OUR DAILY MUSE

Day One, 3rd Test: Do Team India have brilliant strategies up their sleeves to shock SA into submission on Pujara's birthday By Francis Adams Today, January 25, is Cheteshwar Pujara's birthday. He has turned 30 years, 0 days. Cheteshwar Pujara received mixed reactions to his slow innings. Pic courtesy: BCCI.tv Yesterday, he scored the slowest of Test match half centuries (50 from 179 balls), that earned him scorn, criticism, memes, rebukes, from the trolls and praise from lovers of Test cricket. Pujara's birthday gift, a day in advance. "This is one of the toughest pitches I've played on," said Pujara in response to Shaun Pollock's query about describing how was it batting on the Wanderers pitch on Day One of the third Test. The Rajkot boy's sentiment was backed in a more desperate tone by former India captain Saurav Ganguly, who let out his anger through his tweet: "To play test cricket on this surface is unfair ...saw it in NZ i

Third Test: While Faf du Plessis has renewed his 3-0 whitewash vow, Shastri and Kohli have been subdued in their response By Francis Adams One result Team India stayed true to was not losing the ICC Test ranking as No 1 team. This was made public before India began the tour to South Africa that irrespective of a 3-0 series loss, India will retain their No 1 position as they had amassed 4969 points for a rating of 124 compared to South Africa at No 2 with 3888 points and rating of 111. Australia are the No 3 Test side with 4174 points and rating of 104. What's the benefit of this? No one knows, except maybe, David Kendix who developed these rating for the International Cricket David Kendix. Pic courtesy: Gulfnews.com Council. And of course, some benefit to the sponsor (advertiser) MRF Tyres, who gets publicity, as well as the ICC which gets paid from the sponsor. Cricketwise, you the eternally optimistic fan could be feeling the same way Virat Kohli is, at this mo

Are you a small business looking to scale, introduce a new line, have cost factor and ROI to worry about? Here's your answer By Francis Adams What would you do, if: Infusionsoft: Finally a complete solution for small businesses. Image courtesy: Infusionsoft.com You are a small business and looking to infuse a time-saving, cost-effective solution that'll provide an awesome return on investment (ROI). You'll also want this solution to allow you peace of mind to pursue personal obligations at any time , including spending time holidaying. Step 1: You'll look for that solution, then test whether it fits your budget and your business, followed by checking if this solution offers all that it promises. Step 2: Get a no-obligation demonstration so that you can ask every question that'll help you make an informed choice and decision. For demo: click here Step 3: If you like what you experience from the demo, you can opt to speak with their consultants.

Virat Kohli may continue to hit back at the media, but he cannot escape more than 'soft dismissals' his team committed By Francis Adams There are Indian cricket fans worldwide who may have missed following Team India's decimation in the Test Series in South Africa owing to studies, work, profession, business and other personal reasons. This includes the Indian diaspora. You may be checking the news, reports, videos and various cricket sites for the exact reasons on why such a complete team, touted as the best ever to leave Indian shores and aiming to conquer all foreign frontiers, have been relegated to such a dismal state. Here are 10 reasons why India are 2-down and have lost this three-Test Freedom series. Leave aside the several stories about pitch and conditions behaving weirdly. They were supposed to. And in Virat Kohli's words, if "We are prepared what we are going to get here. We are not under any delusion," then these 10 blunders get mag

Fourth day: At 35/3, with a cursing captain Virat back in the pavilion, India's remaining top order have more than job satisfaction to achieve By Francis Adams "We know how to win Test matches now and that's a very good habit and knowledge to have," said Virat Kohli, during a press conference on December 30, 2017. Virat Kohli resurrected his batting with a hard-fought 153, but he will also be responsible for his team's failures. Pic courtesy: BCCI.tv It's January, 17, 2018 and the final day of the second Test versus South Africa. India, already 0-1 down in the three-Test match series, are staring at defeat at 35 for 3, with their lone ranger in the top order batting, the captain courageous himself, gone. Here are five aspects that Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma, part of India's famed top order will need to do and lead India to a respectable draw. If they squeeze out a win, it'll be seen as a miracle or an act of redemption and bra

Captain Virat Kohli made amends for his First Test failures by emulating his idol Sachin Tendulkar. Where are the others? By Francis Adams Virat Kohli, India's lone ranger in batting in the second Test. Pic courtesy: BCCI.tv You'll find several stories of redemption about our icon and God of Cricket, Sachin Tendulkar, among them helping win the World Cup in his sixth appearance. On Monday, Virat Kohli, who idolised Tendulkar while learning the ropes as a chubby-boy cricketer, redeemed himself with a sublime 153 in India's first innings. By doing so, he emulated Tendulkar as only the second India captain to notch a hundred in South Africa. While Tendulkar used to look heavenwards after scoring a hundred as if thanking his late father for watching over him, Kohli set the social media buzzing by kissing his wedding ring from Bollywood star Anushka Sharma, after he reached his century. His innings looked effortless to us cricket fans, yet judging from expert co

It's practice what you preach time for Virat Kohli now after India's top order batsmen fail to earn back their pride By Francis Adams Bhuvaneshwar Kumar. Pic courtesy: India Today Celebrated badminton coach Pullela Gopichand is known to take away P V Sindhu's smartphone days before she was preparing for crucial international matches so that it did not cause any distraction in her quest for victory. Team India coach Ravi Shastri may not get to hide Virat Kohli's mobile phone, although he should until this second Test match gets over at the SuperSport Park, in Centurion. . Such has been the criticism by former players on Kohli resting Bhuvaneshwar Kumar for this second Test that should you face such sharp remarks from critics at your workplace, you'd be prompted to put in your paper (read resignation). A little after India's playing 11 was announced on Saturday, January 13, 2018 for the second Test, Pullela Gopichand and PV Sindhu. Pic courtesy

Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ian Chappell have made bold statements. Faf Du Plessis has been quietly confident. Who will pass this test? By Francis Adams As news of South Africa winning the toss and deciding to bat first has poured in, Virat Kohli's Team Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis at the Toss. Pic courtesy: @BCCI India are seeking a victory, and in the captain's words "The most important thing is that we don't give up." The Supersport Park in Centurion, venue for the second of the three-match Test series, is 4000 feet above sea level. Such places are called high ground. It is here that India, who have never won a series in South Africa, are aiming to bounce back after the low in Newlands, Cape Town. Will they be able to? You, the eternally optimistic Indian cricket fan will confidently say, "Yes, this Indian team have it in them to win, if they play Ajinkya Rahane and KL Rahul." However, reality bites big. Virendra Sehwag has gi

Virat Kohli insisted Team India were prepared to take on South Africa and win the first Test. He was wrong. No one from the media dared to ask him how. By Francis Adams If you are a die-hard Indian cricket fan, you would have come across several analysis, criticism and blame-game by former India Test players, the media and fans as to why India lost the First Test at Newlands, Cape Town within four days on Monday, January, 8, 2018.        Amidst all these opinions, the most interesting came from captain Virat Kohli in his post-match media conference. "We were very well prepared. I don't think we felt any lack of preparation," were Kohli's first sentences during the conference which is available on video on BCCI.tv. See here    Either Kohli was in denial, trying to defend the top-order batting failure or was totally mistaken about what "being prepared" means.       If the team had prepared then they would have covered these six loopholes that brough