There used to be a time in Indian cricket, when the openers would get out cheaply, Sachin would come in and play an absolute blinder and India would go on to lose the Test match. The last time this happened was in Kingston 2001, and after that if somebody had said to me the next time this would happen is in 2010, I would have laughed myself to death. But, yes this is a sign of India's growth as a Test team and forget what happened today at Nagpur, we can still claim a right to the number 1 spot(come on guys , Dhoni eventually will have to lose one someday). But on the brighter side, Indian cricket and public would have known the true value of Rahul Dravid, and had he been there he would have only got out after tea to Steyn(i wouldnt blame Indian batting, the spell if it had been painted would be hanging in Louvre now!) and that would have been crucial in the long run. I am not even angry that India lost inside 4 days. What made me angry was an article in Cricinfo referring about India's so called bleak future!
http://www.cricinfo.com/indvrsa2010/content/story/447467.html
Bleak future? The so called explanation given was that, in the absence of Dravid and Laxman, and also the see saw form of Yuvi, Indian batting future looks very bleak in the presence of a quality bowling line up.
I could agree with only one fact in the above statement, about SA's bowling, but since when did the future become so bleak for India? And, add to that based on this Test's batting line up?
Poor Saha...For no fault of his, he was dropped from the frying pan into the fire to face the fury. But to his credit, he did bat decently in the second innings for a man playing his first test. Vijay, had his first twin failures in a test match, and that too in his 4th test match to be precise, and Badrinath played a responsible innings which showed more of his temperament than class, and for a debutant showing temperament is very good indeed! Now put your hand on your heart and say that if you are thinking of India's future batting line up, the top 6, will these 3 feature in that?
Surely Vijay, may be Badrinath, but Saha? Ok, let us just say for argument sake that these three would make the future Indian batting line up, the author goes on to say the steadiness of Dravid, the classiness of Laxman would be missed and cannot be replaced. That is true, inspite of whatever we have in future. Just because, we are going to miss something good doesnt mean that whatever we have is bad? And to prove the point, the author goes on to say that when India won after following on Laxman and Dravid were its prinicipal architects!
Agreed- but that was in 2001, while Laxman made his debut in '97 and Dravid in '96. It took them 5 years to come up with a masterpiece like that. To take matters into perspective, India's fab 4 as it was called before Sehwag came into the picture cut a sorry figure when it failed to chase 120 at Barbados against the WI, with only Sachin and Azhar being the experienced guys in a young batting line up consisting of Ganguly, Laxman and Dravid! And I dont have to mention, Bangalore, Karachi, Cape Town, Mumbai etc..( the list is long if we start talking about Indian batting collapses)
We are in the process of making the same mistake the Windies did, trying to replace a legend with another player and expecting him to match the legend's feats.
There cannot be another Dravid, but surely we have enough strength in Pandey, Pujara, Vijay, Raina, Badri, Mukund, Karthik, and may be a long shot..Kaif to fill in the No.3 slot which is not difficult. The guy need not(cannot) bat like Dravid, but if he bats like a proper No.3 thats more than what we ask from him!
If anything is bleak, its our bowling-who after Zaheer, and who is that turbaned guy who looks like Bhajji? Somebody ask Ishant to start bowling like he did in Nagpur 2008? He is increasingly starting to bowl balls that I bowl and thats scaring me.
Showing posts with label Ramki. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ramki. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Best innings of the decade- The ones to miss out...
Whenever, there is a list being compiled, its a tug of war between me and Hesh as to who gets to describe a particular innings or shot or spell. That didnt happen this time as Hesh beat me comfortably by releasing this list, and for once I dont have any regrets about it(except one which missed out)!
Well, here is my list of innings which I feel, narrowly missed out:
Adam Gilchrist 122 vs India Mumbai 2001
99/5, Harbhajan causing a riot, Gilly answers him also with a riot! In a matter of 2 hours he changed the complexion of the game completely....
Rahul Dravid at Jamaica 2006/07
Though it was just a couple of 50s, the fact that it was a very dodgy pitch and nobody from either side crossed 50 in both innings, and this lead to a series victory in Caribbean after 30 years odd, and add to that the quality of shot making he showed on a two paced wicket, this was one of the best efforts from an Indian batsman for a very long time...
Virender Sehwag 319 at Chennai
You come to bat at the end of the 2nd day and score 52 not out on the deadest of pitches when the opposition has scored 550 plus. By the end of the third day, you are talking about your team scoring 700 and getting them out on the 5th! No wonder people have started cults on his name!!
Sachin Tendulkar 155 Bloemfontein 2001
The result was a loss, but the quality of the innings cannot be doubted, nor the situation. 50/4 with two debutants to follow, (forget one of them was Sehwag, we didnt know about him yet!!) he counter attacks the bowling so much that, by the time India was around 100/4 those watching had already decided that SA is going to pay heavily....
Rahul Dravid 180 Eden Gardens 2001
Now whats wrong with this innings that it doesnt feature in Hesh's? It was Dravid's solidity at one end that allowed Laxman to play so freely, on the 4th day. He made 39 of 196 balls in the previous test, to come out and play an innings like this is truely extrodinary...
Andrew Flintoff Edgbaston 2005
Yes, Arun.... we too support English cricketers, but then they have to produce something as special as this. With only, the last wicket for company, Flintoff finally played a special innings, which we were only hearing about for some years from the commentators. Take into account that the margin of victory was only 2 runs, this one is very special indeed...
Kamran Akmal Karachi 2005
Irfan Pathan had made history with a first over hat trick, and at 39/6 Pakistan were staring down the barrel. From a situation like this, there is only one team in the world that can win a test match and thats Pak too, Akmal came in and played a truely magnificent innings, to put them back on course.
Graeme Smith Perth 2008
Any chase in the 4th innings is difficult and that too against Aus, when you are SA you always have demons to slay. But probably, Smith is the one Protea who has actually looked AUS in the eye, and he stood up again to play a captain's knock from which the other guys took inspiration to pull of an incredible chase.
Chandepaul vs Aus 2004
Now, he was the last guy whom you would associate with fastest centuries, but on this day, he was breathtaking. Just when the Aussies think they have seen the back of Lara, and can breathe easily, in comes this man to hammer them into oblivion!
Lara 400 vs England
Forget about the dead pitch, forget this didnt contribute in a win, forget that England had a mediocre attack, put any batsman in the same situation with the same bowlers and ask him to score atleast 150, with half the class, style, grace and timing, and they still wont come near this man....Many were unhappy that Hayden had over taken Lara's record, but then those people had underestimated the Prince....
Well, here is my list of innings which I feel, narrowly missed out:
Adam Gilchrist 122 vs India Mumbai 2001
99/5, Harbhajan causing a riot, Gilly answers him also with a riot! In a matter of 2 hours he changed the complexion of the game completely....
Rahul Dravid at Jamaica 2006/07
Though it was just a couple of 50s, the fact that it was a very dodgy pitch and nobody from either side crossed 50 in both innings, and this lead to a series victory in Caribbean after 30 years odd, and add to that the quality of shot making he showed on a two paced wicket, this was one of the best efforts from an Indian batsman for a very long time...
Virender Sehwag 319 at Chennai
You come to bat at the end of the 2nd day and score 52 not out on the deadest of pitches when the opposition has scored 550 plus. By the end of the third day, you are talking about your team scoring 700 and getting them out on the 5th! No wonder people have started cults on his name!!
Sachin Tendulkar 155 Bloemfontein 2001
The result was a loss, but the quality of the innings cannot be doubted, nor the situation. 50/4 with two debutants to follow, (forget one of them was Sehwag, we didnt know about him yet!!) he counter attacks the bowling so much that, by the time India was around 100/4 those watching had already decided that SA is going to pay heavily....
Rahul Dravid 180 Eden Gardens 2001
Now whats wrong with this innings that it doesnt feature in Hesh's? It was Dravid's solidity at one end that allowed Laxman to play so freely, on the 4th day. He made 39 of 196 balls in the previous test, to come out and play an innings like this is truely extrodinary...
Andrew Flintoff Edgbaston 2005
Yes, Arun.... we too support English cricketers, but then they have to produce something as special as this. With only, the last wicket for company, Flintoff finally played a special innings, which we were only hearing about for some years from the commentators. Take into account that the margin of victory was only 2 runs, this one is very special indeed...
Kamran Akmal Karachi 2005
Irfan Pathan had made history with a first over hat trick, and at 39/6 Pakistan were staring down the barrel. From a situation like this, there is only one team in the world that can win a test match and thats Pak too, Akmal came in and played a truely magnificent innings, to put them back on course.
Graeme Smith Perth 2008
Any chase in the 4th innings is difficult and that too against Aus, when you are SA you always have demons to slay. But probably, Smith is the one Protea who has actually looked AUS in the eye, and he stood up again to play a captain's knock from which the other guys took inspiration to pull of an incredible chase.
Chandepaul vs Aus 2004
Now, he was the last guy whom you would associate with fastest centuries, but on this day, he was breathtaking. Just when the Aussies think they have seen the back of Lara, and can breathe easily, in comes this man to hammer them into oblivion!
Lara 400 vs England
Forget about the dead pitch, forget this didnt contribute in a win, forget that England had a mediocre attack, put any batsman in the same situation with the same bowlers and ask him to score atleast 150, with half the class, style, grace and timing, and they still wont come near this man....Many were unhappy that Hayden had over taken Lara's record, but then those people had underestimated the Prince....
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Following on......
Wow.... I do not have any other words to describe Hesh's blog. It just started a whole train of thoughts in my mind which left me reminiscing the test match all over again(during office hours after a long vacation, with lots of work to do, he he) but I do not have any single point to add on the match which Hesh hasn't mentioned(May be Dravid's spill of Steve Waugh and the whole " you just dropped the Test match mate" but it actually reinforces the point he made, it was theatrical but it wasn't match fixing!!), so I would actually write about my experience of watching the greatest test match of the decade.
Day 1: Those were the days when I used to sit before TV at 8.30 when the match itself starts at 9am regardless of whether it was one day or test or whether India is batting or not, or India is leading the series or trailing it. Toss won by Steve Waugh and he decides to bat, and a small flicker of fear trickles its way into my mind...the last time India lost the toss at Eden Gardens was against South Africa and they lost that match comprehensively(though there was a gem from Azhar) and that gets reinforced when Slater and Hayden start brightly, with nothing in the pitch and a toothless pace attack(no offence to Khan and Prasad, but they were bad that day) I was having half a mind to go to college in the afternoon, with Hayden looking strong, and even though Slater got out, Langer was giving Hayden excellent company and at tea Aussies were truly on top.
I decided, I would go to my friend's place, as I couldn't watch any more and just as I was about to leave Hayden got out to an ill judged shot, and was caught at the deep. I decided to stay back, partly due to India getting a wicket, and also Mark Waugh was coming in to bat, and for the next 30 minutes it was like watching your lover dancing with somebody else(you can't stop watching her dance and admire it,but it still leaves a bitter taste in your mouth) as he was caressing the ball all over the park.
Probably the only person, who was actually saying India has a chance to get even with the Aussies now, was Ian Chappell who was constantly saying Bhajji was bowling well( I could'nt see any difference because Waugh and Langer were playing him easily) but Zaheer came back to dismiss Langer to have Steve Waugh at the crease and I was praying for a run out(another famous Steve quote- there is always a collapse after a run out), the collapse did happen and how!!!
Mark was beaten by a lowly straighter one from Bhajji with Mongia taking a good catch, and Ponting coming in(he was yet to become Harbhajan's bunny!!!) and also looking determined(later we would come to know that it was terror!!!) I wasnt looking for anything special but post tea sessions of any India-Aus tests, would become very significant, exciting, controversial in the coming years and it all started with this session.
Ponting was trapped in front by a straighter one again, and probably the controversial decision of the match-Gilchrist given out lbw the next ball,from round the wicket, though at first look, the ball did hit the back pad, believe it or not, my mom preparing coffee in the kitchen actually said,"Don't worry, Warne is going to get out and Bhajji is taking the hat-trick". Even before she finished the sentence, Ramesh had taken a blinder("probably his most significant contribution to Indian cricket") and the Aussies were on the ropes. Another moment I remember was Steve Waugh signalling for a helmet immediately after Warne got out, which gave me a small shiver,(Me being a Steve Waugh fan, would know the signs, Aussie on the back foot, only with tail enders for company you would not want him to start concentrating) and he was there till the end of the day with Gillespie.
Day 2: I have had many depressing cricketing days in my life, and this would probably be in the top 5. It was as if everything was going against India-umpires, pitch, luck, fate, and the Aussies sensing it were pounding them with pile drivers right in the centre. But this day, probably had what I believe the "Butterfly effect" moment of the match with umpire S.K.Bansal ruling Gillespie not out to a caught behind appeal that was so obvious that Gillespie was actually looking for the hammer to fall from the umpire!!! The moment the appeal was turned down, I knew that this wasn't gonna be our day, and I had a class to attend to in the morning, and we were going for a movie afterwards, so didnt know anything about the score(those were the Neandarthal days-pre cell phone, pre cricinfo) but we came back later to my friends place, where I was gleefully told the score that India's score was 110/7 and then I was asked a whole series of questions as to what the Indian players would be doing for the rest of the two days, will they tour Calcutta or will come to Chennai and hang in Marina Beach...some unparlimentary comments too which couldnt be typed in here.
One of them went as far to bet that if India took the match to the 4th day, he would do whatever I asked him to do!
Day 3- I didnt watch the match in the morning, because I left early, came to know that India was all out for 171(the first significant number of the match!!) and were following on. To be frank, at that moment, I had no idea about Headingley 81 and the heroics of Ian Botham, so was replaying all the other follow on situations in my mind and how likely India can salvage some pride...
We were in college sitting in class when one of the guys came very downcast saying Sachin was gone, and banged the bench so hard, that made us afraid if the lecturer next room could have heard it.
Then the class erupted in confusion...All because of the question -who is at the crease?
Ans: Laxman and Ganguly
Why did Ganguly promote himself to no.3? was the question doing the rounds when the guy clarified that Laxman had come to the crease at 3 and was playing quite well and that may be he will replace Dravid in the next match for the No.3 position, and how Dravid is going to have tough time to get back into the team.
At the end of the day, when I checked the scores I was a little happy, even though India may lose the match, I still have something to cheer about, I had won the bet!
Day 4: Left early again in the morning without switching on the TV, and absolutely didnt even think about it when around 12.30, while passing a group of guys, I heard that Laxman and Dravid were still at the crease. The first thought in my mind was, now this guy is kidding right? Asked them the score and was told that by lunch India were 376/4(376-the second significant number!!!). I dropped all pretense and rushed straight to my friend's home to watch the reminder of the "Rope-a-Dope"- Aussies unfamiliar with being counterattacked were wilting under the pressure, Waugh was looking grumpy, Mcgrath listless, and Warne as if he had no clue what was going on...and on the other hand, Laxman was painting a masterpiece, but wait a minute who was the other guy batting alongside him? This was probably the first match in which Dravid realised his potential when he stays positive in approach(it would pay rich dividends in the next match when he would play probably in my opinion his best innings!!!) The best example was the way he tackled Warne-while Lax was using his height to get to the pitch of the ball Dravid was dancing down the track when Warne came around the wicket. Laxman going past Gavaskar as the then highest scorer with an inside out cover drive, Dravid pointing his helmet at the press box after his century would forever be etched in my memory. All my thoughts for Day 5 were this- play till lunch and dont give the Aussies time and we should surely draw this match which is a fantastic achievement.
Day 5- One of my friends had some work to be done, and he didnt want to go at it alone,and called me, I couldnt say no, so went with him which took me most part of the morning and I came just after lunch at my friend's place to watch Hayden and Slater playing at the target of 384 runs.I was a little bit disappointed that Laxman couldnt get 300, and was horrified when Prasad dropped a regulation sitter of Slater.Slater isnt a slow poke and if Gilchrist comes at 3 and they stay there for 30 overs anything could happen, only for Slater to get out to Bhajji once again, and by this time we could see that Bhajji takes wickets in clusters and wasnt surprised when he got Langer top edging a sweep to short fine leg.
Raju got into the act with his only wicket(his last wicket in Test cricket!!) of the match, an absolute beauty to get Mark Waugh, and we watched in horror as Dravid dropped Steve Waugh at short leg of Bhajji("You just dropped the test match mate").
At tea, with Hayden and Waugh still batting, the only thought in my mind was, from here India can't lose, 18-0 wouldnt happen, and we have a great chance of levelling in Chennai, and the final frontier still stands(off course I didnt know at the moment that a draw would have given Aus the trophy!). But, the first day post tea session was a cracker, how would this one be?
Well, this one made that look like a benign lake! And the surprise factor was Sachin coming to pick 3 of the 7 wickets to fall! Waugh gone exactly the same way he was dropped, Badani taking the catch, Ponting to a stroke which would have all our friends ROTFL even now, Gilly to a perfect leg break, Warne to a beauty of a googly that even he would never bowl in his career, Hayden again to a similar shot of Gilly's LBW, but then Gillespie and Kasper delayed the impossible, and I saw the final Mcgrath wicket alone at my friend's house and for another 5 minutes was just staring in disbelief at what just happened....
In my opinion this would be the greatest test match of all in my life time and I can't imagine another to follow on its steps. But again...one cant't be sure what will happen while following on isnt it??
P.S- I asked my friend to run up and down the street he lived shouting Indian team is the best 3 times for losing the bet. Fair guy, he did it too!!!
Friday, December 11, 2009
Audacious!!!!
Boy....I am bitten by the Sehwag bug now, after readin hesh's blog. One of my cousins is an avid Indian critic. He is the so called Nakkeran of our family that he finds faults in everything India does!!! He just said one word way back in 2003 after watching Sehwag bat against NZ in a one dayer during the horror series there- Audacious!!!
Audacious?
Googled the word and this is what i got..
extremely bold or daring; recklessly brave; fearless
Well, in due course Sehwag would be added to the meaning!!
Some of Sehwag's audacious strokes...
1. 195 Melbourne 2003
To me, no innings Sehwag has played or will play beats this innings. Purely, because it was against a very good attack on a ground in which India had a poor record on the first day of a test match. Two strokes stand out in my memory...
1. Steve Waugh bowling the last over before tea, tempts Sehwag with a slower one, of the last ball- the ball lands in the stands over the watching long off's head 3 seconds later!!!
2. Dravid is gone, Tendulkar out first ball, Ganguly in a spot of bother the other end and Sehwag is off the strike for 3 to 4 overs. Waugh brings back Macgill, and with a deep mid wicket, long on and square leg, bowls a perfect leg spinner first ball pitching around middle and off, a nice flighted leg spinner....only to see it disappear into the orbit over the deep midwicket!!!
18 at Chennai 2004
I was privileged to watch his 155 in Chennai, which was an absolute master piece, but to me the shot of the match was this...Mcgrath bowling the last over of the 4th day...220 to chase...a typically perfect Mcgrath delivery drilled straight down the ground for four....and after hitting it just turned around and started walking towards the pavilion!!! It was a pity the 5th day washed out...or else the final frontier would have still been there!!!!
Champions Trophy 2002 2nd final vs Srilanka
It has started raining again, the second time, Pulasthi Gunaratne just saw his career end in the first final with Sehwag hitting 17 of his over, this time around Srilanka go with an extra spinner, but with 223 on board and rains coming down, Vaas comes in for what would be the last delivery of the final...hardly around the 125k mark...outside the off stump with a deep point and a squarish third man...and with a persistent drizzle, even if there had been a man standing with a gun nearby to Sehwag's head he wouldnt have stopped from upper cutting that ball over third man for six! Vaas's reaction after that was comical...---rain is disadvantage to batsman, but here he runs to the umpire saying the ball is slippery!!!!
Thats it as of now...will add more if time permits...
Audacious?
Googled the word and this is what i got..
extremely bold or daring; recklessly brave; fearless
Well, in due course Sehwag would be added to the meaning!!
Some of Sehwag's audacious strokes...
1. 195 Melbourne 2003
To me, no innings Sehwag has played or will play beats this innings. Purely, because it was against a very good attack on a ground in which India had a poor record on the first day of a test match. Two strokes stand out in my memory...
1. Steve Waugh bowling the last over before tea, tempts Sehwag with a slower one, of the last ball- the ball lands in the stands over the watching long off's head 3 seconds later!!!
2. Dravid is gone, Tendulkar out first ball, Ganguly in a spot of bother the other end and Sehwag is off the strike for 3 to 4 overs. Waugh brings back Macgill, and with a deep mid wicket, long on and square leg, bowls a perfect leg spinner first ball pitching around middle and off, a nice flighted leg spinner....only to see it disappear into the orbit over the deep midwicket!!!
18 at Chennai 2004
I was privileged to watch his 155 in Chennai, which was an absolute master piece, but to me the shot of the match was this...Mcgrath bowling the last over of the 4th day...220 to chase...a typically perfect Mcgrath delivery drilled straight down the ground for four....and after hitting it just turned around and started walking towards the pavilion!!! It was a pity the 5th day washed out...or else the final frontier would have still been there!!!!
Champions Trophy 2002 2nd final vs Srilanka
It has started raining again, the second time, Pulasthi Gunaratne just saw his career end in the first final with Sehwag hitting 17 of his over, this time around Srilanka go with an extra spinner, but with 223 on board and rains coming down, Vaas comes in for what would be the last delivery of the final...hardly around the 125k mark...outside the off stump with a deep point and a squarish third man...and with a persistent drizzle, even if there had been a man standing with a gun nearby to Sehwag's head he wouldnt have stopped from upper cutting that ball over third man for six! Vaas's reaction after that was comical...---rain is disadvantage to batsman, but here he runs to the umpire saying the ball is slippery!!!!
Thats it as of now...will add more if time permits...
Simply the best..... "Say Wah g"
The most fantastic thing about blogging is that we can search for anecdotes and quotes as and when we type on a particular topic or person. Starting to write about Sehwag I searched for quotes on simplicity, and after reading through the quotes from great personalities, I came to only one conclusion. Keeping things simple is the most difficult of all. Just take a look at this quote,
“In character, in manner, in style, in all things, the supreme excellence is simplicity.”
Supreme excellence takes years of practice, which equates that to make things look simple, it is very difficult.
But where does Sehwag come into the picture here? That is because Sehwag is simple.
“As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.”
Sehwag has a weakness against the ball coming in, gets frustrated being tied up at the non striker's end, goes after deliveries outside off stump regardless of the situation, doesnt play the hook shot properly, has problems against the raising ball and fends it often( his solution to turn this of his hips isnt proper either because he plays it in the air more often than not) does not move his feet, and biggest of them all, Sehwag has a very careless attitude when he bats....
So how does Sehwag succeed? Over a period of time, everyone evolves into a different person than the one he originally was, through experience knowledge etc. People define that as maturity. Surely you are not the person that you once were? This applies to batting too...(remember Afridi in the T20 final?) On one end you have Sachin grafting for runs and on the other you have Dravid counter attacking with disdain at 32/4, while ten years back it would have been( and was) vice versa.
So how has Sehwag's batting evolved?
Experience?
Batting at Melbourne on 195 he tried to clear long on of a non regular bowler and got out....India subsequently lost the match, and people claimed that had this rash stroke hadnt happened, India would have won their first series in the Oz...
Thats a lot of experience/burden on your shoulders...
Two tests later, he goes to both 100 and 300 by hitting sixes of regular bowlers so much so that the six for 300 was the same stroke he mishit in Melbourne!!!!
Knowledge?
Teams dissect your weakness with alarming quickness. Dravid was so successful in the 2003 series against Australia with the flick through mid wicket that Aus kept two close in fielders at short mid wicket to prevent him from playing the shot. He didnt play the shot and his form and batting fell through in the subsequent series against them because of that.
Similarly Sehwag was successfully cutting through third man and deep cover in Aus that a permanent third man and deep cover was kept as early as the first over of a test match!!!.... that too for Glenn Mcgrath...
Result? Mcgrath was hit for 16 runs in his first over in the same area between the two fielders!!!!
People start to put Sehwag into the "arrogant" category. Surely, I would ask these people to hear him speak on something and then classify him. He is a simple man, who says simple things...."I see the ball, I hit the ball". Surely, it takes years for everyone else to talk zen like this!!!!! You dont call zen masters arrogant!!!
So, who was the most disappointed person when Sehwag got out at 293? May be the guy who illegally bet on him in Cayman Islands, but not Sehwag who just shrugged and said "I was happy I got 293"...
When someone says Sehwag is a master when the pitch is flat, people tend to disagree...But they are true, Sehwag is a master at getting results in flat pitches... There is nobody in the game who can take advantage of a flat pitch than Sehwag....
What are the chances Sehwag will displace Sachin, Dravid or even Sunny from their pedestal as the best batsman? Very slim....but we can say this quite confidently, while Sunny had competition from Sachin, and Sachin from Dravid, rest assured there wont be another to challenge Sehwag!!!!!
“In character, in manner, in style, in all things, the supreme excellence is simplicity.”
Supreme excellence takes years of practice, which equates that to make things look simple, it is very difficult.
But where does Sehwag come into the picture here? That is because Sehwag is simple.
“As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.”
Sehwag has a weakness against the ball coming in, gets frustrated being tied up at the non striker's end, goes after deliveries outside off stump regardless of the situation, doesnt play the hook shot properly, has problems against the raising ball and fends it often( his solution to turn this of his hips isnt proper either because he plays it in the air more often than not) does not move his feet, and biggest of them all, Sehwag has a very careless attitude when he bats....
So how does Sehwag succeed? Over a period of time, everyone evolves into a different person than the one he originally was, through experience knowledge etc. People define that as maturity. Surely you are not the person that you once were? This applies to batting too...(remember Afridi in the T20 final?) On one end you have Sachin grafting for runs and on the other you have Dravid counter attacking with disdain at 32/4, while ten years back it would have been( and was) vice versa.
So how has Sehwag's batting evolved?
Experience?
Batting at Melbourne on 195 he tried to clear long on of a non regular bowler and got out....India subsequently lost the match, and people claimed that had this rash stroke hadnt happened, India would have won their first series in the Oz...
Thats a lot of experience/burden on your shoulders...
Two tests later, he goes to both 100 and 300 by hitting sixes of regular bowlers so much so that the six for 300 was the same stroke he mishit in Melbourne!!!!
Knowledge?
Teams dissect your weakness with alarming quickness. Dravid was so successful in the 2003 series against Australia with the flick through mid wicket that Aus kept two close in fielders at short mid wicket to prevent him from playing the shot. He didnt play the shot and his form and batting fell through in the subsequent series against them because of that.
Similarly Sehwag was successfully cutting through third man and deep cover in Aus that a permanent third man and deep cover was kept as early as the first over of a test match!!!.... that too for Glenn Mcgrath...
Result? Mcgrath was hit for 16 runs in his first over in the same area between the two fielders!!!!
People start to put Sehwag into the "arrogant" category. Surely, I would ask these people to hear him speak on something and then classify him. He is a simple man, who says simple things...."I see the ball, I hit the ball". Surely, it takes years for everyone else to talk zen like this!!!!! You dont call zen masters arrogant!!!
So, who was the most disappointed person when Sehwag got out at 293? May be the guy who illegally bet on him in Cayman Islands, but not Sehwag who just shrugged and said "I was happy I got 293"...
When someone says Sehwag is a master when the pitch is flat, people tend to disagree...But they are true, Sehwag is a master at getting results in flat pitches... There is nobody in the game who can take advantage of a flat pitch than Sehwag....
What are the chances Sehwag will displace Sachin, Dravid or even Sunny from their pedestal as the best batsman? Very slim....but we can say this quite confidently, while Sunny had competition from Sachin, and Sachin from Dravid, rest assured there wont be another to challenge Sehwag!!!!!
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Different Strokes...
As I write this blog, India is struggling in Guwahati, and yet I am sitting in front of a computer multi tasking between my office and personal work. Call it responsibility or 'i dont care about them any more' attitude this has been the way i have been watching cricket for the last few years. A glimpse here or there, while the match is going on, and checking out the highlights if the match is good enough.
Even, the 175 two days back was watched now and then in office, and I only caught the magic in the highlights package and Youtube. May be I have reached the saturation point?
I dont think so, bcos i wouldnt be writing a cricket blog then!!!!!
But there used to be a time, when I used to watch every match, follow every ball, and keep tab of the records, the score, so much so that I could recall even the most trivial facts about the match.
And a Tendulkar century would be watched without commentary live(sentiment!) with the TV on mute, watched again in the highlights package, and also when the match is telecast again as a whole, so much so that we could actually, tell his scoring pattern and the wagon wheel better than the statistician. And, some stroke will always be the first to come to my mind when I talk about a particular Tendulkar century or innings...If I say 98 against Pakistan, I am sure you would be replaying the upper cut of Shoaib( not to his face, but the ball, though that would have been good too!!!!). So here are some stand out strokes which I get in my mind.....
143 Sharjah '98
The first thing coming to mind is Sachin standing in the middle of the pitch alone, with sand storm blowing all around him nonchalantly looking the other way when all others were scurrying for cover, but this is about his stroke of the night...
The straight six of a potential Steve Waugh yorker was an out of the world shot, but my shots of the night were this.....
1.Short fine leg up Deep square leg in position...Tom Moody bowling...he is just been intentionally edged to through 2nd slip for four...So what does he do he bowls a slightly fuller but not drivable length( not drivable for Tendulkar either!!!!) in cutter....but Sachin moves forward two steps in a flash, the ball is still not drivable and outside off stump, Sach puts his front leg across and waits for the ball to come to his body and flicks( it was not even a flick just a little push) into the minutest gaps for four... Check Moody's face on Youtube after that shot....
2. Steve Waugh positions a short point in Mark Waugh...he stations himself at point and there is just a pencil thin gap....Tendulkar cuts the next ball exactly in that gap right between the diving brothers...so much so that it eludes both of them....
3. I will just mention the inside out cover drive he plays after the target for the finals is achieved, and let Hesh explain it better....I wouldnt want to spoil his party!!!
155 Chennai '98
Tendulkar is tired...the lead is substantial, Aussies waiting for the declaration, Azharuddin is charging the bowlers at the other end, the field is defensive, and Taylor brings in Mark Waugh bowling off spinners....
First ball is patted back straight to the bowler, the second is cut through 3rd Man for 4.... Taylor brings in a short third man, the next ball , a perfect off spinner is just cut finer left of the short third man for 4....Taylor brings the third man finer, Waugh bowls the same delivery, there was not even any movement from Sachin the ball is late cut for 4.....Taylor gives up and brings himself at slip.....Absolute Magic!!!!!
139 vs Aus-
This was the match in which Tendulkar crossed 10,000 runs in one day cricket...Many shots stand out but the best was this....
The pitch is two paced, and by the 30 over mark there is uneven bounce with many balls keeping low...Steve Waugh brings in Damien Martyn, bowling medium pacers....He is able to swing the ball...and the odd one is keeping low....He pitches one middle and off short of good length and the ball shoots up low zooming towards the off stump...but by then Tendulkar was in the form of his life...( literally he was in 143 mood!!!!) he doesnt even blink...uses just half his bat and flicks ( yes, flicks ) the ball through third slip!.... for four... This shot will test any good writer his vocabulary... I would try to do justice...Imagine a typical Azhar flick through mid wicket and square leg...slice the shot down to half and hold the image....imagine the ball coming down at off stump and play that image again...the ball is hit with the edge of the bat and the ball goes through 3rd slip for four...Gilly had moved down to the middle stump, and Martyn did a classic double take, but Tendulkar was looking exactly at where the ball went!!!!
76- Mumbai 2001
Its a signature straight drive but whats special about this? India in a spot of bother, Fleming suddenly reversing the ball, troubling Mongia with some good balls, Gilly standing up so that the batsman couldnt go out of the crease to counter the swing, and Tendulkar kept quiet by Mcgrath for quite sometime. Mongia somehow gets a single and Sachin on strike. The next ball, reverse swinging into the stumps that Waqar would have been proud of is on driven with barely minimum movement between the non striker and the stumps, but this is not the shot I am talking about.
Fleming has a conversation with Waugh and a 3rd slip springs in, Fleming runs bowls the ball again fully, again reverse swinging but swinging out, Sachin moves the same way, bat comes down for the on drive which if completed would have been going to the third slip positioned, but at the last moment, nothing special opens the blade little bit and drives it between the umpire and mid off...and the follow through is magic....he does not look at the ball, he looks at his feet and how its positioned, plays a shadow shot of how he did that even as the ball is reaching the boundary...Genius knows no boundaries!!!!!!
136-Chennai
Mongia going beserk, hit Waqar for a six, Tendulkar in a lot of pain, every single block puts pressure on his back and brings grimace to his face and everybody who is watching him. Wasim bring himself and Mongia hammers him straight over the head for 4, plays the rest of the balls and takes a single of the 5th ball giving Sach just one ball to face. Watching this on television, I heave a sigh of relief, not that I didnt believe in Sachin handling Akram...but its always better to be safe than be sorry.... but back of my mind, the ball Akram is going to bowl was creeping its way through the mind...good length, shaping up to be a half volley swinging away, a guy with back pain couldnt reach out and will snick it to the waiting catchers behind the wicket, I was practically yelling, leave the ball leave the ball every second when Akram was running into the crease. The ball is exactly the same, I hold my breath in fear, but Tendulkar shows the difference between ordinary and genius, a little walk as the ball is released...the half volley materialises out of nowhere, and a half cover drive thats it..it was just that...the drive stopped when the pressure would have come on his back...and that was enough for the ball to race to the boundary!!!!!
13 vs Kenya 2003
Ya you read it right...13 it was...Ganguly scored a century and Yuvi 50, but the shot of the night was a magical back foot straight drive, so ramrod that it missed the off stump by a whisker.....I generally dont show any emotions when Tendulkar is starting early(another sentiment!!!) but I remember myself blabbering with astonishment at the shot while a small part in my brain was reminding me of the sentiment, admonishing me for my outburst...but that shot was worth it!!!!!
41 vs Pakistan 1998
The famous '314' match where Ganguly scored a century again, but Tendulkar started it all....Pakistan had a peculiar ploy of bowling there spinners around the wicket to Tendulkar, and had some success too, Afridi had bowled him around the legs....India had a good start, 50 runs in 6 overs with Tendulkar hitting Azhar Mehmood for 4 continous fours the previous over, and Saqlain is introduced around the wicket with a slip in place. Sitting in my living room, I was straining in my seat to see whether the ball was an off spinner or a doosra and check the turn, but Tendulkar didnt give me a chance because he had danced down the track and had picked it as it bounced of the pitch giving it no chance to turn, and hit it over the bowler's head for six!!!!
65 Calcutta 96
Heart breaking yes...but we only knew the menace in the pitch once Tendulkar departed such was the mastery of the innings.... One shot still stands out in my mind.... A squarish deep mid wicket...who could cover both square and straight a short mid wicket to counter the flick...and a mid on to counter the straight drive with Dharmasena turning the ball(would you believe it???) but he is accurate in his spot, and Manjrekar keeps picking the short mid wicket and the mid on or if he beats them both the deep fielder. Tendulkar shows him how its done....
A one and half step down the track...and a half flick half drive, eludes the diving short mid wicket fielder, mid on tries to cut but the ball isnt straight enough for him and is also picking up speed so he gives chase, the deep runs to his left to cover but couldnt do as the ball isnt square enough for him to cut...the two guys are just two feet from the ball when it crosses the boundary ropes!!!!
104 Benoni '97
Another pressure match, another match where we needed both run rate and a win against Zimbabwe, Sachin scoring a century on a difficult wicket to set the pace for Jadeja and Robin Singh to finish it off. Streak bowling a good length delivery bouncing just more than expected... Sachin starts his favorite back foot cover drive...realises the ball is bouncing more and swinging away, just changes the position of the bat...one second the bat is coming down vertically the next second its horizontal but the arm is coming down the same way, cuts it over point for boundary.... for a flat one bounce four!!!
94 vs Rest of India
I watched this match live at Chepauk, and barely 5 minutes after I entered the stadium, the second wicket fell with Sachin walking to bat against virtually the Indian team minus him. I was sitting exactly square of the wicket, not the best place to watch cricket at Chepauk but definitely the cheapest, but was able to get a good look at the lengths bowled, and one particular moment stands out...Harbhajan bowling to Tendulkar was joking with him after one quiet over... Didnt know what transpired, but the next Harbhajan over first ball was hammered for four, courtesy a flat batted sweep through the vacant square leg region. Ganguly, moves the short fine leg to square leg and moves a guy to deep fine leg..but sort of squarish. The next ball is paddled fine through the vacant fine leg for four. Ganguly, has a brain wave again, brings the fine leg back close, moves the deep square leg again...pulls back the mid wicket deep, puts a fielder close right in between those two fielders( i dont know what to call that position but it was blocking my view of Sachin perfectly so i had to move!!!!) Harbhajan bowls, Sachin waits for the ball to turn, and plays a slog sweep but over fine leg to the right of deep square leg with that noname position fielder watching with his mouth open!!! Harbhajan wasnt smiling anymore!!!!
P.S: I have left some of the more sensational shots for Hesh to describe, as he is better in this than me, but if he does miss any half volley..watch out for my second innings on this topic!!!!!
Even, the 175 two days back was watched now and then in office, and I only caught the magic in the highlights package and Youtube. May be I have reached the saturation point?
I dont think so, bcos i wouldnt be writing a cricket blog then!!!!!
But there used to be a time, when I used to watch every match, follow every ball, and keep tab of the records, the score, so much so that I could recall even the most trivial facts about the match.
And a Tendulkar century would be watched without commentary live(sentiment!) with the TV on mute, watched again in the highlights package, and also when the match is telecast again as a whole, so much so that we could actually, tell his scoring pattern and the wagon wheel better than the statistician. And, some stroke will always be the first to come to my mind when I talk about a particular Tendulkar century or innings...If I say 98 against Pakistan, I am sure you would be replaying the upper cut of Shoaib( not to his face, but the ball, though that would have been good too!!!!). So here are some stand out strokes which I get in my mind.....
143 Sharjah '98
The first thing coming to mind is Sachin standing in the middle of the pitch alone, with sand storm blowing all around him nonchalantly looking the other way when all others were scurrying for cover, but this is about his stroke of the night...
The straight six of a potential Steve Waugh yorker was an out of the world shot, but my shots of the night were this.....
1.Short fine leg up Deep square leg in position...Tom Moody bowling...he is just been intentionally edged to through 2nd slip for four...So what does he do he bowls a slightly fuller but not drivable length( not drivable for Tendulkar either!!!!) in cutter....but Sachin moves forward two steps in a flash, the ball is still not drivable and outside off stump, Sach puts his front leg across and waits for the ball to come to his body and flicks( it was not even a flick just a little push) into the minutest gaps for four... Check Moody's face on Youtube after that shot....
2. Steve Waugh positions a short point in Mark Waugh...he stations himself at point and there is just a pencil thin gap....Tendulkar cuts the next ball exactly in that gap right between the diving brothers...so much so that it eludes both of them....
3. I will just mention the inside out cover drive he plays after the target for the finals is achieved, and let Hesh explain it better....I wouldnt want to spoil his party!!!
155 Chennai '98
Tendulkar is tired...the lead is substantial, Aussies waiting for the declaration, Azharuddin is charging the bowlers at the other end, the field is defensive, and Taylor brings in Mark Waugh bowling off spinners....
First ball is patted back straight to the bowler, the second is cut through 3rd Man for 4.... Taylor brings in a short third man, the next ball , a perfect off spinner is just cut finer left of the short third man for 4....Taylor brings the third man finer, Waugh bowls the same delivery, there was not even any movement from Sachin the ball is late cut for 4.....Taylor gives up and brings himself at slip.....Absolute Magic!!!!!
139 vs Aus-
This was the match in which Tendulkar crossed 10,000 runs in one day cricket...Many shots stand out but the best was this....
The pitch is two paced, and by the 30 over mark there is uneven bounce with many balls keeping low...Steve Waugh brings in Damien Martyn, bowling medium pacers....He is able to swing the ball...and the odd one is keeping low....He pitches one middle and off short of good length and the ball shoots up low zooming towards the off stump...but by then Tendulkar was in the form of his life...( literally he was in 143 mood!!!!) he doesnt even blink...uses just half his bat and flicks ( yes, flicks ) the ball through third slip!.... for four... This shot will test any good writer his vocabulary... I would try to do justice...Imagine a typical Azhar flick through mid wicket and square leg...slice the shot down to half and hold the image....imagine the ball coming down at off stump and play that image again...the ball is hit with the edge of the bat and the ball goes through 3rd slip for four...Gilly had moved down to the middle stump, and Martyn did a classic double take, but Tendulkar was looking exactly at where the ball went!!!!
76- Mumbai 2001
Its a signature straight drive but whats special about this? India in a spot of bother, Fleming suddenly reversing the ball, troubling Mongia with some good balls, Gilly standing up so that the batsman couldnt go out of the crease to counter the swing, and Tendulkar kept quiet by Mcgrath for quite sometime. Mongia somehow gets a single and Sachin on strike. The next ball, reverse swinging into the stumps that Waqar would have been proud of is on driven with barely minimum movement between the non striker and the stumps, but this is not the shot I am talking about.
Fleming has a conversation with Waugh and a 3rd slip springs in, Fleming runs bowls the ball again fully, again reverse swinging but swinging out, Sachin moves the same way, bat comes down for the on drive which if completed would have been going to the third slip positioned, but at the last moment, nothing special opens the blade little bit and drives it between the umpire and mid off...and the follow through is magic....he does not look at the ball, he looks at his feet and how its positioned, plays a shadow shot of how he did that even as the ball is reaching the boundary...Genius knows no boundaries!!!!!!
136-Chennai
Mongia going beserk, hit Waqar for a six, Tendulkar in a lot of pain, every single block puts pressure on his back and brings grimace to his face and everybody who is watching him. Wasim bring himself and Mongia hammers him straight over the head for 4, plays the rest of the balls and takes a single of the 5th ball giving Sach just one ball to face. Watching this on television, I heave a sigh of relief, not that I didnt believe in Sachin handling Akram...but its always better to be safe than be sorry.... but back of my mind, the ball Akram is going to bowl was creeping its way through the mind...good length, shaping up to be a half volley swinging away, a guy with back pain couldnt reach out and will snick it to the waiting catchers behind the wicket, I was practically yelling, leave the ball leave the ball every second when Akram was running into the crease. The ball is exactly the same, I hold my breath in fear, but Tendulkar shows the difference between ordinary and genius, a little walk as the ball is released...the half volley materialises out of nowhere, and a half cover drive thats it..it was just that...the drive stopped when the pressure would have come on his back...and that was enough for the ball to race to the boundary!!!!!
13 vs Kenya 2003
Ya you read it right...13 it was...Ganguly scored a century and Yuvi 50, but the shot of the night was a magical back foot straight drive, so ramrod that it missed the off stump by a whisker.....I generally dont show any emotions when Tendulkar is starting early(another sentiment!!!) but I remember myself blabbering with astonishment at the shot while a small part in my brain was reminding me of the sentiment, admonishing me for my outburst...but that shot was worth it!!!!!
41 vs Pakistan 1998
The famous '314' match where Ganguly scored a century again, but Tendulkar started it all....Pakistan had a peculiar ploy of bowling there spinners around the wicket to Tendulkar, and had some success too, Afridi had bowled him around the legs....India had a good start, 50 runs in 6 overs with Tendulkar hitting Azhar Mehmood for 4 continous fours the previous over, and Saqlain is introduced around the wicket with a slip in place. Sitting in my living room, I was straining in my seat to see whether the ball was an off spinner or a doosra and check the turn, but Tendulkar didnt give me a chance because he had danced down the track and had picked it as it bounced of the pitch giving it no chance to turn, and hit it over the bowler's head for six!!!!
65 Calcutta 96
Heart breaking yes...but we only knew the menace in the pitch once Tendulkar departed such was the mastery of the innings.... One shot still stands out in my mind.... A squarish deep mid wicket...who could cover both square and straight a short mid wicket to counter the flick...and a mid on to counter the straight drive with Dharmasena turning the ball(would you believe it???) but he is accurate in his spot, and Manjrekar keeps picking the short mid wicket and the mid on or if he beats them both the deep fielder. Tendulkar shows him how its done....
A one and half step down the track...and a half flick half drive, eludes the diving short mid wicket fielder, mid on tries to cut but the ball isnt straight enough for him and is also picking up speed so he gives chase, the deep runs to his left to cover but couldnt do as the ball isnt square enough for him to cut...the two guys are just two feet from the ball when it crosses the boundary ropes!!!!
104 Benoni '97
Another pressure match, another match where we needed both run rate and a win against Zimbabwe, Sachin scoring a century on a difficult wicket to set the pace for Jadeja and Robin Singh to finish it off. Streak bowling a good length delivery bouncing just more than expected... Sachin starts his favorite back foot cover drive...realises the ball is bouncing more and swinging away, just changes the position of the bat...one second the bat is coming down vertically the next second its horizontal but the arm is coming down the same way, cuts it over point for boundary.... for a flat one bounce four!!!
94 vs Rest of India
I watched this match live at Chepauk, and barely 5 minutes after I entered the stadium, the second wicket fell with Sachin walking to bat against virtually the Indian team minus him. I was sitting exactly square of the wicket, not the best place to watch cricket at Chepauk but definitely the cheapest, but was able to get a good look at the lengths bowled, and one particular moment stands out...Harbhajan bowling to Tendulkar was joking with him after one quiet over... Didnt know what transpired, but the next Harbhajan over first ball was hammered for four, courtesy a flat batted sweep through the vacant square leg region. Ganguly, moves the short fine leg to square leg and moves a guy to deep fine leg..but sort of squarish. The next ball is paddled fine through the vacant fine leg for four. Ganguly, has a brain wave again, brings the fine leg back close, moves the deep square leg again...pulls back the mid wicket deep, puts a fielder close right in between those two fielders( i dont know what to call that position but it was blocking my view of Sachin perfectly so i had to move!!!!) Harbhajan bowls, Sachin waits for the ball to turn, and plays a slog sweep but over fine leg to the right of deep square leg with that noname position fielder watching with his mouth open!!! Harbhajan wasnt smiling anymore!!!!
P.S: I have left some of the more sensational shots for Hesh to describe, as he is better in this than me, but if he does miss any half volley..watch out for my second innings on this topic!!!!!
Friday, November 6, 2009
100...
Location: Cafeteria of my office.
Around 35 people sitting, a sizeable number standing in front of an LCD tv hung overhead. The DTH connection is very poor, so we can see pixels and frames instead of the live streaming video, and this happens frequently, frequently as in every ball.
But nobody moves an inch.
Surely something historical is happening?
Nah!!!!
A guy named Sachin is on 99 and on strike.
Ball pitches outside off at good length, nothing special about the delivery and for (once on TV we see the whole sequence perfectly) Tendulkar tries to guide and misses.... and next was what I couldnt believe, a collective gasp of breath from the audience.
Its not that the guy is on 99 for the first time!!!!!
A group of guys turned around to look at one of their colleague just walking in and threatened him to go off now and come back later, so that he wouldnt jinx Sachin!!!!
Nobody was worried about the enormous target, the climbing run rate, only 2 regular batsmen to follow, the mighty Aussies piling up the pressure.... all they wanted was a glide down the third man which the master duly obliged amidst pixels and frames( we didnt know what happened...but one frame froze to a familiar picture, Sachin without the helmet looking up the sky!!!). There was a loud cheer, and even those who dont know the difference from a wide and a no ball, were muttering "sachin must have scored a century".
There was a collective commotion and atleast half of them left to go back to their seats and continue their work. The moment was over.
Around 35 people sitting, a sizeable number standing in front of an LCD tv hung overhead. The DTH connection is very poor, so we can see pixels and frames instead of the live streaming video, and this happens frequently, frequently as in every ball.
But nobody moves an inch.
Surely something historical is happening?
Nah!!!!
A guy named Sachin is on 99 and on strike.
Ball pitches outside off at good length, nothing special about the delivery and for (once on TV we see the whole sequence perfectly) Tendulkar tries to guide and misses.... and next was what I couldnt believe, a collective gasp of breath from the audience.
Its not that the guy is on 99 for the first time!!!!!
A group of guys turned around to look at one of their colleague just walking in and threatened him to go off now and come back later, so that he wouldnt jinx Sachin!!!!
Nobody was worried about the enormous target, the climbing run rate, only 2 regular batsmen to follow, the mighty Aussies piling up the pressure.... all they wanted was a glide down the third man which the master duly obliged amidst pixels and frames( we didnt know what happened...but one frame froze to a familiar picture, Sachin without the helmet looking up the sky!!!). There was a loud cheer, and even those who dont know the difference from a wide and a no ball, were muttering "sachin must have scored a century".
There was a collective commotion and atleast half of them left to go back to their seats and continue their work. The moment was over.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
How crucial???
Any mistake only becomes big in retrospect and not at the moment. When Kapil caught Viv Richards at Lord's surely nobody would have thought India had the upper hand and will go on to win the world cup. The most realistic thought would have been, now the match would go beyond 40 overs possibly. But WI lost the match and then in retrospect that catch became crucial. Surely Viv neednt have played that shot....He had all day to score a century!!!
Or take the case of the semi finals in World Cup 92-the dubious rain rule which robbed SA from going to the final, one of the culprits for 22runs - 1 ball was SA themselves by bowling only 45 overs in the stipulated time.
When Azhar won the toss and decided to field in 96 semi final, and India got two wickets in the first over, nobody was complaining, but when Sachin got out, and the wicket started turning square everybody started complaining that Azhar should have batted. Azhar had history(he had won the previous two finals batting first with Kumble being deadly) and the chance to change things but he didnt. If Gibbs hadnt dropped the catch there probably wouldnt have been an Aus-SA semifinal in the first case, because Steve was the only one who was holding the innings.
If Gibbs hadnt dropped the catch we wouldnt have had a heartstopping semi final, so we should be thanking him for that!!!
Lets take another Steve Waugh What if moment in the same series you quoted. Steve Waugh handling the ball in Chennai, Aus were 347/3 with Hayden and Waugh batting beautifully...take that into the context of the series... For all that Hesh has said about the Kolkata test match, Waugh asking India to follow on is also a What if moment!!!
Dean Jones said that he had many oppurtunities to take two runs but took only one because he wanted to conserve energy during the chennai test 86... Nobody complained at that time, nobody would do after the match either, but Jones himself feels if he had converted just one oppurtunity it would have been enough.
I can quote you a comment Robin Jackman said when Razzaq dropped Tendulkar on 32 in 2003 world cup... "How crucial is this gonna be in deciding the fate of this match?"
We all know how crucial that was!!
Or take the case of the semi finals in World Cup 92-the dubious rain rule which robbed SA from going to the final, one of the culprits for 22runs - 1 ball was SA themselves by bowling only 45 overs in the stipulated time.
When Azhar won the toss and decided to field in 96 semi final, and India got two wickets in the first over, nobody was complaining, but when Sachin got out, and the wicket started turning square everybody started complaining that Azhar should have batted. Azhar had history(he had won the previous two finals batting first with Kumble being deadly) and the chance to change things but he didnt. If Gibbs hadnt dropped the catch there probably wouldnt have been an Aus-SA semifinal in the first case, because Steve was the only one who was holding the innings.
If Gibbs hadnt dropped the catch we wouldnt have had a heartstopping semi final, so we should be thanking him for that!!!
Lets take another Steve Waugh What if moment in the same series you quoted. Steve Waugh handling the ball in Chennai, Aus were 347/3 with Hayden and Waugh batting beautifully...take that into the context of the series... For all that Hesh has said about the Kolkata test match, Waugh asking India to follow on is also a What if moment!!!
Dean Jones said that he had many oppurtunities to take two runs but took only one because he wanted to conserve energy during the chennai test 86... Nobody complained at that time, nobody would do after the match either, but Jones himself feels if he had converted just one oppurtunity it would have been enough.
I can quote you a comment Robin Jackman said when Razzaq dropped Tendulkar on 32 in 2003 world cup... "How crucial is this gonna be in deciding the fate of this match?"
We all know how crucial that was!!
Friday, October 23, 2009
This is unfair!!!!!
Well, What can I say? This guy just wrote the top order I was discussing with him the other day.....MY TOP ORDER!!!!!!!!! And now he is asking me to put together a team to challenge his "all time odi XI"... ho ho ho!!!
Hmmmm....... all right..here we go...
Sanath Jayasuriya- When this guy gets going, there are exactly two batsmen in ODI to match him for stroke play(who by the way are in the other team, no marks for guessing who they are!!!!!) and only one batsman to match his audacity(no marks for guessing who that is either!!). A guy who could change a match with his all round ability.
Mark Waugh- Definition of lazy elegance. This guy makes it all look so easy...whether bowling medium pace(which he used to early in his career) spin, pouching unbelievable catches, those back foot cover drives that only Sachin or Lara can rival and those powerful hits down the ground(just ask Darren Gough or Vettori...launched them respectively at Headingley and the Perth roof!!!)
Miandad- Your loss is my gain..... De Silva would have been a shoo in for No.3 on the basis of just one innings he played in the semi final against India....and being an Indian does not stop me from watching it again and again.....but since you picked him..I would go for this guy, who has atleast 4 orthodox shots and 3 unorthodox shots for every delivery. Someone, who could be Bevan or Klusener depending on the situation and do the job as if its a stroll in the park...
Martin Crowe- Anybody who saw Crowe in full flow during WC 92 wouldnt doubt this pick. Pity, his career was cut short by injury.
Bevan- Who else but St.Michael? The best one day finisher next only to Zulu.
Kapil Dev- Chris Cairns, Imran gave a very tough fight, but two things put this man up in front...1. He is an Indian( come on man...i am a selector now..I have to be biased, its cliche!!!) 2. Is definitely a better bowler than the other two in ODIs.
Jonty Rhodes- Crowe at first slip, Waugh at second slip, Jonty at point, Jayasuriya at cover, Bevan at mid on, Wow....
Moin Khan- Another surprise pick for some, but a clutch player, who always comes good in pressure situations, not to mention a brilliant wicket keeper.
Saqlain Mushtaq- One ball to Damien Martyn was enough for this....The ball pitched middle and leg and took the top of off stump, like a leg break....This guy has one of the best strike rates in ODI cricket.
Ambrose- I would pick Ambrose, even if I am selecting a football team! From a whole array of West Indian bowlers, why this man? He could be economical like Mcgrath and he would get wickets like Waqar, plus a handy lower order batsman.
Waqar Younis- If Ambrose can get wickets like Waqar, why do u need Waqar? Simply because its Waqar!!! Only one word defines Waqar perfectly- inevitability. You know, he is gonna bowl full, you know its gonna pitch round about off and middle, you know its gonna be fast and swinging, you know you would have already kept your bat perfectly in line, but its inevitable!!! the ball is going to hit the stumps or pads!!! Bowls like a millionaire but the one bowler, opposition batsman pray that he shouldnt be on song!!!!
12th Man- Chris Cairns- He could just about fit in anywhere in the team....
P.S- Yes, my team is definitely weaker than yours....but remember 1983???
And the next time we pick teams like the way its done in backyard cricket, alternatively....
Hmmmm....... all right..here we go...
Sanath Jayasuriya- When this guy gets going, there are exactly two batsmen in ODI to match him for stroke play(who by the way are in the other team, no marks for guessing who they are!!!!!) and only one batsman to match his audacity(no marks for guessing who that is either!!). A guy who could change a match with his all round ability.
Mark Waugh- Definition of lazy elegance. This guy makes it all look so easy...whether bowling medium pace(which he used to early in his career) spin, pouching unbelievable catches, those back foot cover drives that only Sachin or Lara can rival and those powerful hits down the ground(just ask Darren Gough or Vettori...launched them respectively at Headingley and the Perth roof!!!)
Miandad- Your loss is my gain..... De Silva would have been a shoo in for No.3 on the basis of just one innings he played in the semi final against India....and being an Indian does not stop me from watching it again and again.....but since you picked him..I would go for this guy, who has atleast 4 orthodox shots and 3 unorthodox shots for every delivery. Someone, who could be Bevan or Klusener depending on the situation and do the job as if its a stroll in the park...
Martin Crowe- Anybody who saw Crowe in full flow during WC 92 wouldnt doubt this pick. Pity, his career was cut short by injury.
Bevan- Who else but St.Michael? The best one day finisher next only to Zulu.
Kapil Dev- Chris Cairns, Imran gave a very tough fight, but two things put this man up in front...1. He is an Indian( come on man...i am a selector now..I have to be biased, its cliche!!!) 2. Is definitely a better bowler than the other two in ODIs.
Jonty Rhodes- Crowe at first slip, Waugh at second slip, Jonty at point, Jayasuriya at cover, Bevan at mid on, Wow....
Moin Khan- Another surprise pick for some, but a clutch player, who always comes good in pressure situations, not to mention a brilliant wicket keeper.
Saqlain Mushtaq- One ball to Damien Martyn was enough for this....The ball pitched middle and leg and took the top of off stump, like a leg break....This guy has one of the best strike rates in ODI cricket.
Ambrose- I would pick Ambrose, even if I am selecting a football team! From a whole array of West Indian bowlers, why this man? He could be economical like Mcgrath and he would get wickets like Waqar, plus a handy lower order batsman.
Waqar Younis- If Ambrose can get wickets like Waqar, why do u need Waqar? Simply because its Waqar!!! Only one word defines Waqar perfectly- inevitability. You know, he is gonna bowl full, you know its gonna pitch round about off and middle, you know its gonna be fast and swinging, you know you would have already kept your bat perfectly in line, but its inevitable!!! the ball is going to hit the stumps or pads!!! Bowls like a millionaire but the one bowler, opposition batsman pray that he shouldnt be on song!!!!
12th Man- Chris Cairns- He could just about fit in anywhere in the team....
P.S- Yes, my team is definitely weaker than yours....but remember 1983???
And the next time we pick teams like the way its done in backyard cricket, alternatively....
What if..........
“The greatest of all mysteries is What if”, writes Forsyth in his book The Odessa File.
As the book is about the Holocaust, that’s a big what if. This comes in the aftermath of the Kennedy assassination. What if Kennedy had gone in the car with the roof closed?
How would have that changed the history of the world? What if the Nazis had won the second world war? These are questions for which you would never know the answers unless, you believe in parallel universes where u have a different version of the events going on.
So what has that got to do with cricket? Well, here are my ten biggest What ifs in cricket.
1. What if Viv Richards hadn’t played “that shot” or connected cleanly?
2. What if Donald had run instantly in the last over?
3. What if rain hadn’t intervened during the SA-England semi final WC 92?
4. What if Ravi Shastri had refused to take the single of the fourth ball of the final over leaving him two balls to get two runs at Chennai?
5. What if Gatting had come down the track and connected the slow looping leg break on the full?
6. What if Azhar had opted to bat in the semi final of WC 96?
7. What if Mcgrath hadn’t stepped on the ball before Edgbaston ’05?
8. What if Steve Waugh had opted to bat in the second innings of Calcutta Test?
9. What if Kapil Dev had chosen someone else other than Chetan Sharma to bowl the last over?
10. What if Mike Gatting had not played the reverse sweep?
So what are your what ifs?????
As the book is about the Holocaust, that’s a big what if. This comes in the aftermath of the Kennedy assassination. What if Kennedy had gone in the car with the roof closed?
How would have that changed the history of the world? What if the Nazis had won the second world war? These are questions for which you would never know the answers unless, you believe in parallel universes where u have a different version of the events going on.
So what has that got to do with cricket? Well, here are my ten biggest What ifs in cricket.
1. What if Viv Richards hadn’t played “that shot” or connected cleanly?
2. What if Donald had run instantly in the last over?
3. What if rain hadn’t intervened during the SA-England semi final WC 92?
4. What if Ravi Shastri had refused to take the single of the fourth ball of the final over leaving him two balls to get two runs at Chennai?
5. What if Gatting had come down the track and connected the slow looping leg break on the full?
6. What if Azhar had opted to bat in the semi final of WC 96?
7. What if Mcgrath hadn’t stepped on the ball before Edgbaston ’05?
8. What if Steve Waugh had opted to bat in the second innings of Calcutta Test?
9. What if Kapil Dev had chosen someone else other than Chetan Sharma to bowl the last over?
10. What if Mike Gatting had not played the reverse sweep?
So what are your what ifs?????
My team's batting is weak???
I wouldnt accept your statement that your bowling attack is weaker than mine, just for the sake that I have Imran. Sobers can double up both as a pace bowler and a spinner, and he can provide more than an adequate back up for the other 4. When you got Holding, Lillee, Akram and Murali, what difference is it gonna make who the fifth bowler is?
Which brings us to the other statement you made that my batting is weaker. Lets just analyse that a little bit. You have Gavaskar, Taylor, Richards, Sachin, Lara, Sobers, Gilli and Akram, considering his batting abilities are very underrated.
Why is my line up weaker than this?
You are probably saying this because of my middle order, consisting of Border, Dravid,Sangakkara, Imran who wouldnt be on par with your line up ( come on man, who can rival Viv, Sach and Brian) but i wouldnt call them weak.
I am thinking of posting an all time one day XI.....
Which brings us to the other statement you made that my batting is weaker. Lets just analyse that a little bit. You have Gavaskar, Taylor, Richards, Sachin, Lara, Sobers, Gilli and Akram, considering his batting abilities are very underrated.
Why is my line up weaker than this?
You are probably saying this because of my middle order, consisting of Border, Dravid,Sangakkara, Imran who wouldnt be on par with your line up ( come on man, who can rival Viv, Sach and Brian) but i wouldnt call them weak.
I am thinking of posting an all time one day XI.....
Thursday, October 22, 2009
All time best!!!!
I have tried to pick a team that doesnt have the players whom hesh picked, as my aim was to pick an all star XI which would challenge hesh's XI...Here we go...
Greenidge-Poor man's Viv Richards.....He didnt have that swagger,charisma and he didnt bowl, those are the only differences.
Sehwag- Probably the best man to terrorise, Holding, Akram, Lillee and Murali.....
Bradman- I can only say one thing...thank you for not picking him...
Border-VC- Street fighter to the core....
Dravid- Once again thank you!!!!!!
Sangakkara- If it isnt gilli..its sanga!!!!
Imran-Captain --- somebody who could change the state of the game, by example, or by
tactics....both in batting and in bowling...border and imran, plotting to get somebody like Viv or Lara.. Wow!!!
Marshall---A fast bowler with a spinner's brain.....Playing alongside, holding, roberts, and then in the latter half with walsh and ambrose and still getting 376 wickets is no mean feat!!!
Roberts---Sunny said once, that he would rather face holding than roberts..and thats enough....
Warne---- Well.... lets just say...he floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee!!.
Ambrose--- Stone cold assassin.....
12th man-Kumble-somebody who is intense enough to put his concentration absolutely on the water and towels he is gonna deliver....will definitely be needed..and on a spinning track...with Warne...beautiful....( I know u didnt pick a 12th man and thats why i picked Kumble, bcos I know you would hve picked him!!!!!)
So ready for the game???
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)