Team India - End of a victorious season

Dinesh Karthik and Amit Mishra – Second Innings

Both these players made their debuts long time back but were consistently dropped out of the team or were asked to warm the bench due to their lack of form or injury. But after a successful stint in IPL 6, both these players were recalled by the selectors and were included in the squad travelling to England, West Indies and Zimbabwe.

Dinesh Karthik had a dream run in both the warm up matches ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy to be included in the playing eleven and when given a chance, he didn’t disappoint. Though he had not much to do in a few matches as India were cruising to victories when he came out to bat, but he did finish the job for the team and got involved in a few useful partnerships at crucial stages. He needs to be more consistent with the bat and play a few long innings to cement his place in the ODI team, his performance was still satisfying.

Amit Mishra had to wait for a long time to finally get a game in Zimbabwe but he was right on the money from game one as he had a terrific series against the Zimbabweans to finish with a tally of 18 wickets to his name in five matches (a new world record).

He was not afraid to flight the ball and bowl a few googlies to test the home team and put them under pressure. He was adjudged Player of the Series for his splendid performance and surely, if he would have been given a place in the team in the Champions Trophy and tri-series, he would have troubled the other teams too.

Emergence of Ravindra Jadeja as a star player

Ravindra Jadeja – A star in the making

The Champions Trophy victory would be largely remembered due to the all round performance of Ravindra Jadeja. He was a stand out performer for India throughout the tournament with 12 wickets in five matches and two vital innings against top teams like South Africa and England. He continued his rich form with the ball in the tri-series too, where he picked up eight wickets with a superb economy rate and showed his skills with the willow on a few occasions against Zimbabwe .

There were a few youngsters who grabbed eyeballs from their first game in the India-Zimbabwe series as well. These players were – Jaydev Unadhkat, Ambati Rayudu and Mohit Sharma.

Unadkhat had a good series by picking up 4 wickets in his first match and gave India breakthroughs in every other outing. Mohit Sharma was given his first match in the fourth ODI and he did not disappoint as he finished with two wickets in his spell and an economy of less than three. He was adjudged man of the match on his debut performance.

Ambati Rayudu had been on the sidelines for a long time but when he was given a chance in this one-sided series, he proved to be valuable to the team’s success with a fifty on debut and crucial knock in the third ODI to give Team India another series victory on the trot.

Though there are tough series coming up in the next season for the Men In Blue against South Africa and New Zealand, but for now all looks good for the team. They have ended a good season by playing some fabulous cricket on foreign soils and have outplayed other teams.

One would like to see Cheteshwar Pujara get some more games in ODIs too and Rahane is also one good player to watch out for. The senior players of the Indian team and the youngsters have shown their potential but they need to remain more consistent as a team. As of now ‘Men In Blue’ are definitely going through a purple patch and we should all enjoy their success.