Many people, after the death of Phillip Hughes, are saying not even 2 bouncers should be allowed in an over, that according to me, isn't actually right. The death of Phil Hughes was due to misjudgment of a bouncer and not just a bouncer alone.

Not the rules, but the safety standards of cricket need to be increased. It should not be forgotten that Phil was wearing a Masuri helmet which didn't have any protection for the area he was struck at, the helmet was an outdated one.

Here is a comparison between an Indian Helmet and the one Phil was using by TOI. Indeed, an Indian helmet might have saved Hughes! :(

No matter how expensive it is, we should always choose the safest, if we are safe, we can earn much more in the future. Don't compromise on safety, you can show off later!

Phil Hughes who was hit by a bouncer bowled by Sean Abbott during a match between South Australia and New South Wales, is no more with us! This simply proves how dangerous our game can be at times!

   "Cricket is the matter of life and death every ball, if its to your head, you need to face it, or else, if you miss it, you are on the verge of extinction!"

He died at the age of 25 years 362 days, just 3 days before his birthday! He was admitted to St.Vincent's Hospital, Sydney after being hit, even a helicopter came to take him off from the stadium!

An hour of play was suspended from the Pakistan vs New Zealand in memory of Phil Hughes.

This was his last drive:

And later he was hit on the head:

He was declared dead on 27 November, 2014.

#RIPPhilHughes

Many of us saw the mysterious tweets on Virat Kohli's twitter Handle, and wondered what he could have been pointing at.

So, nothing to be mysterious about, it's all a marketing campaign, for the new breakaway Youth Fashion brand named 'Wrogn' which Virat told in a tweet:

So, the #Worgn saga is over. Follow @Staywrogn

 

Just half an hour before this post was published, the world witnessed he greatest (Not probably, I don't think it's the greatest) innings of all ODI times! Rohit Sharma's epic 264 off 173 balls, I'm not talking about tests here, it's ODIs, where making even a hundred is tough!

   Imagine someone on strike, just keeping to hit the ball over the boundary rope, that's what Rohit Sharma did today. He is also called No-Hit, and also Hitman. He proved to be the second one today, hitting the ball continuously without any mercy.

Rohit was making a series debut for India in this match, he had already hit a hundred in a practice match against the same team. And it's a dream comeback after a lot of time! It was surely something to remember with a record score of 264. He came in as a opener along with Ajinkya Rahane, as Shikhar Dhawan has been rested, and MS Dhoni too. So Rohit was pretty lucky about it.

The support went on decreasing on the other end, but Rohit Sharma was tough, and Virat too, they two shared a 200-run 3rd wicket partnership. And in the end, the last 10 overs were a treat to watch for the fans, as the batsman went on hitting. The total score went on to 404, which was unpredictable even with a run rate of 10/over in the last 10 overs.

   The batsman broke the record for the highest score in ODIs being 219, by Virender Sehwag by 45 runs, unbelievable. Even the record of Shikhar Dhawan with 261 in domestic ODIs was broken!

   He became the first person ever to score 2 double hundreds in ODIs! :D

Indian fans are obsessed with good news since the last 2 weeks, first the series win against West Indies, and then the two consecutive wins against Sri Lanka. And now, with the win against Sri Lanka, they have cruised to the number one spot in ODIs.

However, the future isn't easy:

Here's how the teams could be lined up by the end of Australia's 5-match home series against South Africa:

Scenario 1: India beat Sri Lanka 4-1.

• If Australia beat South Africa 3-2, they will outsmart India for the first place.
• If South Africa beat Australia at least by a margin of 4-1, they go ahead of India.

Scenario 2: India beat Sri Lanka 5-0.

• If Australia beat South Africa 4-1 or 3-2, India will stay No. 1
• If Australia win 5-0, they will edge India for the No. 1 spot.
• If South Africa beat Australia at least by a margin of 4-1, they go ahead of India to regain the top spot.

 Scenario 3: Even if India beat Sri Lanka by a margin of 3-2, they will lose the No. 1 ranking after the Australia-South Africa ODI series produces its first result.

Indian fans were in cheers yet again, as India won their 4th consecutive ODI. Sri lankan fans were disappointed yet again, as their team couldn't notch up enough runs to defend, plus, adding to the frustration, the Indian batsmen reached the total in just 44.3 overs, at 6.17 runs per over.

   It was a smooth ride on the Dhawan, Kohli and Rayudu wave for India, each scoring above 50(Virat scored 49) The first innings, which was of Sri Lanka, conceded many blows and many leads, with Sangakaara at first leading the charge, scored 61, before being caught by Dhawan. Then the man of the inning, Anglo Mathews led the whole innings with his 92* with 10 fours and 1 six, it was surely a captain's knock, who is wanting to write his own legacy.

Akshar patel once again impressed with 2 wickets for 39 runs, much better than the rest of the team.

   Then came the Indian innings, with hitting and losing at both ends, Ajinkya Rahane was out for a slow 19 ball 8, which could have been a blow to India, but India, unaffected, continued! Shikhar smashed 79 and Ajinkya Rahane on the other end, kept scoring, they both shared a partnership of 118.

   Then came Virat, after the dismissal of Shikhar Dhawan, continued as well, with a 49 off 44 balls, unfortunate of not getting that 1 run.

The match came to an end, when India won comfortably by 6 wickets and Ambati Rayudu not out at 121.

Scorecard

The first ODI between Sri Lanka vs India was perfect for an Indian fan, and a bit disappointing one for the Sri Lankan fans. The Indian fans were pleased after the excellent performance, first, by the batsmen who put up a massive 364 runs, a fact one would be reminded of is India have never lost after scoring a 350+ total. This could be mainly due to the lack of Lasith Malinga, Rangana Herath, Nuwan Kulasekara which might have reduced the score a bit.
 
   As the pair of Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan notched up hundreds one each, every Indian fan, except for some(IYKWIM) , were happy, they had also put up a massive opening partnership of 231 runs, which was only the fourth time in the history of ODI cricket, and 2nd by Indians. 

   Then was the turn of Suresh Raina, he came in and absolutely blasted the bowling attack for a fifty off just 33 balls. Suresh Raina also reached 5000 runs in ODIs.

Though Virat Kohli and some others failed, there was not much to be disappointed, as it was teamwork, every small contribution counted, as they say, every run counts and they put up 363 in the end, much more than what was expected from the inexperienced team!  In the end, Akshar Patel smashed blasted the bowler for 2 consecutive beautiful sixes, scoring 14 off just 4 balls to end the innings along with Wriddiman Saha.

   This massive score was to be defended by the bowling attack, which lacked Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami and many more experienced bowlers. So it was quite a piece of cake for the Sri Lankans to reach the target, but it wasn't as it seemed, as Ishant Sharma and other bowlers joined in the fun,  tearing the Sri Lankan batting order apart.

   There was not much to be seen from the Sri lankan innings, the starting with a slow 53 balls 28 from Upul Tharanga, the only batsman successful was Mahela Jayawardane who fought till the end, with a 43. Umesh Yadav(2-24) , Ishant Sharma(4-34) and Akshar Patel(2-24) finished the Sri Lankans!

Scorecard: View

Image Courtesy: BCCI, ESPN Cricinfo

The series between India and Sri Lanka that starts today is a good chance to gain exposure and fame for both the teams. This series, that is a result of the cancellation of the series between West Indies and India which included many matches and would have stretched a long time ahead. 

Anyways, this series has the biggest benefit for India, they will gain the No.1 ODI Ranking. If India wins with 4-1, India will be at 115 points along with South Africa, but a 5-0 sweep will get India to the number one spot in ODIs.

The luck isn't so good with the guests, as they will be at 115 points with South Africa even after winning the series by 5-0, a 4-1 win will get them swap places with India.

A better opportunity will be for Virat Kohli as well, as a couple of good performances will get him to the No.1 ODI Batsman rankings. He is ranked 3rd behind the top ranked AB De Villiers trailing by 30 points, and Hashim Amla.

Virat Kohli will be aiming to regain the number-one spot in ICC ODI rankings for batsmen.

 Anyways, whatever happens, let's hope for the best! ;) Don't miss it, catch it on SS1, SSHD1 and SS3 in Hindi.

Now after splendid action and the cancellation of the Vizag ODI due to the severe Cyclone, there is a bad news for cricket fans:

   The Dharamasala ODI will be the last match of the series. News says the players are leaving the series due to the West indies cricket board payment dispute.

   This is a huge setback for the people who wanted to see more Cricket action before India leaves for Australia, and moreover the biggest nightmare for the emerging player-Kuldeep Yadav and players who wanted to see more from Virat Kohli and other team members as Virat has been back from the slump after a long time.

Virat Kohli during the ODI in Delhi