On an almost flat wicket, South Africa decided to bat first on winning the toss versus this all important clash against India after being humbled by two consecutive losses. With Jasprit Bumrah having cheaply dismissed the opening batsmen for scores of 6 and 10 respectively, the match was all set to be an interesting one. Captain Faf Du Plessis, Rassie Van der Dussen and David Miller collectively started putting up a fight. It was however after their dismissals that Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo and Kagiso Rabada began resurrecting the innings with their cameos which helped South Africa post a decent total of 227 for the loss of 9 wickets.

It was India’s turn to bat next, and it was certainly going to be a challenging one as India lost Shikhar Dhawan early and with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma on the crease chasing a meek total like this, it seemed easy to win. Andile Phehlukwayo then dismissed Kohli on a short ball wide off and wicket keeper Quinton de Kock took a sensational catch to send the Indian captain back to the pavilion. KL Rahul and Dhoni’s composed knocks helped reach the target by providing stability in the middle overs as the South African attack can be dangerous and with Rohit Sharma playing a whirlwind knock of 122, and with Hardik Pandya’s quick fire 15 off 7, India cruised to victory with 6 wickets to spare.

In the post match presentation, Captain Kohli was all praise for his premier bowler, Bumrah for the early wickets and the disciplined bowling performance. He also emphasized on the fact that starting of the campaign on a win will really help build confidence and infuse positivity for the all important next match against power weights, Australia.

The recently concluded T20 challenge for women’s cricket was an exceptional display of cricket. The tournament for women’s cricket that featured many international stars was really a treat to watch. The closely contested matches proved that the even the women’s game that was not taken seriously for so long can draw some curiosity and interest which many felt was lacking for so long.

The teams namely Supernovas(led by Harmanpreet Kaur), Trailblazers(led by Smriti Mandhana) and the new addition Velocity (led by veteran Mithali Raj) really lived up to expectations. The tournament comprised of these 3 teams taking on each other following a round robin format and the team with the maximum wins proceeding to the finals. All the teams comprised of a good mix of experienced, seasoned players and young players which really was a sight every fan looked forward to.

The tournament was off to a flyer with a superb knock by Smriti Mandhana who scored a scintillating 90 off 67 deliveries and guided her team to a victory by a narrow margin of 2 runs. The 3 teams faced each other in 2 matches apiece with each of the teams winning one match and losing the other.

It all boiled down to Net Run Rate and Supernovas and Velocity made it to the Finals on the sheer basis of an exceptional Net Run Rate edging out the Smriti Mandhana led Trailblazers.

The Finals was an exciting last ball thriller with the Supernovas winning the toss and electing to field first. Restricting Velocity to a modest 121 on the basis of a good bowling performance, Supernovas chased the target with a few hiccups on the way but then Harmanpreet Kaur ensured a victory for her side by scoring 51 off 37. It certainly was an edge of he seat contest with both sides playing really well.

Jemimah Rodrigues, the 18 year old batting prodigy was a delight to watch throughout the series as she consistently played well with the bat scoring a whopping 123 runs in 3 matches on a tough surface like the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. The strokes from her bat and the exceptional fielding was surely acknowledged as she was awarded the player of the series. She is certainly a talent to watch out for in the future. Amelia Kerr for her 6 wickets and good economy rate was also a standout performer for Velocity.

Overall, it was an excellent initiative of BCCI to host these matches for women’s cricket. It opened up more opportunities for the domestic players and for the Indian players to interact and understand their fellow counterparts from other nations and how their ethics and rituals before and after a match day works.

Women’s cricket needs this kind of exposure and recognition. Hopefully, in the future this becomes a full fledged IPL tournament for women to showcase their skills and gain maximum from it.

(As this is in a table format, if you are viewing this on your phone, choose the ‘open in Chrome’ option and then select the ‘desktop site’ option in your browser settings. Sorry for the inconvenience:)

SL NO.	NAME OF THE TEAM	STRENGTH	WEAKNESS	GAME CHANGERS	PREDICTION
1.	Afghanistan	Led by a new captain Gulbadin Naib, the team boasts of veterans like Asghar Afghan, the Zadrans and Md. Nabi. A young team overall which can put up clinical performances	Inconsistent batting and fielding performances   Over reliance on Mohammad Shahzad to attack at the top of the order.   Lack of quality all-rounders.	Mohammad Shahzad   Rashid Khan Mujeeb Ur Rahman	Group stage Maybe a few minor upsets over other major teams.
2.	Australia	Led by Aaron Finch, the side seems well balanced on all frontiers.   The return of Steve Smith, David Warner and Mitchell Starc will help the side.   A very strong pace attack Experienced all-rounders.	With all the players selected playing well, choosing an adequate playing 11 will be a challenge. The presence of a premier spinner who can be consistent is missing.	David Warner   Steve Smith Glenn Maxwell   Pat Cummins	Semi Finals
3.	Bangladesh	Led by the legendary Mashrafe Mortaza, the team has a lot of experience amongst its ranks with the management investing in youngsters which will be helpful.   Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudulah will strengthen the batting complimente-d well by the bowling of Mustafizur Rahman and the highly rated Shakib al Hasan	Lack of a good bowling set up with over reliance on Mustafizur.   Over dependence on Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim in the batting department.	Mahmudulah   Shakib Al Hasan   Mustafizur Rahman	Group stage
4.	England	Led by Eoin Morgan, the team is one of the strong favourites to lift the world cup as this team has all the bases covered with all departments namely batting, bowling and fielding firing. The batting and bowling aspects of the team seems ideal and balanced.   Tendency to post high totals at home can prove to be a boon.	The bowling seems a little inconsistent and with a good batting display by the opposition, frailties can be exposed in the last 10 overs.   Pressure on all players as the world cup is at home and may affect the players playing the world cup for the 1st time.   Absence of a consistent Alex Hales.	Jos Buttler Joe Root Jonny Bairstow   Jofra Archer	Semi Finals
5.	India	Led by Virat Kohli, the Indian team is surely playing some of its finest cricket for over 2 years.  The batting and bowling seem to be strong and on a given day if all quarters fire, nothing can stop the team.   The presence of MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma will greatly help captain Kohli.   The presence of all rounders who have proven their mettle with power hitting at the latter half of batting.   Fielding has been the best among all top flight teams.	The tendency to rely overtly on the top 3 to fire while batting.   The number 4 spot conundrum with the likes of KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik, Vijay Shankar competing will prove to be a challenge for selectors. Challenge while selecting the bowlers as adjusting to conditions can play a massive role. To get the balance right if both Pandya and Shankar are included in the playing 11.	The combo of Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma Virat Kohli at the top. Hardik Pandya   Jasprit Bumrah	Semi Finals
6.	New Zealand	Led by Kane Williamson, the team has very balanced and experienced players.   Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Mitch Santner will surely bolster the bowling attack. Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor and Guptill provide a very balanced batting foundation.	Getting the playing 11 right.   Over dependence on Ish Sodhi and Mitch Santner as spinners.	Ross Taylor   Kane Williamson Pace twins- Trent Boult and Tim Southee	Semi Finals
7.	Pakistan	Led by Sarfaraz Ahmed, this Pakistan side looks like a very formidable side and even stronger than the 2015 WC Side.   The return of Mohammed Amir and Wahab Riaz will certainly strengthen the bowling attack.	Reliance on Babar Azam to deliver the goods always.   Fielding concerns. Sudden collapse of wickets in high scoring contests.   Untested and relatively new all-rounders and bowlers.	Fakhar Zaman   Shoaib Malik   Shaheen Afridi	May narrowly miss out on semi-finals.   Can surprise by ultimately making it to semi-finals.
8.	South Africa	Led by Faf Du Plessis, the team will be looking forward to shed its ‘chokers’ tag and actually live up to its expectations. Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock will form a formidable opening pair.   Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi will certainly rattle the batsmen with good bowling.   The return of JP Duminy and Dale Steyn will greatly help the side.	The bowling seems a little inconsistent.   The misfiring of David Miller on most of the occasions.   Lack of dependable all-rounders.	Hashim Amla   Faf Du Plessis   Imran Tahir	May narrowly miss out on semi-finals.   Certainly, cannot write them off.
9.	Sri Lanka	Led by Dimuth Karunaratne, a new captain the team is relatively new with a lot of additions and new faces.   The return of Angelo Mathews and Lasith Malinga will certainly boost the confidence of the team	The non-selection of established players like Upul Tharanga, Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella and Akila Dhananjaya will certainly raise questions. Inexperience of the bowling attack.   Lack of good quality batsman and all-rounders with Thisara Perera’s inconsistency hurting the team.	Lasith Malinga   Angelo Mathews	Group stage
10.	Windies	Led by established captain Jason Holder, the team looks formidable with the return of Andre Russell and Chris Gayle who have inspired confidence with their recent IPL performance-s.   The presence of power hitters like Evin Lewis and Shimron Hetmyer will help post good totals and chase well.	Bowling department is relatively new with inexperience calling it the shots.   The batting looks a little fragile with the openers not being certain.	Andre Russell   Chris Gayle Jason Holder	Group stage

The Karnataka Cricket Team has been one of the strongest teams in the Ranji Trophy boasting of several players who have gone on to represent the Indian National Team across all formats of the game. Karnataka has a strong domestic unit which has several divisions of cricket where cricket is played at top class level. The Karnataka Cricket Team is governed by the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) and it was founded way back in 1933. Karnataka has a beautiful home ground in the form of Chinnaswamy Stadium which has state-of-the-art facilities and has hosted several international matches and the immense support the fans have showered on all players is inexplicable.

The Karnataka Cricket team has been the breeding ground of several top class players like Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad, B S Chandrashekhar, Dodda Ganesh, Syed Kirmani, Gundappa Viswanath, Roger Binny and Sunil Joshi who have set a benchmark for future generations by displaying immense talent at the domestic and international level which has certainly inspired  the current crop of talented players like Krishnappa Gowtham, Manish Pandey, Stuart Binny, KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, R Vinay Kumar and Shreyas Gopal who have been selected to play for the Indian team and various IPL franchises during the IPL Auction owing to their consistent display of cricket skills in the domestic circuit.

 The Karnataka team has won the Ranji trophy a record 8 times which is a testament to the perseverance of all the players who have played over the years. It also happens to be the 2^nd team to have snapped so many titles trailing Mumbai which has a record 41 titles. Coming to the Irani Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Karnataka has won it a staggering 6 and 3 times respectively which certainly isn’t a mean feat. In the domestic season of 2013-2014, Karnataka achieved something which is still fresh in all our minds, the unimaginable treble i.e., they clinched the Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Irani cup under the captaincy of R Vinay Kumar.

The KSCA also hosts the annual Karantaka Premier League which is an excellent platform for the youngsters of Karnataka to display their talent. It also helps in unearthing talented players who would have otherwise gone unnoticed.

The IPL is a title which has eluded the domestic team, Royal Challengers Bangalore. Over 12 seasons of IPL, RCB (as it is fondly referred to as) has never been able to cross the line and clinch the crown. The franchise does boast of quality players like Virat Kohli and Ab de Villiers who have the potential but are yet to take the team across to the finishing line and win the IPL.

I have been a fan of the Karnataka Cricket team for a very long time and I certainly hope that they can continue their dominance and win more titles. Most importantly, I hope we can see many more players from this quality side representing India which is the ultimate dream.

The recently concluded series in Australia has been a sight which so many Indian fans have been dreaming of. The way the team backed themselves proved they are not just another visiting team on the tricky shores of Australia but were here to win. On the other hand, Australia looked listless in so many areas and lacked depth in their batting and bowling.

The score line of 2-1(though it should’ve ideally been 3-1) is a positive indicator for things to come. All the four test matches were unique in their own way where a trend could be observed and that was ‘team effort’. The series was not about Virat Kohli demolishing the opposition bowling and losing the test match due to the inability of the bowlers to pick up 20 wickets but, this new look side had every player contributing to win a session which proved to be a crucial factor.

The openers were a cause of concern for India during the first two tests. However, Mayank Agarwal’s presence at the top will be impactful and he proved that he is here to stay with his exceptional, solid knocks. As India will be looking at a long-term option for openers, Prithvi Shaw will be his ideal partner. Chetheshwar Pujara was a delight to watch, he is certainly an endorsement for test cricket. He laid a solid foundation for the team which allowed the other players to come and score runs. Virat Kohli, although he had a surprisingly quiet series with the bat keeping in mind his previous tours, was amazing in the way he marshalled his troops. Ajinkya Rahane got off to good starts but could not capitalise on it which was certainly a disappointment. Hanuma Vihari was a good pick at number six, however with Rohit Sharma also playing well in patches, it will be up to the selectors as to who would they entrust the responsibility with. The biggest positive however was Rishabh Pant who with his fine wicketkeeping skills and good knocks down the order is certainly cementing his place and is someone who the team can bank upon down the order.

The bowlers were really exceptional and consistent with Ishant Sharma, Md. Shami, Yadav Ashwin and Jadeja who were really good with the ball and their early breakthroughs and the wickets at crucial junctures really helped impose their superiority over the docile and inexperienced Aussie batsmen. Jasprit Bumrah has been the breakthrough bowler with his amazing line and length, was a smart pick in his debut test year ending the series as the highest wicket taker.

All in all, this was not just an exceptional win for India in tests, but served as an awesome advertisement for test cricket itself. Winning a proper test series in Australia after 71 years has really been inspiring. It will be interesting to see how this top-class team is able to capitalise on this and win many more test series to come.

India yet again lost another series abroad and questions have been raised about the standard of the team and the selection calls. It is difficult to be in skipper Virat Kohli’s shoes right now as he has performed exceptionally well with the bat however his captaincy has a lot left to be desired.

When the team was selected for this series, there was a lot of hope that instead of winning that one odd test overseas, this team had it in to go all the way in a five-match series and prove its mettle by winning a proper series. The team has a plethora of players who have proved themselves consistently in the domestic circuit and the IPL to knock at the selectors doors for an entry in the highly competitive Indian team. The IPL is something which shouldn’t be solely looked at while picking a test team as both are two different ball games (quite literally) and the approach is something that is highly different.

For instance, Rishabh Pant was selected as an understudy to Dinesh Karthik. However, he made he made his entry into the team and played quite well for a 20-year old. The fact that he dispatched the very second ball of his career for a six and brought about his maiden century at the Oval with a maximum proves that he is confident about his game and is not afraid of anything. Hardik Pandya surely does not make the case for a number 6 and he performed well in the one test whereas he was quite average otherwise. England boasted of genuine all-rounders in the form of Sam Curran, Moeen Ali and the tail enders who really were game changers. Jos Buttler surely was a surprise at number 7 and was in fact the highest run getter for England in the series.

England also had some fair share of problems with their top order batsmen under performing however the lower order really held the team together and that was the huge difference between the two teams.

India can look at a lot of positives. One, Virat Kohli’s undeniable supremacy and how his team’s failure is not affecting his batting, Rishabh Pant’s wicketkeeping and to view him as a future asset to the test team, Jasprit Bumrah’s stellar performance as a perfect seamer who can be banked upon and the bowling unit as a whole performing consistently well are all positives for the team to dwell on.

It surely was a disappointing way to end series but however the fact that the matches were not heavily one sided speaks volumes about the type of grit and determination this team possesses. Hoping they take the positives from here, work on the weaknesses and do well Down Under which marks the 4-year reign of Virat as a captain for Team India.

PS. This was my first article where I critically analyzed cricket and sent it to Sportstar magazine, which was generous enough to publish it as a part of its reader’s column. It is a slightly old article, but I wanted to start of this new adventure of mine with this article which gave me a lot of confidence to keep writing.

Thank you for reading.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton