THE WINNER – KL RAHUL.
He used both the matches he got in a very good manner and then scored a century in his second match which also should have ended the search for India’s no. 4. KL RAHUL’S batting provides an essential depth in India’s batting line – up as he progresses slowly and steadily but can punish the bowler from time to time.
KL Rahul comes at no.4 behind Virat Kohli and also will get the advantage of good partnership along with Kohli and Dhoni/Pandya. He provides an essential partnership to Kohli especially as he is also one of that kind who is keen to run between the wickets and is fast enough to shield himself against any run – out.
Rahul showed some great class in both bowling and batting during the match against Bangladesh and also tried against New Zealand. He striked at the right time to confirm his place in the Playing XI for India.
THE LOSER – VIJAY SHANKAR.
He was just not the one who was smart enough to confirm his place in the Playing XI. Vijay Shankar missed out in the first match due to an injury which had already reduced his chances to qualify but still he had hopes stuck on the second match where also he failed miserably with his batting but still hung on to hopes for bowling but still was pretty expensive for the team.
Shankar could not cope up with the conditions in England. Just like the rest of the Indian team who faced difficulty in the first WU match against New Zealand coping up with the English pitch conditions, Shankar was also trying to find his comfort but that is something he was unable to get due to lack of international ground exposure.
THE WINNER – WEST INDIES
West Indies got only 1 match to play but still proved their batting line – up. Each of the Playing XI got a chance to bat and practice and everyone brought in runs for the team. West Indies were fortunate in a way that they had their practice match against a very strong opponent and were able to cope with them, this also gives that effect to the other teams to be beware of the WI side.
They were able to utilize each of their batsmen in a very efficient manner as each batsmen came and then scored runs, went back the other one came and again scored runs. The bowlers were also continuous in their attack and broke the NZ batting line – up early which gave them the extra confidence to complete all the 10 wickets.
THE LOSER – SRI LANKA
Sri Lanka got two matches to practice but they failed to win any of them. They did not improve much in the course of the 2 matches. Players like Dimuth Karunaratne and all still got some runs and huge practice but some of the batsmen and bowlers failed to do much and also practice much with wicket – taking and catches as they did not create much chances.
Sri Lanka still may learn a lot about the pitches and learn from their mistakes but still they turn out to be the losers as they could not prove their efficiency and this time you can’t experiment in any of the League – matches as it’s pretty tough competition.
spielens 