Who says Jupiter
in the House of Weath is not good ? He is proving to be good, as He gave
a glorious win over the mercurial West Indies.
The Champions
Trophy started with a bang with India beating SA
comprehensively. India, despite criticism that Indians are
vulnerable to swing bowling and cannot bowl well in English
condtions, played magnificently even in the warm up matches. Umesh
Yadav bowled well at 145 mph and was instrumental in getting
Aussies all out for 65 in a warm up match.
In the first
match, India beat SA and Shikhar Dhawan got a glorious hundred.
Off 94 balls, he smashed the hapless SA bowlers to all parts of
the field and was involved in a 127 first wicket partnership with
Rohit Sharma.
"I am happy to help the team win", said the swashbuckling opener. "I am happy with the knock I played but happier because we won a game that was actually getting quite close".
India crushed WI yesterday by eight wickets. Jadeja starred with 5/36 and
and Dhawan pulled off another century againt hapless West Indies.
India bowled well to keep the WI to 233. When Jadeja came, WI was cruising
well at 93/1 and then he mesmerised the WI batsmen with some good spin
bowling.
Meanwhile Bravo blamed the WI batting line up for the debacle ! "Our batsmen
have to take the blame for this," Bravo said. "Another 25 runs could have
made a difference if the tail batted smarter," Bravo said, adding:"Most of
us played bad shots at the wrong time and I am part of that too. We keep
losing games in the middle. We need to address this issue and recover as a
batting group before our next match," the West Indies skipper said.
WI meet S A on June 14 at Cardiffl."Our destiny is in our own hands. It's
going to be a final for us and it's possible and I know we have the team to
make the second round," Bravo said.
Bravo praised Sammy for his blistering 56 off 35 balls. "It's not that he
was trying to prove anything. He played his natural game and I am very happy
for him," Bravo said.
But the Carribean skipper was fierce on Darren, his cousin. ."It was one of
the worst knocks he played and he has been spoken to. But with wickets
falling around him, you can't blame him," Bravo said.
Again Dhawan and R Sharma got India off to a formidable start, a century
partnership. Both Sharma and Karthik scored half centuries to support the
swashbuckling Dhawan.
Thus spake the stars
Jadeja: 'I enjoyed my bowling today. The pitch was a bit slow and I
bowled in the right areas. I was getting some turn. I played one match
before against England on this wicket and I got two wickets. I am happy with
the wickets in England. I am trying to bowl in the right areas and keeping
it stump to stump. In the Marlon Samuels dismissal, it seemed that the sound
came off the pad first. Dhoni told me that he was not sure but he told me to
take the review if I was sure.'
Ravindra Jadeja is the MoM for his haul of 5/36.
MS Dhoni: 'It was a professional performance. The West Indies got off
to a good start and they seemed good to get to 280. We got regular wickets
and we did not allow the batsmen to rotate the strike. The pacers bowled the
right lengths in their second spells. Bhuvneshwar and Ishant bowled well. I
am finding out more new things about Jadeja. He has proven that he is vital
to the team. He is the best all-round option that we have got and he has
shown that he is a great performer. We needed to execute the end overs well
but if one looks at the bigger picture, we have done well. Rohit Sharmaand
Dhawan have accepted the challenge. Dhawan did well against Australia and
Rohit Sharma opted to open not only at home but abroad as well. The fielding
has also been great. The Indian team has never played a dead game, so the
game against Pakistan will be very important.'
Dwayne Bravo: 'We got off to a good start and we need to be 30-40 runs
more. The Indian bowlers bowled very well. Sammy played really well and I am
happy with his performance. The collapse in the middle was a combination of
poor batting and good bowling. We need to improve our strike-rates in the
middle overs. We need to improve our mistakes for the next game. There was
no swing for the pace bowlers and we bowled too wide on a fast outfield. The
bowlers needed to bowl a bit straighter but credit goes to the Indian
batters. We were not able to attack. During the drizzle, Narine could not
grip the ball but he bowled very well. The next game is like a final and it
will not be easy against South Africa.'
"I am happy to help the team win", said the swashbuckling opener. "I am happy with the knock I played but happier because we won a game that was actually getting quite close".
India crushed WI yesterday by eight wickets. Jadeja starred with 5/36 and
and Dhawan pulled off another century againt hapless West Indies.
India bowled well to keep the WI to 233. When Jadeja came, WI was cruising
well at 93/1 and then he mesmerised the WI batsmen with some good spin
bowling.
Meanwhile Bravo blamed the WI batting line up for the debacle ! "Our batsmen
have to take the blame for this," Bravo said. "Another 25 runs could have
made a difference if the tail batted smarter," Bravo said, adding:"Most of
us played bad shots at the wrong time and I am part of that too. We keep
losing games in the middle. We need to address this issue and recover as a
batting group before our next match," the West Indies skipper said.
WI meet S A on June 14 at Cardiffl."Our destiny is in our own hands. It's
going to be a final for us and it's possible and I know we have the team to
make the second round," Bravo said.
Bravo praised Sammy for his blistering 56 off 35 balls. "It's not that he
was trying to prove anything. He played his natural game and I am very happy
for him," Bravo said.
But the Carribean skipper was fierce on Darren, his cousin. ."It was one of
the worst knocks he played and he has been spoken to. But with wickets
falling around him, you can't blame him," Bravo said.
Again Dhawan and R Sharma got India off to a formidable start, a century
partnership. Both Sharma and Karthik scored half centuries to support the
swashbuckling Dhawan.
Thus spake the stars
Jadeja: 'I enjoyed my bowling today. The pitch was a bit slow and I
bowled in the right areas. I was getting some turn. I played one match
before against England on this wicket and I got two wickets. I am happy with
the wickets in England. I am trying to bowl in the right areas and keeping
it stump to stump. In the Marlon Samuels dismissal, it seemed that the sound
came off the pad first. Dhoni told me that he was not sure but he told me to
take the review if I was sure.'
Ravindra Jadeja is the MoM for his haul of 5/36.
MS Dhoni: 'It was a professional performance. The West Indies got off
to a good start and they seemed good to get to 280. We got regular wickets
and we did not allow the batsmen to rotate the strike. The pacers bowled the
right lengths in their second spells. Bhuvneshwar and Ishant bowled well. I
am finding out more new things about Jadeja. He has proven that he is vital
to the team. He is the best all-round option that we have got and he has
shown that he is a great performer. We needed to execute the end overs well
but if one looks at the bigger picture, we have done well. Rohit Sharmaand
Dhawan have accepted the challenge. Dhawan did well against Australia and
Rohit Sharma opted to open not only at home but abroad as well. The fielding
has also been great. The Indian team has never played a dead game, so the
game against Pakistan will be very important.'
Dwayne Bravo: 'We got off to a good start and we need to be 30-40 runs
more. The Indian bowlers bowled very well. Sammy played really well and I am
happy with his performance. The collapse in the middle was a combination of
poor batting and good bowling. We need to improve our strike-rates in the
middle overs. We need to improve our mistakes for the next game. There was
no swing for the pace bowlers and we bowled too wide on a fast outfield. The
bowlers needed to bowl a bit straighter but credit goes to the Indian
batters. We were not able to attack. During the drizzle, Narine could not
grip the ball but he bowled very well. The next game is like a final and it
will not be easy against South Africa.'
