I am yet to come to terms with what appears to be a rather weird idea from Mr. John Buchanan about using multiple captains for Kolkata Knight Riders for the second edition of IPL. What was he thinking? It’s hard to figure out the logic behind it- assuming there’s any! Is it the same game of Cricket that I have been following all my life? I am glad that he wasn’t talking this rubbish in the same pub in which Ian Chappell was having a drink with Shane Warne – there would have been no guarantee for his life!
However, if you had read or even skimmed through his book “If better is possible” you wouldn’t be too surprised with his novel idea. I must admit that I haven’t read the book completely but skimmed through it in a bookshop and even that was not a pleasant experience. It is full of buzzwords and corporate style management jargons and would have fitted perfectly in the company of Stephen Covey books! If he ever cares to read “Strategy Safari” or “Fooled by Randomness” in his life, he would be ashamed of having written such a book.
Also not so long ago he had another novel idea – to train all Australian cricketers to be ambidextrous! Imagine that for a while…. “Hey Ricky, you know why you struggle against Harbhajan – its because you are a right hander. You should start batting left-handed to tackle his threat better. If you are not convinced, go through this research of mine which proves that left handers have a 75% greater probability of success against Harbhajan than right handers”. I know I am exaggerating, but knowing Buchanan its hard to believe that such an act is beyond him.
The problem with Buchanan is that he has built this reputation as a masterful strategist because of his glorified success as the coach of the invincible Australian team. But how much of Australia's success can be attributed to the coaching skills of Buchanan is not even debatable, it’s surely negligible. I could have done as good a job if not better if I had the quality of players that Australia had in his tenure. Maybe he could be given the credit of not being a disruptive influence in a champion team (at least he is better then Greg Chappell!).
What amazes me more than his idea is his conviction of the idea as the next big thing in cricket. He articulates that cricket has changed a lot since the advent of T-20 and having multiple captains is to keep pace with that. And when someone reminded him that India had won the T-20 world cup under one captain, his response was:
"At the time there wasn't much research done about the Twenty20 format. I don't want to undermine India's achievement. But it's true that most of the renowned international players were missing then. The state-level players showed more efficiency and sharpness during the tournament. Gone are those days. The world of franchises has completely changed the face of Twenty20 cricket, The game is progressing”
Much research? So what have you done now? We are living in a time where in we are paying the price for adopting some nobel prize winning research in financial economics and here he is talking about research in cricket. Surely there’s something wrong with him. He is taking himself too seriously here. Maybe SRK should send him to some anti-narcissistic therapy clinic.
If anything, the advent of T-20 has reinforced the importance of good captaincy and leadership. Its hard to convince oneself that India would have done just as well in the world cup had the captain been someone else and not Dhoni. Just compare the videotapes of Collingwood’s restless discussions with Stuart Broad ball after ball when Yuvraj hit him for six consecutive 6’s and Dhoni’s calm and composed demeanor when Misbah-ul- haq hit Harbhajan for three 6’s in an over to completely tilt the balance in a world cup final. A good captain makes that critical difference between a secure and an insecure team. However, Buchanan wants the opposite, he wants even the captain to feel insecure!
And what about Rajasthan Royals? Take Shane Warne out and see if you can even entertain thoughts of Rajasthan Royals being the champions of IPL. The influence of Shane Warne on the team was so huge that almost everyone in the team surpassed themselves. They did not have the superstars, the million dollar players, but they had a captain who commanded respect, who was tactically brilliant and who liberated his little known players to express themselves on a grand stage. I agree that luck and skills are inseparable in evaluating a captain but cricketing instincts in us generally does a good job of differentiating a good captain from a bad one even though the scale may vary.
What an irony that Buchanan wants to try this idea out in the same tournament, which emphatically vindicated the long held (and sometimes over hyped) significance of a captain. As an add on, it also put the role of a coach in perspective (if you remember Royals did not have a coach at all! But had Jeremey Snape as a mentor). Not so long ago Indian cricket team played some of its best cricket especially overseas when it did not have a coach. I don’t mean to take anything away from a good coach. Gary Kirsten is doing a fine job for the Indian team now and so did John Wright during his tenure. Despite his dogmatic belief on coaches, Ian Chappell was not too far off the mark when he said that a good coach could make about a 5% difference to the team. And that’s all the respect that Mr. Buchanan deserves.
But Mr.Buchanan is not happy with that. He wants to be an avant-garde in cricket, to be known as the man who revolutionized cricket completely! In the process, he’s wiping away whatever little legacy he had built as a tactically sound coach. Had Buchanan lived in anonymity after his reign as coach of the Australian team we would have never known how bad he was. Thanks to his second innings with KKR, we now know the cricketing acumen of the most successful cricket coach of all time! As Warren Buffet famously said, ‘It is only when the tide goes out that you know who was swimming naked,’ Now we all know!
Friday, March 27, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
In Defense of BCCI
Not even in my nightmares have I imagined that there would be a day when I would opine in defense of BCCI. But fortunately or unfortunately, I am having to do it now courtesy the extraordinarily over the top reaction of media and opinion leaders to BCCI’s resilience (or stubbornness as some would like to call it) in ensuring that IPL happens on schedule. From casual bloggers to editors of venerable newspapers, everyone has done their bit of BCCI bashing or more specifically Lalit Modi bashing.
Before proceeding any further, I want to make my stance on this very clear. I honestly think that BCCI should have been more proactive and less hot headed in working with the government once the election schedules were known and more so post the terrorist attack on Srilankan cricketers in Pakistan. It shouldn’t have taken the government for granted.
At the same time I also believe that government was too indecisive and was giving inconsistent statements on its ability to provide security support to host IPL. Surely it’s no shame to admit that they can’t provide adequate security for IPL considering the extraordinary logistical requirements of the world’s most complex election process. At least that would have made it easier for both the government and IPL to move on.
Except for BJP none would have had a problem with it and BJP is not a representative of BCCI – let’s not direct our criticism at the wrong place! Everyone understands that the government was in a real corridor of uncertainty over this issue and any unrealistic security assurance could have been catastrophic for the country’ image if some untoward incident had to happen. Better to be safe than sorry.
Now to the defense of BCCI.
Why can’t BCCI understand that the election of the world’s largest democracy is far more important than IPL?
Did Lalit Modi ever say that election should be postponed or cancelled because it coincides with IPL? He’s the commissioner of IPL and it’s his duty to ensure that the tournament goes ahead by managing the constraints surrounding the tournament. And he provided as much flexibility in the scheduling of matches as he possibly could by preparing various permutations and combinations of match schedules. It still wasn’t acceptable to the government and hence the decision to move IPL to an offshore location was made.
But why couldn’t BCCI have postponed it?
It’s a joke. With the international calendar so tightly packed, postponing would have effectively meant canceling the second edition of IPL. Don’t forget that ICC found it very difficult to find a slot in the cricketing calendar for hosting the champions trophy which was to be held in Pakistan last year and BCCI themselves are facing the same problem in trying to accommodate the champions league.
It’s no sin to cancel IPL for the sake of national interests?
Well, what’s the national interest that is being compromised by hosting IPL in offshore venue? Would people not go to voting ballots because they would be watching IPL matches in the evenings??? Do we all stop working because elections are on? Let’s stop getting jingoistic and be pragmatic. The cost of canceling IPL is humongous. There’s huge money riding on it and that’s not all. IPL is the showpiece event in cricket – probably even bigger than the world cup. And if you believe it’s just because of the money involved then you are a fake purist. If it was money alone, why didn’t the world embrace the Twenty-20 for $20mio farce of Allen Stanford? The quality of cricket on display in the first edition was top notch; just watch the videotape of Shane Warne working out M.S.Dhoni in an over of masterful deceit. Only a catastrophe of huge magnitude would result in the show-piece event of any sport being scrapped.
But what a shame that a domestic tournament is going to be held in an offshore venue?
As I have said before IPL is more than a domestic tournament. It’s changed the dynamics of Cricket as a game within a year of its formation. Agreed IPL will lose its charm if it’s not held in India but do we have a choice? For all you know, it might be able to garner a greater international interest than the last edition because of the move to an offshore location.
Also for years, we never played Pakistan in either India or Pakistan but in neutral venues – its not so shameful after all!
What’s the fuss about IPL? It’s all hype, Test cricket is real cricket. It’s all because of the money.
Yes, who’s denying that? If I have to make a choice between Test cricket and T-20, I would most obviously go for Test Cricket. But that’s not even a point of argument here. And there’s nothing immoral about the huge sums of money involved in IPL. If you don’t like it don’t watch it – simple. And BCCI didn’t pour the money into IPL; it’s the followers who have ensured that BCCI is laughing all the way to the bank by embracing the tournament so well. At the end of the day, if the cricket is not attractive the money will eventually drain away.
Mr.Chidambaram was so right about IPL. - "It appears that IPL is more than a game. It is a shrewd combination of sport and business. There is no reason to add politics to this combination,"
Yes he was. So how does that reflect badly on BCCI? He was not reacting just to BCCI members but also to the political fraternity who were gaining mileage out of this issue. Let’s not forget that Lalit Modi (for once) has also been politically correct by asking the media not to politicize the issue of moving IPL out of India.
Surely Lalit Modi hasn’t been a saint in handling such a sensitive issue but doesn’t deserve all the brickbats that he is getting now for doing what was the only pragmatic option left.
Before proceeding any further, I want to make my stance on this very clear. I honestly think that BCCI should have been more proactive and less hot headed in working with the government once the election schedules were known and more so post the terrorist attack on Srilankan cricketers in Pakistan. It shouldn’t have taken the government for granted.
At the same time I also believe that government was too indecisive and was giving inconsistent statements on its ability to provide security support to host IPL. Surely it’s no shame to admit that they can’t provide adequate security for IPL considering the extraordinary logistical requirements of the world’s most complex election process. At least that would have made it easier for both the government and IPL to move on.
Except for BJP none would have had a problem with it and BJP is not a representative of BCCI – let’s not direct our criticism at the wrong place! Everyone understands that the government was in a real corridor of uncertainty over this issue and any unrealistic security assurance could have been catastrophic for the country’ image if some untoward incident had to happen. Better to be safe than sorry.
Now to the defense of BCCI.
Why can’t BCCI understand that the election of the world’s largest democracy is far more important than IPL?
Did Lalit Modi ever say that election should be postponed or cancelled because it coincides with IPL? He’s the commissioner of IPL and it’s his duty to ensure that the tournament goes ahead by managing the constraints surrounding the tournament. And he provided as much flexibility in the scheduling of matches as he possibly could by preparing various permutations and combinations of match schedules. It still wasn’t acceptable to the government and hence the decision to move IPL to an offshore location was made.
But why couldn’t BCCI have postponed it?
It’s a joke. With the international calendar so tightly packed, postponing would have effectively meant canceling the second edition of IPL. Don’t forget that ICC found it very difficult to find a slot in the cricketing calendar for hosting the champions trophy which was to be held in Pakistan last year and BCCI themselves are facing the same problem in trying to accommodate the champions league.
It’s no sin to cancel IPL for the sake of national interests?
Well, what’s the national interest that is being compromised by hosting IPL in offshore venue? Would people not go to voting ballots because they would be watching IPL matches in the evenings??? Do we all stop working because elections are on? Let’s stop getting jingoistic and be pragmatic. The cost of canceling IPL is humongous. There’s huge money riding on it and that’s not all. IPL is the showpiece event in cricket – probably even bigger than the world cup. And if you believe it’s just because of the money involved then you are a fake purist. If it was money alone, why didn’t the world embrace the Twenty-20 for $20mio farce of Allen Stanford? The quality of cricket on display in the first edition was top notch; just watch the videotape of Shane Warne working out M.S.Dhoni in an over of masterful deceit. Only a catastrophe of huge magnitude would result in the show-piece event of any sport being scrapped.
But what a shame that a domestic tournament is going to be held in an offshore venue?
As I have said before IPL is more than a domestic tournament. It’s changed the dynamics of Cricket as a game within a year of its formation. Agreed IPL will lose its charm if it’s not held in India but do we have a choice? For all you know, it might be able to garner a greater international interest than the last edition because of the move to an offshore location.
Also for years, we never played Pakistan in either India or Pakistan but in neutral venues – its not so shameful after all!
What’s the fuss about IPL? It’s all hype, Test cricket is real cricket. It’s all because of the money.
Yes, who’s denying that? If I have to make a choice between Test cricket and T-20, I would most obviously go for Test Cricket. But that’s not even a point of argument here. And there’s nothing immoral about the huge sums of money involved in IPL. If you don’t like it don’t watch it – simple. And BCCI didn’t pour the money into IPL; it’s the followers who have ensured that BCCI is laughing all the way to the bank by embracing the tournament so well. At the end of the day, if the cricket is not attractive the money will eventually drain away.
Mr.Chidambaram was so right about IPL. - "It appears that IPL is more than a game. It is a shrewd combination of sport and business. There is no reason to add politics to this combination,"
Yes he was. So how does that reflect badly on BCCI? He was not reacting just to BCCI members but also to the political fraternity who were gaining mileage out of this issue. Let’s not forget that Lalit Modi (for once) has also been politically correct by asking the media not to politicize the issue of moving IPL out of India.
Surely Lalit Modi hasn’t been a saint in handling such a sensitive issue but doesn’t deserve all the brickbats that he is getting now for doing what was the only pragmatic option left.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Welcome to Indian Political League
Politics and BCCI have never been far away. To move Jagmohan Dalmiya out, it required a man of Sharad Pawar’s political stature. Lalit Modi’s nexus with ex-Rajasthan chief minister is too well known. And a lot of the state cricket associations’ office bearers are affiliated to various political parties as well. So any talk of seperating cricket from politics in India is living in denial of reality.
After weeks of ping ponging with the government, the BCCI has finally acted decisive or is it a blackmail? Despite preparing nearly 50 possible schedules as alternatives to factor in almost all possible scenarios, IPL officials could not get the government to give a clear go ahead for the second edition of IPL.
Along the way Maharashtra government announced their support to hold IPL in Mumbai with modified schedule and withdrew soon, Rahul Gandhi expressed his interest to utilize IPL slots for election campaign advertising until Lalit Modi said no to any political advertising in IPL and Lalit Modi lost a none too irrelevant election in Rajasthan Cricket Association. No wonder that IPL venue for Rajasthan Royals was shifted even before election security issues cropped up.
So what’s the real issue here? The rhetoric of “which is more important to the country – Elections or IPL?” hardly makes sense. Does the EPL stop when there are elections in England? No, so why should it be a problem here. But that’s because EPL doesn’t ask for paramilitary forces from the government to be able to conduct its tournament. So once the IPL has asked for it (sad after effects of Mumbai attack and more importantly the recent attack on Srilankan cricketers in Pakistan), they have no choice but to work around the government’s constraints (however real or unreal they maybe).
It all looks fine so far. So isn’t taking IPL offshore the most sensible solution albeit all the compromises involved. But its fine only if there is nothing more to it than what meets the eye. But that’s hardly a convincing hypothesis. Surely there seems to be political power play at work. BCCI was either too ignorant or too arrogant to not figure out that the Pakistani attack had huge ramifications on IPL and that coupled with the announcement of election schedule should have ensured they were working with the government from the early stages to sort out the security arrangements. But they were busy assuring the media that India is a safe country and it’ll go ahead as per schedule and presumed its their birthright to ask for paramilitary forces for security support.
The government on its part never displayed any conviction on the issue. One day Mr.Chidambaram articulates that elections and security is more important than IPL and hence there’s no other choice but to postpone it. Another day he says that everything will be done to ensure IPL happens in India closer to the original schedule. And state governments haven’t been any different. Already there’s a conspiracy theory floating around - that in Recessionary times, corporates who generally contribute to political campaigns will be pulling the plug and add that to the fact some of the big corporates of the country own IPL franchises for which they have to shell out huge sums. Is this conflict of interest which is the cause of all this political play is anybody’s speculation…
The irony is even without any political overtones the decision to conduct IPL in offshore venue in the given circumstances may just be the most sensible one! And any argument about Indian public being denied the pleasure of supporting their favorite team in the stadiums is redundant. Supporting your favourite team on television is still a better choice than not having a chance to support your team at all. And any argument against holding a domestic tournament in offshore location is absurd to say the least. IPL is a domestic tournament only for technical definition, its impact is far beyond, and it’s simply the best cricket tournament in the world involving the galaxy of best cricketers in the world.
Not many people believed that IPL would turn out to be such a smashing success in the first edition especially given the fact that it was organized in such a short span of time. So for all the drama and constraints surrounding the second edition, IPL might just be able to surprise all of us by putting on a grand show again wherever it is held. And the critical component for that is the quality of cricket on display. Thankfully that can’t be influenced by political power play!
After weeks of ping ponging with the government, the BCCI has finally acted decisive or is it a blackmail? Despite preparing nearly 50 possible schedules as alternatives to factor in almost all possible scenarios, IPL officials could not get the government to give a clear go ahead for the second edition of IPL.
Along the way Maharashtra government announced their support to hold IPL in Mumbai with modified schedule and withdrew soon, Rahul Gandhi expressed his interest to utilize IPL slots for election campaign advertising until Lalit Modi said no to any political advertising in IPL and Lalit Modi lost a none too irrelevant election in Rajasthan Cricket Association. No wonder that IPL venue for Rajasthan Royals was shifted even before election security issues cropped up.
So what’s the real issue here? The rhetoric of “which is more important to the country – Elections or IPL?” hardly makes sense. Does the EPL stop when there are elections in England? No, so why should it be a problem here. But that’s because EPL doesn’t ask for paramilitary forces from the government to be able to conduct its tournament. So once the IPL has asked for it (sad after effects of Mumbai attack and more importantly the recent attack on Srilankan cricketers in Pakistan), they have no choice but to work around the government’s constraints (however real or unreal they maybe).
It all looks fine so far. So isn’t taking IPL offshore the most sensible solution albeit all the compromises involved. But its fine only if there is nothing more to it than what meets the eye. But that’s hardly a convincing hypothesis. Surely there seems to be political power play at work. BCCI was either too ignorant or too arrogant to not figure out that the Pakistani attack had huge ramifications on IPL and that coupled with the announcement of election schedule should have ensured they were working with the government from the early stages to sort out the security arrangements. But they were busy assuring the media that India is a safe country and it’ll go ahead as per schedule and presumed its their birthright to ask for paramilitary forces for security support.
The government on its part never displayed any conviction on the issue. One day Mr.Chidambaram articulates that elections and security is more important than IPL and hence there’s no other choice but to postpone it. Another day he says that everything will be done to ensure IPL happens in India closer to the original schedule. And state governments haven’t been any different. Already there’s a conspiracy theory floating around - that in Recessionary times, corporates who generally contribute to political campaigns will be pulling the plug and add that to the fact some of the big corporates of the country own IPL franchises for which they have to shell out huge sums. Is this conflict of interest which is the cause of all this political play is anybody’s speculation…
The irony is even without any political overtones the decision to conduct IPL in offshore venue in the given circumstances may just be the most sensible one! And any argument about Indian public being denied the pleasure of supporting their favorite team in the stadiums is redundant. Supporting your favourite team on television is still a better choice than not having a chance to support your team at all. And any argument against holding a domestic tournament in offshore location is absurd to say the least. IPL is a domestic tournament only for technical definition, its impact is far beyond, and it’s simply the best cricket tournament in the world involving the galaxy of best cricketers in the world.
Not many people believed that IPL would turn out to be such a smashing success in the first edition especially given the fact that it was organized in such a short span of time. So for all the drama and constraints surrounding the second edition, IPL might just be able to surprise all of us by putting on a grand show again wherever it is held. And the critical component for that is the quality of cricket on display. Thankfully that can’t be influenced by political power play!
Friday, March 20, 2009
The most complete meaning for the word "Balance"
The top four searches for the meaning of the word "Balance" in Dictionary.com produced the following results:
1. a state of equilibrium or equipoise; equal distribution of weight, amount, etc.
2. something used to produce equilibrium; counterpoise.
3. mental steadiness or emotional stability; habit of calm behavior, judgment, etc.
4. a state of bodily equilibrium:
But none of these capture the essence of the word as much as this image.
This is balance.
1. a state of equilibrium or equipoise; equal distribution of weight, amount, etc.
2. something used to produce equilibrium; counterpoise.
3. mental steadiness or emotional stability; habit of calm behavior, judgment, etc.
4. a state of bodily equilibrium:
But none of these capture the essence of the word as much as this image.
This is balance.
Poetically Sachin...
It’s always a risky proposition to wake up early in the morning to watch India play in New Zealand. Except for the one-day series in 1994, when Sachin opened the batting for the first time, it has generally been a story of disappointment. To wake up early on the second day of the first test with all the excitement of watching Sehwag tear the NZ attack apart ended in vain. I was just beginning to get a sense of Déjà vu.
But even before I could start regretting waking up so early, the sight of Rahul Dravid in his elements filled the heart with warmth. The return of the trademark classic square cut erased any doubts if Dravid had completely recovered from his form slump. That alone is worth every minute of lost sleep. Add that to the fact that Gambhir played a characteristically spunky innings and the day ending with Sachin priming up once the new ball was taken and promising plenty for the next day.
Surely to wake up early or not is not even a question for the third day. Anyone who saw Sachin’s backfoot punch to the covers to bring up his fifty the previous day would have felt something special was in store. And how special it turned out to be!
The day started with a gorgeous front foot cover-drive and was followed by an even better backfoot cover-drive. There was the “I’ll hit it even in my deep sleep” flick off the pads for a boundary and a brilliant square cut which had the sweeper cover struggling to cover hardly 10 yards of ground. Then there was a "flick of the wrist" straight drive (yes, you read it right!) followed by his signature straight drive without any follow through at all. And how about that tap over the slips and the civilized slog sweep! This innings had it all.
Today the poet’s son was composing a poem of a different genre that can’t be read but can only be felt… And if you didn’t feel it then you can only be an atheist!
But even before I could start regretting waking up so early, the sight of Rahul Dravid in his elements filled the heart with warmth. The return of the trademark classic square cut erased any doubts if Dravid had completely recovered from his form slump. That alone is worth every minute of lost sleep. Add that to the fact that Gambhir played a characteristically spunky innings and the day ending with Sachin priming up once the new ball was taken and promising plenty for the next day.
Surely to wake up early or not is not even a question for the third day. Anyone who saw Sachin’s backfoot punch to the covers to bring up his fifty the previous day would have felt something special was in store. And how special it turned out to be!
The day started with a gorgeous front foot cover-drive and was followed by an even better backfoot cover-drive. There was the “I’ll hit it even in my deep sleep” flick off the pads for a boundary and a brilliant square cut which had the sweeper cover struggling to cover hardly 10 yards of ground. Then there was a "flick of the wrist" straight drive (yes, you read it right!) followed by his signature straight drive without any follow through at all. And how about that tap over the slips and the civilized slog sweep! This innings had it all.
Today the poet’s son was composing a poem of a different genre that can’t be read but can only be felt… And if you didn’t feel it then you can only be an atheist!
Monday, March 9, 2009
40 what?
http://cricketnext.in.com/news/fanspeak-piece-of-the-week-40-what/39126-13.html
For all the talks of Sachin’s waning powers, he’s still one of the best in business. The fact that he was superior before shouldn’t be held against him now and more so when he proves to be just as effective to the team’s cause. Admittedly he’s playing only half of the repertoire of shots that he’s capable of. Surely we’ll never see another innings like his 155 against Shane Warne & co in Chepauk. But even with half his repertoire of shots, he’s better than most of the rest.
And we just saw an evidence of that at Christchurch a couple of days back. In his pomp he could have been more effective, belligerent, entertaining but he wasn’t far-off the other day. He may not be dancing down the track and hitting over the top anymore but he’s become more inventive these days. Can you imagine a swept six of a fast bowler? Even I couldn’t till I saw Sachin do it! And what about that late (should I say latest) glide to third man off a near perfect yorker, the many varieties of paddle sweeps (in fact some of them should be called reverse straight drives) and that slice over slips of a fast bowler.
As much as we regret missing the once instinctive pull and hook from that MRF blade, let’s also celebrate the new found inventiveness in his batting. His batting may not be as exciting as it used to be but it’s just as skillful and artistic. A lot of media content has been spent on putting that Sachin’s 163 in perspective by reasoning out the smallness of the ground and trueness of the pitch.
Well, when were the pitches not true in ODIs? I’ll have to go back at least a decade and hope to recollect something. The small boundaries were a sorry sight but that’s always been the case in NZ. At least it’s better than IPL where even in big grounds, the boundaries were pulled up by more than 10 meters! It was not a great innings by Sachin’s standards but still it was an innings worth celebrating and not be demeaned by factors that are just as common everywhere.
It’s so ironic that in a country where he is literally worshipped by millions and millions of people, so many of us (sometimes including himself) are not sure of how many hundreds he has scored in ODI’s. We all know its 40 odd but the exact number? That’s the problem when you score too many of them. We know it in test matches because Ricky Ponting is close on his heels but in ODI’s there’s no one in sight and presumably no one will ever be. And that’s the measure of the man. He’s his own benchmark – however unfair that is!!!
For all the talks of Sachin’s waning powers, he’s still one of the best in business. The fact that he was superior before shouldn’t be held against him now and more so when he proves to be just as effective to the team’s cause. Admittedly he’s playing only half of the repertoire of shots that he’s capable of. Surely we’ll never see another innings like his 155 against Shane Warne & co in Chepauk. But even with half his repertoire of shots, he’s better than most of the rest.
And we just saw an evidence of that at Christchurch a couple of days back. In his pomp he could have been more effective, belligerent, entertaining but he wasn’t far-off the other day. He may not be dancing down the track and hitting over the top anymore but he’s become more inventive these days. Can you imagine a swept six of a fast bowler? Even I couldn’t till I saw Sachin do it! And what about that late (should I say latest) glide to third man off a near perfect yorker, the many varieties of paddle sweeps (in fact some of them should be called reverse straight drives) and that slice over slips of a fast bowler.
As much as we regret missing the once instinctive pull and hook from that MRF blade, let’s also celebrate the new found inventiveness in his batting. His batting may not be as exciting as it used to be but it’s just as skillful and artistic. A lot of media content has been spent on putting that Sachin’s 163 in perspective by reasoning out the smallness of the ground and trueness of the pitch.
Well, when were the pitches not true in ODIs? I’ll have to go back at least a decade and hope to recollect something. The small boundaries were a sorry sight but that’s always been the case in NZ. At least it’s better than IPL where even in big grounds, the boundaries were pulled up by more than 10 meters! It was not a great innings by Sachin’s standards but still it was an innings worth celebrating and not be demeaned by factors that are just as common everywhere.
It’s so ironic that in a country where he is literally worshipped by millions and millions of people, so many of us (sometimes including himself) are not sure of how many hundreds he has scored in ODI’s. We all know its 40 odd but the exact number? That’s the problem when you score too many of them. We know it in test matches because Ricky Ponting is close on his heels but in ODI’s there’s no one in sight and presumably no one will ever be. And that’s the measure of the man. He’s his own benchmark – however unfair that is!!!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
“It’s just a bloody game of cricket and we are in a war”
Simon Taufel summed it up so well. Cricket seems so trivial all of a sudden. It was so unreal. I have been wanting to write about the audacious attack on Srilanka for a couple of days but somehow I am not able to get the words to express my emotions at the moment. The following extract of a moving piece written by Sambit Bal in Cricinfo after the Mumbai attack, describes exactly how I am feeling now:
“……men who have purged from their souls every trace of humanity - let's not confer on them the dignity of a religion - and I have felt the blood drain out of me. I have felt a sense of paralysis and rage. My family and I are safe at home, none of my friends were in the hotels or at the other attack sites; but I am numb, not with fear or personal loss, but something far deeper: a sense of overpowering bleakness"
http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/379988.html
Even though the context is different between the Mumbai attack and this one, there’s a sense of déjà vu about it. If anything the Lahore attack is all the more audacious given the scale of security measures expected to be in place for such an important cricket series. Given the ease with which the terrorists were able to attack and flee the place, serious questions ought to be asked.
Already Murali has raised some critical questions and so have Simon Taufel & Chris Broad. Surely it can’t be so easy. I can’t ride my bike in the surrounding lanes of Chepauk during any international match as part of the security measures, but for a series with so much at stake, whatever the PCB assured as presidential level security was woefully short. Was there some internal help for the terrorists or was it just negligence of the highest order? Hopefully we’ll get an answer soon.
“……men who have purged from their souls every trace of humanity - let's not confer on them the dignity of a religion - and I have felt the blood drain out of me. I have felt a sense of paralysis and rage. My family and I are safe at home, none of my friends were in the hotels or at the other attack sites; but I am numb, not with fear or personal loss, but something far deeper: a sense of overpowering bleakness"
http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/379988.html
Even though the context is different between the Mumbai attack and this one, there’s a sense of déjà vu about it. If anything the Lahore attack is all the more audacious given the scale of security measures expected to be in place for such an important cricket series. Given the ease with which the terrorists were able to attack and flee the place, serious questions ought to be asked.
Already Murali has raised some critical questions and so have Simon Taufel & Chris Broad. Surely it can’t be so easy. I can’t ride my bike in the surrounding lanes of Chepauk during any international match as part of the security measures, but for a series with so much at stake, whatever the PCB assured as presidential level security was woefully short. Was there some internal help for the terrorists or was it just negligence of the highest order? Hopefully we’ll get an answer soon.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
The legend of "D" Stand
There’s something special about watching a test match live in the stadium. It’s a feeling that can never quite be explained in words. You just have to experience it. It is almost irrational that people pay money to go to the stadium to watch cricket from such a long distance where sometimes they can’t figure out if an appeal is for a catch or an LBW! And imagine the alternative of watching it on TV, you can sit on your couch, watch every ball up and close, get to watch replays, Hotspot, Hawkeye, Commentary and what not! And the best part is if your team is not doing well, switch the channel and watch something else. But why do people still go to the stadium? As I said before - Go there and experience it, you will know why.
Since I have come to Chennai, I have not missed a single international match at Chepauk. I believe the most interesting aspect of watching cricket in the stadium is that one gets to connect with the reality of sports. When we watch it on TV, we almost treat sportsmen like some robots who have no right to normal human inadequacy. But there you see them sweat it out live, you understand how tough it’s to play under extreme heat, you see a fielder drop a tough catch and still applaud it for a valiant attempt, you see a fast bowler bowling a long spell without any rewards and you give an ovation at the end of the spell. I wonder if these emotions can ever be experienced in watching on TV.
I have been fortunate to be a resident of the city, which has hosted some of the most amazing test matches witnessed in this part of the world. Chepauk also boasts of by far the most sporting crowd in the country – who could forget that standing ovation given for the victorious Pakistan team in 1999! What more, its also Sachin’s favourite hunting ground! Surely it doesn’t get better than this (maybe a full house Eden Gardens when India is in a dominant position), it’s mouth watering stuff….
If watching live in Chepauk is exhilarating, being in the D Stand section of Chepauk is pure bliss! I have seen matches from every part of the ground but none can match the experience of watching it from D Stand. Why? Because it has the straight view. So is the terrace but it is atleast 5 times more expensive and too dignified an atmosphere for a cricket match. B and C have a great festive atmosphere too but don’t quite have the straight view. And since D Stand tickets are primarily given to TNCA members, a lot of the league cricketers and even first class cricketers sit in this part of the stadium.
So there you go – the best view, affordable, festival atmosphere and the most knowledgeable section of the audience! D stand is simply the best place to watch a cricket match. It has given me so many happy memories that it’s only appropriate that my blog address is Dstand.blogspot.com.
Since I have come to Chennai, I have not missed a single international match at Chepauk. I believe the most interesting aspect of watching cricket in the stadium is that one gets to connect with the reality of sports. When we watch it on TV, we almost treat sportsmen like some robots who have no right to normal human inadequacy. But there you see them sweat it out live, you understand how tough it’s to play under extreme heat, you see a fielder drop a tough catch and still applaud it for a valiant attempt, you see a fast bowler bowling a long spell without any rewards and you give an ovation at the end of the spell. I wonder if these emotions can ever be experienced in watching on TV.
I have been fortunate to be a resident of the city, which has hosted some of the most amazing test matches witnessed in this part of the world. Chepauk also boasts of by far the most sporting crowd in the country – who could forget that standing ovation given for the victorious Pakistan team in 1999! What more, its also Sachin’s favourite hunting ground! Surely it doesn’t get better than this (maybe a full house Eden Gardens when India is in a dominant position), it’s mouth watering stuff….
If watching live in Chepauk is exhilarating, being in the D Stand section of Chepauk is pure bliss! I have seen matches from every part of the ground but none can match the experience of watching it from D Stand. Why? Because it has the straight view. So is the terrace but it is atleast 5 times more expensive and too dignified an atmosphere for a cricket match. B and C have a great festive atmosphere too but don’t quite have the straight view. And since D Stand tickets are primarily given to TNCA members, a lot of the league cricketers and even first class cricketers sit in this part of the stadium.
So there you go – the best view, affordable, festival atmosphere and the most knowledgeable section of the audience! D stand is simply the best place to watch a cricket match. It has given me so many happy memories that it’s only appropriate that my blog address is Dstand.blogspot.com.
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