The first one-dayer was a brilliant performance by the West Indies. It was a performance that we all missed in the last World Cup. A stand of 218 runs between Shimron Hetmyer and Shai Hope left India with no answers. The question on everyone's mind is if the wrist spin combination really working for India or should they go back to playing two finger spinners. The combination of Ashwin and Jadeja has always been lethal.
The other issue for India is the form of KL Rahul and RG Sharma. They do look scratchy. Rohit looks good when he is batting well but doesn't seem to fight his way out of tight situations, and that is when he looks ugly at the crease. KL Rahul who dominates T20 cricket is struggling with form too. They should take a leaf out of Virat Kohli's book who uses anger to his advantage. Virat is very much an emotional cricketer and uses emotion to perform better. Rohit Sharma seemed out of form to me. He should show some fight and aggression when he is not in great form.
I remember when Kevin Pietersen was in bad form he would go to the nets and ask bowlers to bowl at him from a shorter length and bowl fast. He would ask coaches to bowl side arm bouncers from a shorter length. That would quicken his reflexes and get his beans going. When he performed on match day he was amazing. He believed in the great Mohammed Ali's mantra that the fight is won in the gym. That was KP's way to get back to form. I think this is something Rohit and KL Rahul should do to get their form to where it needs to be, especially with the T20 World Cup in Australia. The Indian team can't just rely on Virat Kohli all the time.
We had the first Test match in Pakistan after ten years. It was a day that the Pakistani fans have wished for for a long time. Batting all day and with the score at 252/2 the Pakistan fans were treated to a much-awaited sight. Abid Ali making his Test hundred on debut left sweet memories for Pakistani fans. Even though most of the Test match was rained off it was a victory for Test cricket and an emotional five days for cricket fans in Pakistan.
Currently it is the three big teams England, India and Australia who are dominating world cricket but you must love the spirit of New Zealand. They recently won the Test series against England. Any team playing in Australia will be tested and they beat Pakistan and New Zealand in the day-night Test matches. What the Kiwis are showing is an exemplary fight to compete with the top three teams. Other Test playing teams would do well to make a note. We don't want a situation where fans are left with mere India, Australia and England dominating world cricket.