Tag: world cup 2023

India wins the 2nd ODI and series against Sri Lanka

In the ongoing series India again displayed a noteworthy performance. The 2nd match of the ODI series was being played at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

After winning the toss, the Sri Lankan team choose to bat first. In the first innings, they posted a total of 215. In their inning, Nuwanidu Fernando scored the highest run of 50. From the Indian side, Kuldeep Yadav took 3 wickets.

In the second innings, India started on a strong note but lost Rohit Sharma and Shuman Gill in quick succession. After the fall of both the openers, India was at 41. Then came Virat Kohli, who lost his wicket at a score of 4 and India was at 62 at that moment. Then Shreyas Iyer tried to steady the ship with K L Rahul. Shreyas fell at a personal score of 28 when India was at 86. Then a partnership was built by K L Rahul and Hardik Pandya. They both took India to a respectable score of 161, which kept India in the hunt for the win. Then Hardik Pandya fell for a personal score of 36. After that Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav also came in to take India home. Axar Patel continued his good form and scored 21 at a run-a-ball pace, which also had a six and a four. Kuldeep on the other hand scored 10 runs in 10 balls and made sure that India made it home with 219 on board in 43.2 overs and 4 wickets in hand. Along with this win, India secured another ODI series victory over their home turf. They are now head of Sri Lanka with a 2-0 lead.

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In the second innings, Sri Lanka also performed well in the beginning. They were able to remove both openers in quick succession. Then, Viral Kohli also rapidly returned to the pavilion. But after that, K L Rahul and Hardik Pandya built a partnership that made sure that India won the match and also the series. In the bowling department, Chamika Karunaratne along with Lahiru Kumara took 2 wickets each. Also, Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva was the most economical bowler and gave away just 28 runs in his quota of 10 overs.

With this series win Indian cricket team put their foot forward on a positive note in the new year.  This win will also help them in some way in their preparation towards the ODI World Cup, which will be played this year in India itself. It was an important series as Sri Lanka is the current champions of Asia after they won the Asia Cup in 2022. This series will also give them the confidence to face the next series. The next series for the Indian team will be against New Zealand, which is currently playing against Pakistan.NZ is also currently the winner of the ODI series against Pakistan with a lead of 2-1.

In the upcoming series against NZ, India will be playing 3 ODIs and 3 T20s. New Zealand will be touring India for this series, they will also have a chance to flex their muscle. In the last World Cup in 2019, New Zealand was unlucky to lose against England in the final.    

Relevance of cricket throughout the year

Gone are the days when we had the opportunity to watch our favourite national cricket team play a game or a series in a year. Now, we have cricket throughout the year. Teams visit different countries and play several series in a year. Now the series also have various duration. Some are very short and some are of very long duration. It appears as if cricket has lost its shine.

Now, players play throughout the year. If they are free, then they take part in some domestic tournaments all over the globe. IPL has been one of the biggest influencers in such a manner. It gives the players a platform to showcase their skills and also provides them with a chance to earn big amounts. They are also paid handsomely in such tournaments and sometimes. Even get recognition in their respective countries. 

But all of this is slowly creating problems. Now, the question arises that how can this round-the-clock behaviour be stopped. Is there any way that can ensure that cricket stays relevant for a longer duration? The new format of T20 is also taking the shine off the test matches.

With the exit of India, in T20 World Cup the talks are on several sections of society giving their opinion. The team reached the semi-final and then aced a 10- wicket defeat from the England cricket team.

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After this defeat, questions are raised about the performance of the team. A blame game is also going on. Some blame the batsmen, some blame the bowlers, some blame the lack of experience and some even blame the coach.

But at the core, there is also some positive result in this year’s performance. The younger lot of the team has performed well to some extent. The team did reach the semi-final and this is a good sign. It can give some confidence to the team before they proceed to the ODI World Cup in 2023. 

For the preparation part, the Indian team which is playing in NZ currently, has some changes. For starters, Dravid has been replaced by Laxman as the new head coach of the Indian cricket team.

For the time being, the team has been able to win the T20 series against the NZ team. There were three matches, out of which the first one was washed out. The second one was won by the Indian team. Then the third match ended in a tie. So, this results in the Indian team winning the series. Now, it’s time for the ODI series. The series will better prepare the team for the next year’s ODI World Cup. 

After this series, there is also a series against the Bangladesh team in Bangladesh. It will also be helpful as the series will be played in friendly conditions. Another plus point is that as the next year’s World Cup will be played in India, so familiar conditions will give more exposure to the youngsters to play in the single-day format of the popular game.