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....
Showing posts with label response. Show all posts
Showing posts with label response. Show all posts
Saturday, January 9, 2010
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!!!
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Remarkable Strokes of the Little Master - my version
Now that was a great topic and I am extremely grateful to Ramki for leaving out some of the more scintillating shots for me. I must also admit that despite leaving them out, his picks are absolutely out of the top draw too especially the Irani Trophy one – since I was also in the stadium that time, I know exactly where he is coming from!
Here we go:
Let me begin with the shot that Ramki had mentioned but left the job for me to elaborate:
143 vs Australia at Sharjah
To me there is not a more audacious shot (neither a shot conveying more intent ) played in the game of Cricket. With the team in trouble mid way through the innings, the only thing that mattered to all of us was scoring enough to make it to the finals on net run rate. I can bet that no one who was watching the match even entertained the thought of a win especially after the Indian innings was reduced by 4 overs due to the sandstorm break with just 9 runs less than the initial 285 as the target. And when Sachin flicked the ball to square leg to take a couple to ensure that we reached the finals, all of us were relieved and started thinking about the prospects of somehow India overpowering the Aussies in the finals but this man had other ideas – knowing the man, its not entirely surprising really. But what was astonishing was that with a solo shot he was able to convince everyone around that this match is far from over. Just after completing a hard run 2 to take India to the finals, the next ball Damien Fleming bowls a good length delivery on the middle stump and Sachin moves a little inside out just when Fleming is about to deliver the ball and smashes it overs covers for a boundary – all in a blink! The moment the ball reaches the boundary, Tony Greig would already be jumping up in joy in the commentary box shouting that this man is trying to win this game now! It took just one shot from the genius to bring the mediocrity out of us mere mortals. When all of us were celebrating for reaching the finals, he literally slapped for us for underestimating his capabilities with this shot. I have never been a great believer in Superman, Spiderman and all other fantsasy characters but this one shot changed all that – I believe in Sachin Tendulkar…
Like Ramki wrote genius knows no boundaries!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXRkHervQJc
Forward to 7:46th minute to watch this particular shot
193 vs England at Leeds
CLR.James writes of Learie Constatine as an independent spirit in that masterpiece “Beyond a boundary”. That’s one compliment which is very difficult to bestow upon Sachin however hard you try to as he has to put up with the expectations of a billion people all the time – its almost impossible to be a free spirit with the pressure of having to live upto such monumental expectations. Despite that kind of pressure the fact that he’s played such attacking cricket all his career is a reflection of his extraordinary confidence in his ability rather an expression of free spirit. But this one shot of Caddick in the Headingley test in 2002 was the one that showed us what Sachin could have been if he was a complete independent spirit. On a pitch in which the English press thought conceding anything more than 250 to India would be a bad bowling performance by the home team, Sachin had the cushion of a great start by Sanjay Bangar and Rahul Dravid (who played an absolute master piece) and built a great partnership with Sourav. When they were starting to accelerate the umpires gave them the offer for bad light. They refused and stayed back to play out the next 12 odd overs and what a spell of play that turned out to be – I haven’t seen Sachin play with such freedom in a long long time . Caddick comes into bowl and Sachin doesn’t move an inch till about a micro second before caddick delivers the ball and then at the last instant dances down the wicket and hits a good length delivery on the middle stump across the line over mid wicket for a home run! Failure was never a thought in his mind through the whole process - no second line of defence, no straight bat, no thought of a miscue, just a marvelous execution. Listen to the sound of ball hitting the bat – even if u were blind that day you would have figured out it’s a six! And listen to Boycott going bonkers after the shot - have you ever heard him so excited in commentary?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYGWcwHcWx4
Forward to 3:14 in the video for this particular shot
98 against Pak in Centurion – WC 2003
The first 3 shots that Sachin played against Shoaib Akhtar were astonishing for the sheer audacity of the attack. He lets the adrenalin take him over for that unforgettable square cut six, then plays his trademark flick and follows up with a “nothing more than a forward defence” which ended up beyond the boundary ropes too. But for all the magic of these 3 shots, my favourite is the backfoot drive that he played off Wasim Akram later in the same match – its straight out of heavens. Am I trying to be perverse – c’mon guys, watch the shot and decide for yourself.
The first 3 shots against Shoaib were magical more because of the context of the match rather than the shots themselves – mind you they were great shots anyways but it just reached a higher pedestal because of the circumstances of the match. But this backfoot drive against Wasim Akram would have been special even if it was played in a tennis ball match in my neighborhood Trust Puram ground in Chennai! As Sachin was going hammer and tongs at one end the ever so menacing Akram was bowling at the other end holding his own amidst the Sachin carnage. The first ball of the ninth over, Akram bowls the typical left armer’s ball on the corridor which will have the batsman guessing whether to go on the front foot or back foot, with a vertical bat or horizontal bat? The ball pitches on the off stump and holds its line (which is quite deceptive considering the prodigious swing that Akram usually generates), Sachin moves his left leg a little forward to cover the angle and almost parallely shifts his weight onto the backfoot to be in perfect balance and gets his blade down at 60 degrees to drive that 3 quarters length ball through covers for a boundary and watch that follow through of his after the shot – oh boy even he enjoyed it so much…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwXxGe4bL7M&feature=related
Forward to 3:06th minute in the video for this particular shot
155 vs. Australia in Chennai
Actually I can pick any shot in this innings and that would fit the bill as a remarkable shot! This battle of Sachin vs Warne was one of the most hyped individual battles in the history of the game. Hardly a couple of months back Sachin was dismissed by that little known leg spinner Rawl Lewis from WI in a ODI tournament in sharjah by bowling round the wicket into the rough. Sachin at that stage was generally perceived to be a little suspect with leg spinners bowling round the wicket into the rough and Aussies are sure to have done their homework before they landed on the subcontinent. At the same time Sachin’s preparation for this series is part of cricketing folklore now! And his sensational innings for Mumbai against Australia in the tour match gave more than an indication of what was to follow. But come the first test, the ever so competitive Warne draws first blood by dismissing Sachin for a single digit score. Out walks Sachin in the second innings with the team in a precarious situation and unleashes an array of attacking shots which will last in the memory of all those who witnessed the innings for their next seven births!
Sachin in such supreme form played so many great shots but to me this one shot stands out the most. Shane Warne after taking a pounding from a series of slog sweeps from Sachin, comes round the wicket yet again but this time alters the length by dropping it short but at the same time imparts more spin on the ball, Sachin on seeing the ball pitching short clears his left leg a bit and rocks back on the back foot to be in a perfect position to play the pull shot but with the ball turning square, he had to change his mind – the simplest alternative is to let it go. But Sachin was not in that kind of a mood that day, as if time stood still, on noticing the exaggerated turn he remained in the same posture but paused the pull shot and adjusted beautifully by covering the turn and cut the ball over covers – call it a cover cut if you want. With the pitch biting and turning sharply mere mortals struggle to survive a vicious Warne turner but this man plays two shots in one for the same ball!
I am not able to get a video of this shot on you tube. Will post the link as soon as I find one.
I can spend a lifetime on writing about my fav shots of Sachin, but with time constraints let me just mention two more shots without elaborating much.
That pull off Andy Caddick in the 2003 World Cup a day after Caddick made an audacious statement that Michael Vaughan is better than Sachin!
And that full blooded lofted drive off McGrath immediately after pulling him out of the stadium in the champions trophy in Nairobi – oh boy was that retaliation or what???
This topic is so expansive that it deserves a book more than a blog post...
Here we go:
Let me begin with the shot that Ramki had mentioned but left the job for me to elaborate:
143 vs Australia at Sharjah
To me there is not a more audacious shot (neither a shot conveying more intent ) played in the game of Cricket. With the team in trouble mid way through the innings, the only thing that mattered to all of us was scoring enough to make it to the finals on net run rate. I can bet that no one who was watching the match even entertained the thought of a win especially after the Indian innings was reduced by 4 overs due to the sandstorm break with just 9 runs less than the initial 285 as the target. And when Sachin flicked the ball to square leg to take a couple to ensure that we reached the finals, all of us were relieved and started thinking about the prospects of somehow India overpowering the Aussies in the finals but this man had other ideas – knowing the man, its not entirely surprising really. But what was astonishing was that with a solo shot he was able to convince everyone around that this match is far from over. Just after completing a hard run 2 to take India to the finals, the next ball Damien Fleming bowls a good length delivery on the middle stump and Sachin moves a little inside out just when Fleming is about to deliver the ball and smashes it overs covers for a boundary – all in a blink! The moment the ball reaches the boundary, Tony Greig would already be jumping up in joy in the commentary box shouting that this man is trying to win this game now! It took just one shot from the genius to bring the mediocrity out of us mere mortals. When all of us were celebrating for reaching the finals, he literally slapped for us for underestimating his capabilities with this shot. I have never been a great believer in Superman, Spiderman and all other fantsasy characters but this one shot changed all that – I believe in Sachin Tendulkar…
Like Ramki wrote genius knows no boundaries!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXRkHervQJc
Forward to 7:46th minute to watch this particular shot
193 vs England at Leeds
CLR.James writes of Learie Constatine as an independent spirit in that masterpiece “Beyond a boundary”. That’s one compliment which is very difficult to bestow upon Sachin however hard you try to as he has to put up with the expectations of a billion people all the time – its almost impossible to be a free spirit with the pressure of having to live upto such monumental expectations. Despite that kind of pressure the fact that he’s played such attacking cricket all his career is a reflection of his extraordinary confidence in his ability rather an expression of free spirit. But this one shot of Caddick in the Headingley test in 2002 was the one that showed us what Sachin could have been if he was a complete independent spirit. On a pitch in which the English press thought conceding anything more than 250 to India would be a bad bowling performance by the home team, Sachin had the cushion of a great start by Sanjay Bangar and Rahul Dravid (who played an absolute master piece) and built a great partnership with Sourav. When they were starting to accelerate the umpires gave them the offer for bad light. They refused and stayed back to play out the next 12 odd overs and what a spell of play that turned out to be – I haven’t seen Sachin play with such freedom in a long long time . Caddick comes into bowl and Sachin doesn’t move an inch till about a micro second before caddick delivers the ball and then at the last instant dances down the wicket and hits a good length delivery on the middle stump across the line over mid wicket for a home run! Failure was never a thought in his mind through the whole process - no second line of defence, no straight bat, no thought of a miscue, just a marvelous execution. Listen to the sound of ball hitting the bat – even if u were blind that day you would have figured out it’s a six! And listen to Boycott going bonkers after the shot - have you ever heard him so excited in commentary?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYGWcwHcWx4
Forward to 3:14 in the video for this particular shot
98 against Pak in Centurion – WC 2003
The first 3 shots that Sachin played against Shoaib Akhtar were astonishing for the sheer audacity of the attack. He lets the adrenalin take him over for that unforgettable square cut six, then plays his trademark flick and follows up with a “nothing more than a forward defence” which ended up beyond the boundary ropes too. But for all the magic of these 3 shots, my favourite is the backfoot drive that he played off Wasim Akram later in the same match – its straight out of heavens. Am I trying to be perverse – c’mon guys, watch the shot and decide for yourself.
The first 3 shots against Shoaib were magical more because of the context of the match rather than the shots themselves – mind you they were great shots anyways but it just reached a higher pedestal because of the circumstances of the match. But this backfoot drive against Wasim Akram would have been special even if it was played in a tennis ball match in my neighborhood Trust Puram ground in Chennai! As Sachin was going hammer and tongs at one end the ever so menacing Akram was bowling at the other end holding his own amidst the Sachin carnage. The first ball of the ninth over, Akram bowls the typical left armer’s ball on the corridor which will have the batsman guessing whether to go on the front foot or back foot, with a vertical bat or horizontal bat? The ball pitches on the off stump and holds its line (which is quite deceptive considering the prodigious swing that Akram usually generates), Sachin moves his left leg a little forward to cover the angle and almost parallely shifts his weight onto the backfoot to be in perfect balance and gets his blade down at 60 degrees to drive that 3 quarters length ball through covers for a boundary and watch that follow through of his after the shot – oh boy even he enjoyed it so much…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwXxGe4bL7M&feature=related
Forward to 3:06th minute in the video for this particular shot
155 vs. Australia in Chennai
Actually I can pick any shot in this innings and that would fit the bill as a remarkable shot! This battle of Sachin vs Warne was one of the most hyped individual battles in the history of the game. Hardly a couple of months back Sachin was dismissed by that little known leg spinner Rawl Lewis from WI in a ODI tournament in sharjah by bowling round the wicket into the rough. Sachin at that stage was generally perceived to be a little suspect with leg spinners bowling round the wicket into the rough and Aussies are sure to have done their homework before they landed on the subcontinent. At the same time Sachin’s preparation for this series is part of cricketing folklore now! And his sensational innings for Mumbai against Australia in the tour match gave more than an indication of what was to follow. But come the first test, the ever so competitive Warne draws first blood by dismissing Sachin for a single digit score. Out walks Sachin in the second innings with the team in a precarious situation and unleashes an array of attacking shots which will last in the memory of all those who witnessed the innings for their next seven births!
Sachin in such supreme form played so many great shots but to me this one shot stands out the most. Shane Warne after taking a pounding from a series of slog sweeps from Sachin, comes round the wicket yet again but this time alters the length by dropping it short but at the same time imparts more spin on the ball, Sachin on seeing the ball pitching short clears his left leg a bit and rocks back on the back foot to be in a perfect position to play the pull shot but with the ball turning square, he had to change his mind – the simplest alternative is to let it go. But Sachin was not in that kind of a mood that day, as if time stood still, on noticing the exaggerated turn he remained in the same posture but paused the pull shot and adjusted beautifully by covering the turn and cut the ball over covers – call it a cover cut if you want. With the pitch biting and turning sharply mere mortals struggle to survive a vicious Warne turner but this man plays two shots in one for the same ball!
I am not able to get a video of this shot on you tube. Will post the link as soon as I find one.
I can spend a lifetime on writing about my fav shots of Sachin, but with time constraints let me just mention two more shots without elaborating much.
That pull off Andy Caddick in the 2003 World Cup a day after Caddick made an audacious statement that Michael Vaughan is better than Sachin!
And that full blooded lofted drive off McGrath immediately after pulling him out of the stadium in the champions trophy in Nairobi – oh boy was that retaliation or what???
This topic is so expansive that it deserves a book more than a blog post...
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Missing the point...
I agree with every line that you have written but that’s not my point. If Gibbs had dropped that catch in the semi final, then it would have been an absolute what if moment. Even otherwise this could have been a what if moment but I have a problem when this is hyped up based on the semi final’s result which should ideally be an independent event – If you have to give weightage to performance in the preliminary stages of the world cup, then SA should have got a reservation for their clean slate in the league stages of the 1996 world cup.
Pakistan won the WC in 1992 but they only qualified for the semi finals by a whisker and that too with extraordinary help from weather gods. But that’s not what made them win the WC as much as that gem from Inzamam or that deadly spell by Wasim. You can comfortably ignore Wasim or Inzamam and argue that Pakistan won it purely because of luck – if the game against Eng wasn’t rained off, they would have lost because of which they wouldn’t have qualified for the semi finals and therefore that is the most critical factor – the butterfly effect!. In any event with multiple causes we can take our biases for the causes and go to any limits to justify them...
When Kapil Dev took that catch, we could have sensed that it could be “that” catch. I think the SA rain rule example is not in sync here. When Azhar won that toss and elected to field, most of us immediately felt it was not wise – why bat under pressure in a critical match, might as well set a target and defend. (Also I wouldn’t really call it a what if moment anyways!). When Steve Waugh handled the ball, I was watching the match live in the stadium from “D” Stand and trust me everyone in the stadium sensed that this was a break that could turn the match. On all these occasions our hunch that this could be a crucial moment is right only in retrospect and could have so easily gone wrong – I am completely in agreement with you on all this.
Now thanks for that Robin Jackman’s commentary* – That’s exactly my point. That Razzaq drop could have proven to be insignificant if Sachin had got out the next ball. But would he have said something like “oh boy. How crucial that dropped catch is going to be in deciding who’ll be the winner of this WC” in this case? I don’t think so. I can only imagine him saying something like “Oh boy, Has Gibbs given Australia another chance to get out of the jail and make it to the semi final”.
Unlike other examples that you have given, with the Gibbs' dropped catch, one could have only sensed that this is not curtains for Australia yet in this WC and nothing more. C’mon don’t tell me one can foresee a tie in the semi final which would make the result of this match absolutely critical and therefore this drop could prove to be catastrophic to SA’s chances of reaching the finals!
*If I remember right, the exact comment on that Razzaq dropped chance was "he might live to rue that"
Pakistan won the WC in 1992 but they only qualified for the semi finals by a whisker and that too with extraordinary help from weather gods. But that’s not what made them win the WC as much as that gem from Inzamam or that deadly spell by Wasim. You can comfortably ignore Wasim or Inzamam and argue that Pakistan won it purely because of luck – if the game against Eng wasn’t rained off, they would have lost because of which they wouldn’t have qualified for the semi finals and therefore that is the most critical factor – the butterfly effect!. In any event with multiple causes we can take our biases for the causes and go to any limits to justify them...
When Kapil Dev took that catch, we could have sensed that it could be “that” catch. I think the SA rain rule example is not in sync here. When Azhar won that toss and elected to field, most of us immediately felt it was not wise – why bat under pressure in a critical match, might as well set a target and defend. (Also I wouldn’t really call it a what if moment anyways!). When Steve Waugh handled the ball, I was watching the match live in the stadium from “D” Stand and trust me everyone in the stadium sensed that this was a break that could turn the match. On all these occasions our hunch that this could be a crucial moment is right only in retrospect and could have so easily gone wrong – I am completely in agreement with you on all this.
Now thanks for that Robin Jackman’s commentary* – That’s exactly my point. That Razzaq drop could have proven to be insignificant if Sachin had got out the next ball. But would he have said something like “oh boy. How crucial that dropped catch is going to be in deciding who’ll be the winner of this WC” in this case? I don’t think so. I can only imagine him saying something like “Oh boy, Has Gibbs given Australia another chance to get out of the jail and make it to the semi final”.
Unlike other examples that you have given, with the Gibbs' dropped catch, one could have only sensed that this is not curtains for Australia yet in this WC and nothing more. C’mon don’t tell me one can foresee a tie in the semi final which would make the result of this match absolutely critical and therefore this drop could prove to be catastrophic to SA’s chances of reaching the finals!
*If I remember right, the exact comment on that Razzaq dropped chance was "he might live to rue that"
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!!
How critical was that Steve Waugh's dropped catch?
In my response to Ramki’s what if’s in cricket, Ramki made the following comment: “Both of us missed gibbs dropping steve waugh...surely that is a what if moment?"
Surely that is a what if moment? You gotta be kidding… If that is a “what if” moment then almost half of the dropped catches in the history of cricket is a “what if” moment. The biggest problem with that incident is that it got its hype not so much for its criticality in that match but rather a retrospective romanticisation of it after the semi final ended in a tie. Admittedly it was a great innings under pressure and if Gibbs had caught it, it could have been curtains for Australia in that world cup. But it could have been the same against India too. What if Sachin had played a blinder in that chase and took the game away from Aussies! The equation for Australia was simple – win every match in the super six stage to reach the semi final and that’s what they did.
Now once the semi final spots were known, Steve Waugh’s innings was sunk – it had no more value (well, almost!). In an Australia vs South Africa semi final in a world cup how many of us would put our money on a tie for a result? It could so easily have been another of the South African humiliation by Australia or yet another Zulu show which could have taken the game away from Australia (and he almost did!) Now what happened on this occasion was not only that a highly improbable event happened but that combined with some amazingly complicated rules of the tournament ensured that Australia got through to the finals. Let us not forget the fact that SA didn’t lose the semi-final!
Because Steve Waugh’s innings helped Australia win the previous match against SA in the super six stage which helped them get through to the finals as they had a superior head to head record (as per the tournament rules!) that it got hyped even further. And only in retrospect did that Gibbs’ dropped chance seem to be so expensive! “You just dropped the WC mate”* became such a legendary story but that would have looked so foolish if Australia had lost the semi final! This is almost like the butterfly effect in Chaos Theory but surprisingly a lot of people bought into that story…
*Apparently Steve Waugh had made a similar comment “you just dropped the test match mate” to Sourav Ganguly in that famous Kolkata test in 2001 when he dropped Steve Waugh at leg slip early in his innings and we all know the result of that match!
Surely that is a what if moment? You gotta be kidding… If that is a “what if” moment then almost half of the dropped catches in the history of cricket is a “what if” moment. The biggest problem with that incident is that it got its hype not so much for its criticality in that match but rather a retrospective romanticisation of it after the semi final ended in a tie. Admittedly it was a great innings under pressure and if Gibbs had caught it, it could have been curtains for Australia in that world cup. But it could have been the same against India too. What if Sachin had played a blinder in that chase and took the game away from Aussies! The equation for Australia was simple – win every match in the super six stage to reach the semi final and that’s what they did.
Now once the semi final spots were known, Steve Waugh’s innings was sunk – it had no more value (well, almost!). In an Australia vs South Africa semi final in a world cup how many of us would put our money on a tie for a result? It could so easily have been another of the South African humiliation by Australia or yet another Zulu show which could have taken the game away from Australia (and he almost did!) Now what happened on this occasion was not only that a highly improbable event happened but that combined with some amazingly complicated rules of the tournament ensured that Australia got through to the finals. Let us not forget the fact that SA didn’t lose the semi-final!
Because Steve Waugh’s innings helped Australia win the previous match against SA in the super six stage which helped them get through to the finals as they had a superior head to head record (as per the tournament rules!) that it got hyped even further. And only in retrospect did that Gibbs’ dropped chance seem to be so expensive! “You just dropped the WC mate”* became such a legendary story but that would have looked so foolish if Australia had lost the semi final! This is almost like the butterfly effect in Chaos Theory but surprisingly a lot of people bought into that story…
*Apparently Steve Waugh had made a similar comment “you just dropped the test match mate” to Sourav Ganguly in that famous Kolkata test in 2001 when he dropped Steve Waugh at leg slip early in his innings and we all know the result of that match!
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Would it have been any different?
Dude, Whats unfair in this? Do you think my team would have been any different even if we didn't speak for 5 years. Except for Bevan everyone in your team was also in consideration in my team - including Moin Khan! So the only thing unfair was I picked the team before you did! I dont think you were discussing Lara or Deano or Bond the other day. Any team that you and I pick independently, at least 5 or 6 players will be common and probably around 3 players we'll surely disagree on.... So what are you complaining about. Let's fix it. Forget my team, you come out with your all time best ODI team without any constraints - pick whoever you want to, then I'll come with mine.
PS: BTW I forgot to mention my captain for the ODI team, it is Shane Warne! And if any of you think its because of his exploits in IPL, pleaseeeeee. For the short span that he was the captain of Australia during C&B tri-series between Aus, Eng and SL in 1998-99, Taylor's legacy of positive attacking captaincy appeared to continue in Australian Cricket and the results were attractive too with 10 wins out of 11 ODI's. If he had behaved a little better, he would have been the captain of the Australian team during its most glorious phase.
PS: BTW I forgot to mention my captain for the ODI team, it is Shane Warne! And if any of you think its because of his exploits in IPL, pleaseeeeee. For the short span that he was the captain of Australia during C&B tri-series between Aus, Eng and SL in 1998-99, Taylor's legacy of positive attacking captaincy appeared to continue in Australian Cricket and the results were attractive too with 10 wins out of 11 ODI's. If he had behaved a little better, he would have been the captain of the Australian team during its most glorious phase.
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....my version
Like I had the first mover advantage in the previous topic, you have it this time which makes my task relatively tougher. You have picked the cream of our cricket watching career already – but really that’s a silly excuse isn’t it?
This is mine:
1.What if Indo-Pak partition didn’t happen?
2.What if Shane Warne was born in India?
3.What if Sachin had connected that doosra from Saqlain cleanly?
4.What if BC Cooray didn’t come in the way of that Richardson’s thunderbolt of a sweep?
5.What if India had been knocked out in the first round of T20 World Cup in SA?
6.What if Healy had caught that Lara’s outside edge in Bridgetown?
7.What if that scoop of Kasprowicz was dropped by Geraint Jones?
8.What if Walsh wasn’t such a wonderful sportsman (remember he didn’t mankad Saleem Jaffar in the 1987 WC which cost them a semi-final berth)
9.What if Barry Richards had a long career (and did a Hussey)? – so that we would have known the real greatness of the man!
10.What if Steve Bucknor didn’t turn both deaf and blind at once in Sydney?
These are surely not my top 10 what if’s, but these are the 10 most spontaneous ones as of now…
This is mine:
1.What if Indo-Pak partition didn’t happen?
2.What if Shane Warne was born in India?
3.What if Sachin had connected that doosra from Saqlain cleanly?
4.What if BC Cooray didn’t come in the way of that Richardson’s thunderbolt of a sweep?
5.What if India had been knocked out in the first round of T20 World Cup in SA?
6.What if Healy had caught that Lara’s outside edge in Bridgetown?
7.What if that scoop of Kasprowicz was dropped by Geraint Jones?
8.What if Walsh wasn’t such a wonderful sportsman (remember he didn’t mankad Saleem Jaffar in the 1987 WC which cost them a semi-final berth)
9.What if Barry Richards had a long career (and did a Hussey)? – so that we would have known the real greatness of the man!
10.What if Steve Bucknor didn’t turn both deaf and blind at once in Sydney?
These are surely not my top 10 what if’s, but these are the 10 most spontaneous ones as of now…
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.....
Mouth watering contest....
That’s the way to respond. Oh boy, that bowling line up is scary, Imran is the killer pick there. I gave a slot to Taylor purely for his captaincy but that seems to be a little too luxurious in retrospect. But then I expect him to compensate for that by handling Murali better than any other captain who has handled him before. Remember he brought the best out of Warne by setting attacking fields and encouraging him to bowl an attacking line and length. If there was a weakness that I could point out in a near flawless career, it was that Murali tended to get defensive too soon. I am sure that under Taylor’s captaincy that would never happen, which would make him more potent.
Compared to your bowling line up, mine looks a little weak purely for the fact that I have only 4 genuine bowlers (for all my respect for Sobers, I cant see him as a consistent match winning bowler) whereas you have 5 absolute match winners with the ball – Imran provides such a great balance along with his leadership qualities – How did I miss him???
But my batting line up has a clear edge over yours. It would make a great contest man. Now that you have picked a 12th man (indirectly helping me to resurrect the balance of my team a bit), let me also pick one. I would go for Richie Benaud – a great leg spinner who doesn’t quite get his due in the modern day media only because of their obsession with Shane Warne and a very handy batsman too. Add that to the fact that he was a brilliant tactician as well. – So when I feel I need a better balance I’ll swap a batsman with Benaud.
Let the games begin...
Compared to your bowling line up, mine looks a little weak purely for the fact that I have only 4 genuine bowlers (for all my respect for Sobers, I cant see him as a consistent match winning bowler) whereas you have 5 absolute match winners with the ball – Imran provides such a great balance along with his leadership qualities – How did I miss him???
But my batting line up has a clear edge over yours. It would make a great contest man. Now that you have picked a 12th man (indirectly helping me to resurrect the balance of my team a bit), let me also pick one. I would go for Richie Benaud – a great leg spinner who doesn’t quite get his due in the modern day media only because of their obsession with Shane Warne and a very handy batsman too. Add that to the fact that he was a brilliant tactician as well. – So when I feel I need a better balance I’ll swap a batsman with Benaud.
Let the games begin...
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)