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First, the ICC Champions Trophy-2013 with Team India remaining unbeaten throughout, second being the Celkon Mobile Cup Triangular Series in West Indies where Team India fought back from the brink of elimination to win the title and now the bilateral five-match ODI Series in Zimbabwe with Team India white washing the hosts 5-0 most emphatically and convincingly and winning the second Celkon Mobile Cup within a month. The latest Indian sweep and the completion of a hattrick assumes some significance considering the fact it was almost a junior Team India that basically and later most effectively tested India’s bench strength. There is not much to write home about the hapless Zimbabwe team with the Indian media mostly discussing the utter lack of cricket funds in that country and the contrast between Indian and Zimbabwean cricketers in terms of money. In the absence of Indian captain MS Dhoni vice-captain Virat Kohli did a commendable job leading from the front and never failing to inspi…

The World Champions, the Champions of Champions Trophy India have added one more tournament win to their bag of achievements by defeating Sri Lanka in the final of the West Indies Tri-Nation ODI Cricket Series on Thursday and taking home the Celkon Mobile Cup. Captain Cool MS Dhoni who with a hamstring injury keeping him out of the Series came back to play this match only and in a low-scoring thriller hit Sri Lanka’s almost unplayable bowler of the match Eranga for 16 runs needed to win in four balls of the last over of the match. With 45 not out Dhoni became the worthy player of the match while seamer Bhuvaneshwar Kumar was adjudged the player of the Series. Just imagine Kumar was dropped or rested or whatever in a crucial match against Sri Lanka that put India almost out of the tournament. Anyway, the Champions came back from the brink of elimination, won two matches with bonus points and finally won the Cup.
The track was a tricky and treacherous one helping both seam and spin an…

This is incredible cricket mixed lethally with persistent rains. After the first round in Kingston the West Indies Tri-Series ODI Cricket Celkon Mobile Cup tournament was in a most intriguing stage with all the three teams having a chance to play in the final. India yet to open their account had the hardest chance having to win both remaining matches ideally with bonus points to stay alive and sail into the finals as the venue shifted to Port of Spain where the rain became a sort of the ‘fourth umpire’. The hosts, West Indies were sitting pretty with 9 points from two wins in the first round having just to stave off big defeats if not win. Incredibly enough, India did win both matches with bonus points and ensured their place in the final yesterday crushing Sri Lanka by 81 runs in a match reduced by rains to 26 overs and the D/L method setting a target of 178 for Sri Lanka. Thanks to Bhuvaneshwar Kumar’s scintillating bowling (4 wickets for just 8 runs) Sri Lanka was shot out for onl…

Team India kept its chances alive for a place in the final of the West Indies Tri-Nation ODI Cricket Series-2013 by crushing West Indies by 102 runs in the last league match between the two in Port of Spain, Trinidad yesterday. West Indies won the toss again and following the Kingston ‘trend’ elected to field first. But this time Team India was ready and did not bother about the ‘trend’ already demolished by Sri Lanka at their cost only the other day, though there were the usual scares and hiccups before stand-in captain Virat Kohli unleashed a breathtaking batting display. The opening duo Shikhar Dhawan (69) and Rohit Sharma (46) staged a rollicking partnership of 123 runs and after Dhawan was the first out wickets fell in regular intervals letting WI come back into the game with India at 168/4. This was a crucial juncture as India had to win the game possibly with a bonus point to stay afloat.
Virat Kohli proved to be the inspiration behind a regrouped India as he led from the fron…

Sri Lanka on Tuesday achieved the unique feat of losing just one wicket to post a huge 300+ total while put into bat and India suffered one of its worst defeats in one-day cricket while chasing. Sri Lanka outplayed the ICC Champions Trophy-2013 winner in all departments of the game to win by whopping 161 runs in the third match of the West Indies Tri-Nation ODI Cricket Series being played in Jamaica and Trinidad. It was a rank bad day for India with nothing clicking for them including the changes done in the team. Shami Ahmed coming into the team out of nowhere and replacing Bhuvaneshwar Kumar—consistently the main strike bowler for India in recent matches—was a huge surprise as it was illogical. With captain MS Dhoni out of the Series due to injury selection of specialist opener Murali Vijay was another surprise because the hit Shikhar-Rohit opening duo could not at all be disturbed. As it turned out these changes in a crucial match like this contributed profusely for the Indian humi…