Story West Indies Caribbean Calypso! **UPDATED** 2nd ODI: IND vs WI - India will bat first!!!

[Aditya]

Nice to see Yuvraj getting some runs.
Sachin played a fine knock but except these two players no one was able to make a big score.
Very Good update Tom,KIU.

 

[Griffo]

Why bother with the non WI team games.. boring

 

[WestIndian]

Ok Tom you got my attention on this one, once again!! Nice team selected, would have like to see Dwayne Smith in the lot, if we are talking ODI, but still good, hope you can see this one to the end.

WestIndian added 0 Minutes and 52 Seconds later...

Oh Tom, I forgot to mention, in this life time , good luck

 

[Highlander999]

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1st ODI: India vs England at Kolkata - Start time: 10:30
Live with Channel 9

With a modest total of only 220 on the board, the England team will have been fancying their chances against an Indian bowling attack which is infamous for blowing hot and cold. Zaheer Khan was going to be the key for India. If he could get some quick wickets, it would put pressure on an England batting line-up which is prone to collapsing once the pressure builds up on them.

Strauss and Trott would be facing up to Zaheer Khan and they were fully aware that run-rate would not be an issue and just needed to make sure they guarded their wicket. Unfortunately though it looked like Zaheer Khan who was pumped up was ready to cause an upset when he got Strauss in his first over. There was a bit of movement around due to the humidity and Zaheer got one to swing back into Strauss's pads, who was looking to drive. It was full and straight and the umpire had no difficulty on sending Strauss on his way!

A fired up Zaheer Khan celebrates the wicket of Strauss​

This brought England's star batsman, KP, to the crease with his side in a bit of trouble. There has been a bit of pressure on Pietersen recently who has struggled for form after returning from his achilles injury which he sustained in the Ashes, however, it typical fashion he confidently drove Zaheer Khan away for 4, off his first ball.

Trott and Pietersen then built up a solid parternship for England, as they put the bad balls away and kept out the good ones. Things looked to be going smoothly for them before Zaheer Khan got the breakthrough once again when he managed to get Trott with the slower one who hit it straight to Yuvraj at cover, who didn't even have to move. An angry swish of the bat and Trott was on his way to the pavillion, annoyed at wasting a good start.

However Pietersen was still firing and it was signs of the Pietersen of 2005 with the way he was playing.

The Pietersen of old, looked to be back for England!​

Dhoni had opted to take a risk and bowl Zaheer's 10 overs straight out in the hope that he would find the breakthrough for India somehow. Unfortunately though (for India at least ) he wasn't able to snag the wicket of Pietersen or Collingwood, so Pietersen's old friend, Harbhajan Singh was brought into the attack.

Pietersen declared his intent by using his feet well and hitting a straight six back over Harbhajan's head. A few words were exchanged between batsman and bowler and the contest looked to be on. It was short lived though as Harbhajan got his man in the same over. Pietersen looked to sweep him, but got a top edge and Sachin Tendulkar, back peddaling, managed to hold onto a tricky chance to get the big wicket for India. The Indian's were ecstatic and the cheer's from the crowd was deafening as India were suddenly right back in it.

England then did what they do best now and totally collapsed in a heap. Collingwood fell the next over to Sreesanth and then Morgan, Prior and Wright fell in quick succession before Stuart Broad was comically run out, sealing England's fate. Sajid Mahmood did hit a few lusty blows but the heart had been ripped out by the middle order by the spin of Sehwag and Harbhajan and the pace of Sreesanth. When Mahmood hit Sreesanth straight to Zaheer Khan at mid-on it was all over for England who had been bowled out for just 149.

No one could believe how England had collapsed so suddenly and so fast, but they had and the jubilant cries from the home spectators showed how pleased they were with their team's performance.

Pietersen finding form again was about the only positive for England in a very sorry looking batting card. All the Indian bowlers had done their job well and Sehwag's performance with the ball should highlight to his skipper that he is a useful assest with not only the bat, but also the ball.

Coming up we have the post match presentation and updates after the first round of Fantasy Cricket

 

[MaD]

Sreesanth? As if

 

[AkshayS]

Haha Sreesanth produced that good.

 

[Highlander999]

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1st ODI: India vs England at Kolkata
Live with Channel 9

It is now time for the post match presentation with Ian Botham.


Ian Botham: If I might call Andrew Strauss up for a quick chat...

Ian Botham: So Andrew. You must be pretty disappointed with this result.

Andrew Strauss: Yeah, there is no denying it, we let ourselves down today with our batting. We bowled superbly to ge India out for 220, and for 4 of the top 6 to make it past 15, yet no one to make a score, it is disappointing. We were just too agressive and then we over compensated and had a few soft dimissals in there. There is certainly going to be a lot for us to work on back in camp.

Ian Botham: What do you think was the turning point in the match?

Andrew Strauss: I reckon it was the dismissal of KP. He has the ability to take the match away from the opposition in an instance and for India to pick up his wicket, it really was a massive blow. Then again we have to realise this is a team game and we can't rely on one man. All the batsmen, myself included will need to bat better in our next match vs the Windies.

Ian Botham: You must be pleased with your bowlers though?

Andrew Strauss: Oh yes, to come to India and bowl India out so cheaply takes a lot of skill, we were just unlucky Yuvraj managed to get himself in and hit a fine knock. Apart from that though, our bowlers were outstanding.

Ian Botham: Well bad luck Andrew, hopefully you can bounce back against the West Indies.

If I might now call up the Indian skipper MS Dhoni for a word...

Ian Botham: A very good performance by your bowlers today Mahendra

MS Dhoni: Yes, I am very proud of my boys today. It is never easy bowling with such a low total on the board, yet Zaheer, Sree and Bhajji were excellent in putting pressure on the batsmen whilst picking up regular wickets. Full credit has to go to UV though. He hit a quality knock today and without him, we wouldn't have had a chance.

Ian Botham: A big crowd in today, it looks like 50 over cricket can still pull the fans in.

MS Dhoni: Well you know us Indians we are cricket mad. Any type of cricket and we'll watch it, but I would like to thank the fans, it's like having an extra few men out there on the pitch with us when they are cheering, so thanks everyone

Ian Botham: Where do you think you as a team can improve on?

MS Dhoni: Well normally it is our bowling which is weak, but today's performance shows that it can get out a quality line-up like England out, so I reckon at the moment we are about as strong as we can be. I'll put today's low score down to a one off blip, we know we are the best batting side in the world, we just had an off day.

Ian Botham: Well good luck with the rest of the matches.

The LG Man of the Match as decided by you the viewers has been decided and it is with great pleasure that I award the cheque for $1,000 and the MotM award to Yuvraj Singh for his unbeaten 82.

If he would come up for some photo's and a quick chat...

Well Yuvraj, a fine knock today, answered a few critics?

Yuvraj Singh: Cheers Ian. Yeah, I came out there with a bit of pressure on me and the team needed an innings from someone. I just stuck my head down and tried to play my natural game, but did have to reign myself in a few times In these sorts of situations, one wicket can be the difference between a win and a loss and today we happened to just edge it. Credit to the England bowlers though, it was pretty tough out there and the way they rattled through our batsmen highlights how well they were bowling.

Ian Botham: Disappointed not to get a bowl?

Yuvraj Singh: Well I did want to have a bowl against my buddy KP but Bhajji appears to have had that card all sorted out this time. Maybe in the next match I can contribute with the ball, but for the moment I am happy just focusing on my batting.

Ian Botham: Well congrats on the win UV, I'll let you go back to your team-mates to celebrate.

So there you have it. India have won the 1st ODI very comfortably. Join us next time for the Windies first match against India, it promises to be a cracker

It's time for the results from the first round of the Fantasy Cricket Comp. These were the two XI's which took part and how many points each player made:

India

Sehwag (16 runs = 16 points, 1 catch and 2/10 = 58 points. Total = 74 points)
Tendulkar (44 runs and 1 catch = 54 points. Total = 54 points)
Gambhir (2 runs = 2 points. Total = 2 points)
Kohli (2 runs and 1 catch = 12 points. Total = 12 points)
Yuvraj Singh (82 runs + a half century and a catch. Total = 112 points)
Raina (5 runs and a run out (Direct hit). Total = 20 points)
Dhoni (15 runs. Total = 15 points)
Jadeja (15 runs. Total = 15 points)
Harbhajan Singh (19 runs and 2/46. Total = 60 points)
Zaheer Khan (1 run, 2 catches and 2/50. Total = 61 points)
Sreesanth (11 runs and 3/40. Total = 52 points)


England

Strauss (5 runs and a catch. Total = 15 points)
Trott (32 runs. Total = 32 points)
Pietersen (45 runs and a catch. Total = 55 points)
Collingwood (20 runs and 1/1. Total = 40 points)
Morgan (2 runs a catch and a run out (Direct Hit) Total = 27 points)
Prior (16 runs. Total = 16 points)
Wright (4 runs and 0/22 = 0 points)
Broad (1 run a catch and 2/42. Total = 53 points)
Swann (3 runs a catch and 2/48. Total = 53 points)
Mahmood (10 runs and 3/66. Total = 77 points)
Anderson (1 run and 1/40. Total = 13 points)


Leaderboard

20/20 PRO: 858 points
CG123: 849 points
Binnu: 765 points
shantanu_rooney: 738 points
User2010: 703 points
rahulkhush: 682 points
Aditya: 654 points


The next round will start once the XI's for the next match have been announced. Remember anyone can play, even if you didn't play in the first round and there are plenty of matches to go, so don't miss out!!!

 

[Gaurav_7]

Loved the part with Yuvi. He surely wanted to have a go at KP. Nice clean update. Messy pic selection, may I add. I can understand though. Can you put up the players for the second match like you did for the first one for us to select the playing XI?

 

[Aditya]

Nice update Tom. This story certainly can run for a long time,my wishes with you mate. As far as update is concern enjoyed it very much,specially the part with Yuvi is great,keep up the good work with presentation.

 

[WestIndian]

Nice stuff Tom, the presenters looks pissed, I wonder why!!

 

[Highlander999]

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2nd ODI Preview: India vs West Indies at Nagpur
Live with Channel 9

So India have won the first ODI in this LG tri series, comfortably beating England back in Kolkata. Now we are heading off to Nagpur where India are due to play the West Indies, in watch shall be an interesting contest. India are disputably the best ODI side in the world at the moment whilst the West Indies are so up and down, that they are either brilliant or terrible. They certainly have the ability to cause an upset here, but for the moment you have to say that the advantage is with the home side.

Needless to say the West Indies to have some strong players. The likes of Gayle, Edwards, Chanderpaul and Roach should not be under-estimated and with the big hitting Kieron Pollard also here, the Indian team cannot expect this to be a walk over. If they rest on their laurel's they could end up being rather embarassed. The Windies have been training pretty hard and our man on the ground, Steve Waugh, has said how he feels that the Windies work ethic looks far better then in recent years.

The West Indies players giving it their all in training.​

India meanwhile have been riding high after their superb opening win against a very average batting performance by a struggling England side. The seam attack of Sreesanth and Zaheer Khan were right on the money and were backed up well by Harbhajan Singh. However, the Indian side will know they will face tougher matches when the opposition's batsmen put up more of a fight, and with the likes of Ishant Sharma and the youngster Tyagi also pushing for places in a jam-packed Indian squad, every match is crucial for the Indian players to cement their place in the final XI.

On the batting side of things India had a bit of a wobble in the last match. However, with easily the best batting line-up in international cricket and on pretty flat pitches, you have to back them to fire sooner rather then later.

The Indian team aren't easing up after they won the first match of the series.​

The pitch in Nagpur is a real traditional Indian pitch. An absolute dust-bowl. Batting last on this track will be very tricky indeed so Benn is going to be key for the Windies in trying to restrict the Indians to as low as total as possible. The batsmen should be able to score a reasonably good total as long as they bat sensibly and don't take too many risks, it certainly should not be a low scoring game like the first match. Hopefully it will be nice and close, to give the fans an exciting match

Both sides have already announced their XI's for this match. India are unchanged from the XI which beat England so their side looks like this:

Sehwag
Tendulkar
Gambhir
Kohli
Yuvraj Singh
Raina
Dhoni (C) (wk)
Jadeja
Harbhajan Singh
Zaheer Khan
Sreesanth​

The West Indies have named an interesting line-up for this first match. Lendl Simmons gets a surprise start, opening with Gayle, but the side that has been selected does look rather strong:

Gayle (C)
Simmons
Sarwan
Chanderpaul
Pollard
Bravo
Ramdin (wk)
Benn
Taylor
Roach
Edwards​

Cricinfo are running a fantasy competition for each match. You need to pick a playing XI for each match, consisting of 5 batsmen, 1 keeper, 1 all-rounder and 4 bowlers. This competition will be running throughout the ODI series and all the points totalled up after the final 3 matches to see who the winner is (Prize is 400,000 vCash!!!)

- You must name 1 Captain who x3 your points
- You must name 4 bonus players who x2 your points

- Runs Scored: +1 for each run scored
- Run Out: +5 to the player who removes the bails
- Run Out: +10 to the fielder for the return throw
- Run Out: +15 to the fielder for a direct hit
- Stumping: +15 to the wicketkeeper.
- Catch: +5 for a catch taken by a wicketkeeper.
- Catch: +10 for a catch taken by a fielder or bowler.
- Wicket: +20 for a wicket that results from a catch or stumping.
- Wicket: +30 for a wicket that results from a bowled or lbw.
- Duck: -15 for wicketkeepers and all-rounders only.
- Duck: -30 for batsmen (bowlers excluded)
- Runs Conceded: -1 for every 5 runs conceded by any bowler
- A fifty and a three wicket haul : +20 points
- A century and a five wicket haul : +30 points


Standings after Round 1

20/20 PRO: 858 points
CG123: 849 points
Binnu: 765 points
shantanu_rooney: 738 points
User2010: 703 points
rahulkhush: 682 points
Aditya: 654 points

Batsmen

Sehwag
Tendulkar
Gambhir
Kohli
Raina
Gayle
Simmons
Chanderpaul
Sarwan


Keepers

Dhoni
Ramdin


All-Rounders

Yuvraj Singh
Jadeja
Harbhajan Singh
Bravo
Pollard


Bowlers

Zaheer Khan
Sreesanth
Taylor
Benn
Edwards
Roach​

Good luck and remember all teams must be submitted before the next update

 

[Gaurav_7]

Fantasy XI -

S Tendulkar *
V Sehwag
C Gayle *
S Chanderpaul (C)
V Kohli *
MS Dhoni (Wk)
K Pollard (AR) *
Z Khan
S Sreesanth
F Edwards
K Roach

 

[Aditya]

Fantasy XI
​

Sachin Tendulkar*
Virender Sehwag(C)
Chris Gayle*
Ramanresh Sarwan
Virat Kohli*
MS Dhoni(WK)
Dwayne Bravo*
Harbhajan Singh
Zaheer Khan
Edwards
Roach​

As usual nice update Tom.​

 

[Mihir Doshi]

I am loving this story!! Great presentation and really good writings!!

 

[AkshayS]

Nice update tom.
Can I participate in Fantasy XI.