Team India - happy days are here again

The young Indian team under Kohli has performed well

Indian cricket is going through the purple-est of patches at the moment.

After the hiccups following their emergence as the world champions in the ICC World Cup 2011, the Indian team has gained momentum recently with an unexpectedly smooth run in the last edition of the Champions Trophy, victory in the tri-nation tournament in the West Indies and now another series win against Zimbabwe.

Limited-overs cricket is being ruled by the Men in Blue (except for a few glitches, here and there). With a swarm of exceptionally talented youngsters making their way into Team India, the nation is looking all set for some exciting cricket in the near future.

As expected, the tour of Zimbabwe is turning out to be a walk in the park for the Indians, even in the absence of senior players and top class performers like MS Dhoni (rested), Yuvraj Singh (cannot find himself a place in the current middle order), R Ashwin (rested), Virender Sehwag (lack of consistency and blurry vision has forced him to sit at home at watch India play, on TV, with spectacles, of course), Ishant Sharma (rested), Gautam Gambhir (poor form and the emergence of Shikhar Dhawan), Umesh Yadav (rested), Zaheer Khan (fitness issues, again) and Pragyan Ojha (not picked for the tour, surprisingly).

Virat’s energetic persona has taken a very young, fresh and motivated side to victory against Brendan Taylor’s struggling outfit. The bowling has looked interestingly impeccable, with R Vinay Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat and Shami Ahmed getting purchase out of the Harare Sports Club wicket, and Amit Mishra, trying ever-so-hard to cement his place in the team with some superb performances.

It shall be interesting to see how Cheteshwar Pujara goes about his business today, as he gets all set to occupy the opening slot to partner Rohit Sharma in the 4th ODI.

Known for his outstanding technique and his ability to churn out big numbers with the bat in the domestic circuit, as well as in his short Test career so far, this will be his first outing for India in limited overs cricket. And he will be out there to prove a point – to show the world that he is a capable batsman in the shorter format of the game as well. His average and strike rate in domestic cricket (limited overs) should erase all doubts anyway.

Mohit Sharma, the ‘find’ of this year’s Indian Premier League season, will be the one to watch out for (with the new ball), as he makes his debut for Team India. He proved that he could be sharp and intimidating with the new ball, even to the best of the batsmen. Mohit certainly looks the part.

All of a sudden, the much-doubted bench strength of India seems to be overflowing with talent.

Happy days are here again.