruising along for the most part but a few quick wickets have fallen just now.
Cool heads needed. Was 6 runs an over required but creeping back out to 7 now.
They should get there.... you'd think. Such a good wicket to bat on, plenty of spaces to score runs.

Shocking collapse going on - 277-1 to 313-8! Credit to the Australian bowling as well, but does look like an implosion

EDIT: Oh dear, it ended 323 all out. What on earth happened there. That collapse is 9/46, absolutely unacceptable in any type of cricket

choked......pulled the proverbial defeat from the jaws of victory.
the rut started with not sending Rahane to bat where he should have...but generally speaking Dhoni is mentally finished...cannot fight , cannot inspire the team anymore.

Looked like it was South Africa batting out there in the 2nd innings. This was classic SA stuff from India, absolutely terrible. The only good thing about it was that I followed it live only after we were 8 down!! Atrocious is the word.
Surely time for MS to move on as skipper. Not expecting Virat to turn an Ambrose out of Ishant and Waqar out of Umesh and turn Rishi into the next McGrath with the ball and Tendulkar with the bat, but a change in guard seems the need of the hour.
Was expecting young Gurkirat Man to do something special, he hasn't got going from the word go. Hopefully he'll get a few more opportunities.
By the way, the 122 KPH Rishi looked way better than Roger's son by a country mile and he could bowl his 10 overs....... But I share KPF's frustration that a player of his physical attribute is just not striving beyond military medium.......
Bring on the next one, Hartik Pandya. He's been smashing it right out of the park in domestic ODs, and apparently the guy can hit 140 KPH with the ball too.

once Kohli takes over...it will all change....he looks for wicktes and likes to use bowlers ALSO to control the game.

Dhoni was never a wicket taking captain....and now he ie mentally shot so a shadow of himself.

that his reflxes are gone and hence no longer the same batsman...... and that he sees the inevitability of losing the captaincy to a guy who has already shone brightly in home and overseas tests......doesn't help him mentally either.

a terrible mistake to have not quit after the world cup....timing the retirement is an art....

gavsakar timed it perfectly...as did Dravid and VVSL

another game.....
same script......4 down for a 100...dhoni let's them get to 330
now a great start 92-0 in 13 overs

coming up...the implosion
the choke

msp....how is Rishi better than Binny..

--bowls at 122kph
goes at 7.5 rpo
can't bat...doesn't look like getting in double figures
hardly gets wickets

--Binny has 20 wickets from 14 games at 5.3 RPO and with the bat averages nearly 30 at SR of nearly 100%
Hits 132kph

--I tell you....looking at Dhawan...he ain't even top Ranji quality.....Ranji minnow basher

Quite impressed with Jasprit Bumrah. He has an awkward action which fooled Smith and returned pretty tidy figures for his first international.

Stunning catch before from Sean Marsh to dismiss Shikhar Dhawan. Reminiscent of that famous John Dyson catch in '82.
(I was seated just to the right behind the fence that day... as a kid. Can't believe how blurry the footage is. Seems like yesterday to me!)

Then the Duke chimed in again with the timely wicket of Kohli who has been in superb form.

2/159 after 25 overs.
India's run rate has had the edge taken off it but the 331 run target still definitely achievable. Rohit will have to play a big part.

There's a rumour that Dhoni will announce his retirement after this match.
It would be nice to see him go out with a good knock and a win if that's the case.

Some batting performance from Pandey to see India home

Where's he been hiding ?

and finally they put one through......well done Pandey....every one knew he had huge potential...just the raina, rayadus, blocked him for too long.

Hope Dhoni announces retirement

They finally did it.

Pandey played very well indeed under pressure. Rohit unlucky on 99 but a well deserved man of the series for him.

There were a couple of close umpiring calls, dropped catches, difficult chances but the best team won tonight I thought.

Yeah kp_f, I read that on cricinfo from an Indian poster. Don't know if it's true.

Pity they didn't show the awards for the match... a rushed ending here from Ch 9.

Anyway, onto the last 3 T20s for what they're worth. India will probably come out swinging again and play well in those I'd imagine.

Dhoni hasn't made any announcements on retirement as yet. I think he'll go after the T-20I WC. But then with Dhoni, you never know, he keeps his cards close to his chest.
But him batting today, makes it very clear that he's not the same batsman of a year and a bit ago. Think his hitting powers have gone down. And as such, his style of slowly getting in, then running the singles and 2s and then exploding at the end may not work out like it did for a decade. Either MS has to adapt his game, or he has to call it a day.......
KPF, Binny was useless, and made it into the side just because of his father's influence. Unfortunately Rishi isn't proving to be much of an improvement. Think you are judging him on the basis of a couple of knocks that came at the end of the innings, so can't clearly say where he is as a batsman. Our big hope is Hartik Pandya, the guy is absolutely smoking it in domestic cricket and apparently he can hit 140 KPH with the ball. Hopefully he'll deliver, otherwise it is going to be the same old wait for 'the next Kapil Dev'!

A win at last for India. And the best thing about it was that Manish Pandey, a player whom I do rate very highly, came through with a fine performance. The lad is class, give him a decent run in the side.......

The 5 games produced almost 3200 runs! Australian pitches are losing their touch, and are becoming quite similar to some of the ridiculous flat roads that we have out here. The game is becoming a contest between 2 batting sides, the bowlers are just instrumental....... And downunder, they are now starting to do the same to test pitches too, making it all the more terrible.

pitches have flattened everywhere....Aus, WI and even Eng / NZ are not as juicy as they used to be in the past

And as Sanjay Manjrekar says, India do have a flat pitch problem...... He did focus more on bowling, but I would say it is a combination of poor flat pitch bowling and the lack of power hitting from the batting that combines to do India in in flat conditions.

nope...India's primary problem is captain.....he was bad and turned useless now.
India won "inspite" of him today

The captain was good and won everything possible under his leadership. But now he's struggling as a batsman in a format where he has been among the best ever. So captaincy that sat comfortably with him without adding additional pressure, might just be too much to handle. And the side is going through a general change, and perhaps it is time for a younger man to take over. Kohli is back among runs in ODIs, and he has already taken over and tests and has done well in the subcontinent. So all in all, it is time to move on for MS, and I do agree with you on that KPF, just the vantage points are different.

Well, said Steven Smith. The Australian pitches this season mostly have been pretty substandard and pathetic. Couple of test pitches were absolutely dreadful. And even the Australian captain is worried at the lack of life in Australian pitches, and all of them going down the flattish road.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia-v-india-2015-16/content/story/964877.html

this captain has been most pathetic in tests and medicore in ODIis with a few flash in the pans in home patta conditions specially

Fair play to him saying this even though he knows he has a team at his disposal capable of outscoring anyone in one-dayers more often than not; as proven over the last few weeks. Well said Smith indeed.

The early finish to the Test has left me watching some lively hitting from Virat Kohli...

India heading for 180 ...well actually more as MS Dhoni hits his first ball for six

So : Australia will need 189 ...tough job ; but I wouldn't rule it out.

Kohli 90 from 55

Warner and Finch off to a flier...

32 off fifteen balls

Pandya has got hit a bit...lost his line.....but has substance....hit 139kph....couple of yards faster than binny and 3 yards than Rishi.

I am sure he cannot be worse than Rishi as a batsman...although not quite upto Binny's batting...one that should be persisted with.

selectors overruled Dhoni's standard medium pacers Mohit, Bhuvi, arvind pteference....and brought Pandya, Bumrah, Sran..it paid dividends
as Did Manish in place of Raina and Rayadu

Bumrah has that lucky touch about him.

Good win for India; Australia still clueless against Ashwin and Jadega.

That Oz team selection will get murdered in the T20 WC... and rightly so.

Indian top order batting continues to shine...it continues to be a high scoring series as Ind put on 184 in the second T20....will that be enough?

I guess it might be 10 runs too many for a T20 game on this type of pitch and ground

Completely outplayed by India again. Well done.

Odd Australian team selections for both games if you ask me. That, plus little respect shown for the opposition... plus a simply poor performance... and minds not on the job at hand... and all that silly (overconfident as it turned out!) chatter on the mike. Kohli is right.

India, on the other hand, were completely switched on and played very well indeed.

getting in fast and fast medium bowlers instead of medium pacers and bowling allrounders has given India more teeth and depth

Yes, some very good prospects there already proven at home.
The whole energy and confidence of the team has shot skywards during these two matches and the last ODI.

Ours, on the other hand, has stalled now and seems to lack proper application and necessary patience. The only thing is - it's only T20... but still. The rot can travel across the different formats if they are not careful. Their mindset seems to be all over the place now. Very disconcerting for us fans.

I can see them travelling over to NZ with the wrong attitude and perhaps a few question marks in terms of switching back to test mode and having more time to prepare for the short tour. Hope I'm wrong but it will be a very tough challenge in even more volatile conditions across the Tasman. Great opportunity for NZ to rattle us a bit more.

well India complete 3-0 and rise to No.1 in T20 rankings

Strange series. Most of Australia's Test side was long gone by the time the T20s ended. Same with much of the ODI side. Think its very unfair of CA to squeeze this money printing session in if they weren't gonna pick the best. The paying public pays a disproportionate amount for tickets.

The T-20I series went India's way though it was again all batsmen. I don't have as much a problem with that as I do have in the other 2 formats. But clever and skilled bowling from Bumrah, Ashwin and Jadeja, and as the skipper noted, the bowling actually stepped up in the T-20Is.
Agree with KPF that Hartik Pandya, despite his modest performances, does look a player with substance. He does seem a player with the makings of a proper unlike Roger's son or even Rishi who isn't making use of his physical attributes to make the step up as a bowler. Pandya already has the reputation of a seriously big hitter in domestic cricket. He did it a couple of times in the IPL, and this year's domestic T-20 championship really belonged to him. Hope he keeps working on both aspects of his game and approach the game with the right attitude.