Here are the five teams that have dominated ICC Champions Trophy by virtue of win percentage.

*Updated till June 18, 2013

It is the confidence from the whole nation that makes a player lead a team for long. Shockingly, neither Sourav Ganguly nor Kapil Dev represent India in that list. Let’s take a look at the list of players who played as captains for their countries in most number of consecutive matches.

*Updated till June 18, 2013

After all in a game like Badminton it’s all about keeping the momentum.

MUMBAI, INDIA – OCTOBER 31: Alastair Cook of England bats during the second day of the first practice match between England and India A at the CCI (Cricket Club of India) ground, on October 31, 2012 in Mumbai, India. England will play three practice matches before the start of four test series

Yes, you read that right. This victory might have brought out many positives but as the match proceeded there emerged many things that India need to look at seriously.

The match showcased tremendous performances by the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara, Virender Sehwag, Pragyan Ojha and Yuvraj Singh. But on the other hand, it also saw the likes of Alastair Cook, Graeme Swann, Matt Prior and a few more play the game at ease while few other players faced a nightmare at Motera.

Before getting to the disasters I’m talking about let’s try and understand where team India went right. The toss and the opening partnership put the English team on to the back foot right from the first session onward and brilliant knocks by Sehwag, Pujara and Yuvraj did the rest for England to lose hope of winning the the match. Brilliant bowling performances by Pragyan Ojha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav and Zaheer Khan left nothing in the match the English could play for.

Winning the match for India was just a matter of time that was delayed by a few hours.

But along with these positives there were also nine signs of disaster than shouldn’t be ignored at any cost. Let’s take a look a at them:

1. Firstly, the biggest sign of disaster that has emerged out of this match is the captain of the England team, Alastair Cook. This man has taken his captaincy seriously and his batting is getting even better. He faced the Indian bowlers as if they were no different from any other and scored lots of runs easily, but in the end no one really could support him. Ignoring him for the rest of the series can be the biggest risk the team can afford now.

2. Graeme Swann enjoyed bowling at Motera. He was the only bowler who looked likely to trouble the Indians. He dismissed India’s top four batsmen and could prove to be the man the England team will be banking on this series.

3. Monty Panesar will be roaring to fire with all three spinners doing well in the first Test. His chances of playing the next game have increased immensely and he is the best bowler the team has to partner Swann with for the next game.

4. Team selection for India could also be a point of concern when the opponents are struggling against spin and the Turbanator is just warming the benches in the dugout. Many questions need to be answered before the team begins their next match in Mumbai. Let’s just hope the team plays with the best possible combination.

5. Ashwin, who bowled well in the first innings, failed to impress in the second and that can be a cause of concern for the team management. Or it is just that the English team has solved the mysteries of the mystery bowler?

6. Fielding has always been a point of concern and dropping valuable catches this series might affect the result of the ‘revenge’ series that many are hoping ends in a whitewash.

7. The batting in the middle and lower middle order wasn’t put to test in this match but they need to come to the party and get some runs under their belt because you cannot completely rely on the top order to score every time.

8. The captaincy of Dhoni is being questioned, although he is on the verge of becoming the most successful Test captain and could surpass Sourav Ganguly. He needs to improve his decision making in tight situations and let them not affect the team’s performance in the future games.

9. Matt Prior was another player who played well against spin at Motera and could come in more than handy in the lower middle order along with Stuart Broad to get some quick runs.

If these nine signs aren’t taken care of before the next match begins, there can be a good chance that one of them can definitely become a huge disaster for the team.

Till now All Is Well for the Indian Team and it is expected to continue that way till the end of the month. India who has recently defeated New Zealand convincingly in a two match test series, have definitely made their mark as a strong contender for the T20 title as the World Cup is just a week away. You might be wondering how. Though Tests and T20 are two completely different formats of the game, the current form of the likes of Virat Kohli, R. Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha and captain cool Dhoni who are all the part of the T20 squad will play a key role in maintaining the team balance and renewing the hopes of winning another title.

Though this series win is not such a great achievement to boast about, still, a win is a win. The fact here is they have performed well on subcontinent soil, the soil where in a week’s time they will be playing one of the major tournaments against the best teams possible. The team that won the recent series had more juniors than seniors in the team after a long time and the reason for it is due to the appropriate decisions taken by the seniors to opt out of the game to give the youngsters  in waiting a great opportunity and exposure to face the further challenges ahead.

It is because of the legacy left by the likes of Kumble, Dravid, Laxman, Ganguly and many more that the youngsters such as Kohli, Raina, Ojha and Pujara could pitch in at the right time and continue the legacy of the Indian cricket team though the team might experience downfalls at the start. Hence it’s necessary that such downfalls should be prevented in time so that nothing worse happens against the bigger teams.

With so many things going right, the Indians can hope that their team makes them proud, although it will be a tough challenge ahead. But with the right step being taken, everything might go on as per plan and India might become the first team to hold both the One Day International and the T20 title simultaneously.

The tournament for the T20 championships starts on the 18^th of this month and there’s going to be a lot of fun, thrill, action and what not when the best teams fight it out.

So get ready!

]]> http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/09/05/the-men-in-blue-takes-the-right-step-forward/feed/ 0 01275 http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/08/14/london-to-rio-where-to-see-us/ http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/08/14/london-to-rio-where-to-see-us/#comments Tue, 14 Aug 2012 05:48:37 +0000 Mohit Camma http://www.sportskeeda.com/?p=595009 After many heartbreaks and some compensation done in the end, the London Games ended. But where did we Indians finish, 55th?

It is good when we compare ourselves with 204 other countries but when we look at the country with the 2nd highest population in the world who are capable of winning just 6 medals, what are we talking about? It is high time we take other sports seriously now. It has been ages since Hockey has been our national game and now, it wouldn’t be wrong if I call Hockey dead in India. The only opportunity for it to be revived was this, and we couldn’t even win a single match – who would call such a game as our national game?

It is not only about only Hockey, even Archery also was no good a result. The coach had to resign as soon as he returned back to India after not having kept up to all the Indian hopes. Though shooting got two medals for India, a few more mainly from Abhinav Bindra were expected to be brought home as his second Olympics medal, but unfortunately he couldn’t qualify for the final. Leaving all this apart, Tennis and Boxing saw some of the biggest heartbreaks by not even being able to to make it to the semis, with the exception of Mary Kom. Then come the other events where we don’t even see ourselves as competition to anyone.

Though some made it big this time like Parupalli Kashyap who from no where came into the limelight by his wonderful game. Vijay Kumar went on to win a silver medal when others expected him to be just a underdog; still Indians have definitely left a mark in some sports but in few games they were just a part of formality.

Leaving all the bad memories behind, lets look forward to a goal to be fulfilled  four years later, but that requires severe training to get better results at Rio in 2016. When the question arises where to see ourselves next time, it would definitely be way better than this time and somewhere around the 30 to 40′s when compared to 55th of this time.

There is no question of talent not being present, but instead, having a proper system free of corruption to be there to make selections more transparent. It is also a shame that the country is not being able to keep up to its ability. A country that can challenge the Americans in their own country can definitely give them tough competition in the field of sports. All that is needed is proper selection and the willingness and determination to win for the country, then success is by no means far away. If this formula is successfully implied, then mission Rio 2016 is not far from being accomplished.

With Sehwag, Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh donning the roles as senior members of the team in recent years, the confidence of the junior players are boosted, which helps them to take their game “one notch-up” even when the team is in dire straits. This can only come from a good mixture of senior and junior players in the team that was once led by great legends. Though Sachin is still a part of the team, he  doesn’t play in every series because of his injury problems and prefers to reserve his best for the big cats.

The recent series win in Sri Lanka has only reflected the fact that Team India still is a great force, though they didn’t have players like Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh. This was the chance for players like Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma and Manoj Tiwary to  justify their spot in the team with other senior players. But it was  only Kohli, Raina and Tiwary who performed, while Rohit Sharma wan’t still able to prove his worth. He failed to score even a single double figure score, after being given a chance to play in 5 matches.

Although every player is bound to have a bad day, Sharma’s inclusion in the later stages was highly questionable. There are many positives to take back from this tour but negatives shouldn’t be ignored as the fielding and bowling looked a bit out of sorts although  the team settled into a rhythm after 3 matches. The bowling department also was up to the mark barring a few matches, but Sri Lanka could have easily pounced back in some of the matches. Zaheer has done a good job in mentoring the new-comers, but India will feel the pinch once he leaves a void in the bowling line-up after his time.

This win has come at a good time because the World Cup T20 in Sri Lanka is round the corner. This win is also a good chance to erase  all the bad memories India had earlier with Sri Lanka.

After a not so convincing first two days at the 2012 London Olympics, Day 3 gave a major boost to the Indians and kept the hope of winning medals alive. Though the day got off to an unexpected start, it gradually went on to live up to its expectations.

Indians started  their 3rd campaign with shooting where the defending champion, Abhinav Bindra, and Gagan Narang were expected to do well. The event started on a low note as the defending champion from India lost out and couldn’t even qualify for the finals. But this was compensated for by Narang, who entered the finals ranking third, and also finished 3rd. Narang held his nerve in a gripping 8-man finale to stave off the challenge of Chinese rival, Wang Tao bagging the third spot.

Still, in the end, Indian shooter Gagan Narang opened India’s account by winning a bronze in the 10m Air Rifle event. In a nerve cracking tie where Narang once went up to the 2nd position and also slipped to 4th, he kept his cool till the end and finished 3rd, winning bronze at the London Olympics 2012.

Later, 19-year-old Sumit Sangwan lost in the 81 kilogram category boxing by a scoreline of 14-15 to Florentino in a controversial bout.

The Indian hockey team lost to Netherlands 3-2, but showed some great spirit by coming back despite being down 2-0. This performance would definitely boost their confidence for their next match against New Zealand.

Then we had Saina who came back with a win, giving Indian hopes a much needed boost. It hardly took 30 minutes for Saina Nehwal to get past her Swiss counterpart in the 1st round, and it took her just 28 minutes to beat her 2nd opponent Lianne from Belgium. Saina is on a roll this Olympics and she didn’t look like giving away even a single point in the first game. It hardly took her 10 minutes to win the first set. In the second game her opponent from Belgium came back well, but still wasn’t any match as Saina waltzed into the the pre-quarterfinals.

Also in the Tennis Men’s doubles event, we had  Bhupathi/Boppanna along with Paes/Vishnu taking part. Both the teams won their 1st Round and will be playing in Round 2 today. Earlier Vishnu was knocked out of the men’s singles event.

Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa won their 1st match in Badminton Women’s doubles match yesterday. Jwala needed this win after losing both her mixed double match to boost her confidence.

The pitch was good to bat on but the green wicket was helping the seamers; still captain cool chose to bat first, luckily having won the toss again. Indian struggled against the seamers and the Sri Lankan bowlers had the better half of the Indian batsmen. It all started with Perera causing havoc by taking quick wickets of Sehwag, Kohli and Raina, followed up by Mathews hunting down Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni. Later on, nobody looked likely to stay on and bat. Even Gambhir lost his concentration after watching his batting partners go down in quick succession.

As a result, the team could barely even play for 35 overs and the outcome had become the obvious. To make the Sri Lankans’ task a lot more easier, the Indian bowlers bowled as if they themselves were in no mood of playing. Of the 20 overs they bowled almost 24 extras were conceded which only got the match to finish a lot more faster.

This loss also ended the hopes of Indian team regaining the No.1 ODI team spot and now they are only left with the option of winning the series and erasing all bad memories of the earlier tour where India lost both the Test and one-day series. Now the team needs to seriously sit together and redesign all its strategies of bowling as well as batting and work hard on fielding which has been a negative aspect for India almost everywhere they go.

If the Indian team seriously wants to get back to business and get rid of all its ego and keep its foot on the ground then the results, the first one dayer would be more common. The next ODI will be played on the 28th of July and lets hope India bounces back hard and win the hearts of all its well wishers.

Goalie Bharat Kumar Chetri of India gestures during practice ahead of the 2012 London Olympic Games at the Olympic Park on July 23, 2012 in London, England.

With only 48 hours left for the most awaited event i.e. the London Olympics 2012 to begin, all eyes would be on the 10,500 (approx) athletes who will be taking part. India has sent a contingent that comprises of 81 deserving candidates, who have been given the responsibility of making the country proud, and returning back home with their heads held high. The event, which is set to begin on 27^th July, will spread its charm till 12^th August.

Though the Olympics haven’t got India the expected result till date, and India have only won a total of 20 medals, this is a golden opportunity to make this tally go higher. The chosen athletes this year, from an Indian perspective, are among the best in the world when it comes to events like boxing, wrestling, badminton, shooting, and also hockey, though this isn’t a team of the same calibre which won gold medals at the Olympics consecutively.

The selected 81 athletes for this Olympics from India will whole-heartedly take part in the events for which they have been selected. This time, we have 58 men, and 23 women taking part in 13 sports out of the 26 sports that are going to be held. This team of 81 members consists of some well-known people like Vikas Gowda and Krishna Poonia for discus throw along with many others in Athletics. Saina Nehwal, Jwala Gutta, Ashwini Ponnappa, and a few more in badminton. Mary Kom, Vijender Singh, Manoj Kumar, Jai Bhagwan, and many more in Boxing, where India hopes to win many medals.

We also have our hockey team led by Bharat Chetri, and coached by Michael Nobbs. Then we have Abhinav Bindra, the lone Olympic gold medal winner for India in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Gagan Narang, Ronjan Sodhi, along with many more in the sport of shooting. Leander Paes, Sania Mirza, Mahesh Bhupathi, and a few more will represent India in tennis. We also have Sushil Kumar in wrestling, who will also be our flag bearer during the opening ceremony on 27^th July.

With many hopes on their shoulders, there is definitely a chance for the chosen 81 to make a mark, and return with a smile. So we can only pray for our heroes to do well, and wish them all the best, so that they play their best game. At the end of the day, winning or losing might not matter, but if these guys can make a mark, then it will be just two words for us – mission accomplished!