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Diary
This is my blog. I'll be writing articles of my heart here from time to time & calling it "Diary". The posts'll mostly be of cricket, but some might be in connection with personal objects also.
| This WC is going to be an even bigger event |
The WC is always a big event. But everytime it is bigger than before. Because everytime it brings the chance for all the teams to better their records in history. The teams who have won before can take their record further. And the team which haven't, can do it for the first time. In any case, the Cup is always bigger and more exciting than ever before. This time also, there are 14 teams contesting as in 2003 divided into two groups. The group stage will be followed by the knock-out stage: QF, SF and the finals. The WCs have always been extremely thrilling. In 1975 & 1979 they were won by a super strong West Indies team which reigned over the World in 1970s & 1980s. In 1983 it was won by a spirited Indian side, in 1987 by a dogged Aus side and in 1992 by a surprising Pak. Every time there was more thrill, more drama, more entertainment and more fun. In 1992 one of the main reasons of entertainment was the top form of the SA and NZ teams. The SA were playing for the first time and they were in their peak form. As also the NZ which was anchored very ably by a dashing Martin Crowe. Since 1993 the game became much bigger that before as cable television entered the market. And the way the game was played and telecasted was hyped multi-times as compared to earlier. The private Sports Channels presented in a very glamorous way adding emphasis to every thing. So it was from the 1996 WC that the game became super big when it came to India. India is the biggest contributor to the ICC's sponsorships. The maximum amount of the sponsorship comes from India. So India is a very important country in ICC's books. The way SL played the game in 1996 was amazing. They attacked hard in the first 15 overs and took the game away from there. In 1999 it was a big craze in India as the Indian team had won a big number of ODI tournaments in 1998. They played 10 and won 6 out of that. So the Indian team was in terrefic form and in particular Sachin Tendulkar was in the most dashing form. So the expectations were large in 1999 but it could not materialize as the team could not make it to the SF. The 2003 was the biggest edition so far as it enjoyed the maximum following. The Indian team did very well by reaching the finals and the Aussie team ruled completely like an emperor beating all teams like minnows. The Aus team literally crushed all teams by heavy margins and further strengthened their might in the world. So the 2003 Cup was the most entertaining and it still continues to thrill people in their memories. The 2007 edition was India's worst performance of all times and their exit in the preliminary stage was extremely shameful. It was a loss which cannot be made up by any amount of success. Australia have ruled over the world over the entire last decade and continue to be the favourites in this tournament too. At present also they thrashed Eng by 6-1 in a 7-match series at their home. This is just an indication of the kind of rythm they are in. SA and Eng also have been doing well recently and are the next favourites to win the title. All in all it's going to be a grand event and the Indian media is going to hype it like nothing before. My best wishes to the Indian team for the tournament.
|
 | | 07-Sep-2020 04:08 am |
| Comments |
| A WC in India is bound to be a bigger event. |
| saurabh@gmail.com |
| Replies | | The soulful home of cricket. |
| India are the biggest contenders of this world cup |
The Indian team is a prime contender of the World Cup. It has been playing very well in the One-Day format for a very long time. The Indian team has won seven one-day tournaments on a trot between 2012 and 2013 and is the no.1 team of the world at present. The team is in terrific form and has just crushed SL 5-0 in a home bilateral series. There are some great players in the young brigade of the team and it is looking well-prepared for the WC. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are in the form of their lives and the spirit of the team is high. Looks like they can do well at this world championship.
|
 | | 07-Sep-2020 06:58 am |
| Comments |
| The contention is clear with loudness. |
| saurabh@gmail.com |
| Replies | | 1000 decible roar. |
| Indian cricket is booming |
Indian Cricket is booming these days. And handsomely. Their performance in both Tests and ODIs over the last few years has been phenomenal. The number of matches and series we have won under Dravid and Dhoni we have never done it before. So this is the best phase of Indian cricket. In fact the entire era starting from the win against the Aussies in 2001 has been a Golden Era - an era of great success. The amount of success the team has enjoyed over these ten years has been unprecedented. It all started with Ganguly's captaincy in 2000. Ganguly was seen as an inspirational leader because he was strict with the players and an aggressive person on the field. So, he inspired good performances from others. Ganguly focussed on developing some young players by supporting them in their bad phase. He helped Sehwag, Yuvraj, Kaif, Harbhajan and Zaheer by persisting with them in their poor forms and that paid the required dividends. These players delivered the needful when the time came.
Ganguly's captaincy started with an ODI series win against SA at home 3-2. This was a good beginning for a new captain. Then India reached the final of Champions Trophy 2000 and almost won the tie before NZ snatched it away at the last moment. India batted first and piled up 265 in the designated overs. NZ were 130/5 and were therefore about to collapse but complacency on India's part saw them build a big partnership between Chris Cairns & Harris which took them through to the target. A liitle more effort by India in their fielding and bowling could have won the match easily and it would have been a big victory. Before the final India won successive matches against Aus & SA in the knockout stage which was a clear indication of the potential the team had got.
The 2-1 Test series win against Australia was a big morale booster and it lifted the confidence of the players to a great level. Now they started believing that they could win big series and tournaments against good teams regularly and rise to super strength. And it happened too. They equalled a Test series 1-1 with Zim, reached the final of a triangular ODI series involving SL & NZ. In this tournament, Virender Sehwag scored a 61-ball hundred in a match against NZ which was the first time the world saw a glimpse of this butcher. This was also the start of a phase in which India reached the final of a number of ODI tournaments till the World Cup. India drew a Test in SA and managed a 0-1 defeat. Then they won a Test series against Eng at home 1-0 and equalled the following ODI series 3-3. After this India started winning Test matches and tournaments abroad regularly. They beat Zim 2-0 in Test series and 3-2 in ODI series. This 2-0 win was India's first clean sweep of a Test series after a long time. Then they won a Test in WI where they lost the series 1-2. They won the following ODI series 2-1 (5). They won the Natwest Series in Eng chasing 325 in the final. It was a very big win as such a big total had been chased in ODI history after a very long time. It was undoubtedly one of the greatest ODI wins of all times and the stars of the win were Yuvraj and Kaif who scored 69 (63) and 87 in that match. After this win, India leveled a series with Eng 1-1 and with this win Ganguly became the most successful Indian Test captain. After this India lost two ODI series to WI & NZ and a Test series 0-2 to NZ. India's campaign in the WC was magnificent. They reached the final losing only 2 out of their 11 games in total.
The road to the final was glorious as India won convincingly against Pak, Eng and SL. All the wins were comprehensive but these three were the most special. India's loss in the final was disappointing as they could have won had Ganguly not decided to bowl first after winning the toss. Luck favoured India as they won the toss but Ganguly ruined it all. I think teams should always bat first on winning the toss unless the conditions are extremely supportive to bowling. If the conditions are little supportive to bowling then it is always advantageous to bat. After the WC, India's glorious phase began in which they started winning big series and tournaments in foreign countries regularly. They drew a Test series 0-0 versus NZ at home in which Rahul Dravid scored a match saving 222. Laxman was the player of the series with an aggregate of 279 in 4 innings. After this India played a triangular tournament involving Aus & NZ at home where they reached the final but lost to Aus there. Aus had scored only 235 in 50 overs and India could have won if they had put in a little more punch. Then the Indian Team went on tour to Aus where
they drew the series 1-1 with Rahul Dravid scoring a massive 619 in the series and VVS Laxman too hitting two big hundreds 178 & 148. The Austrlians rightly named him Very Very Special (VVS). Laxman was developing as an extraordinary batsman for all conditions. Sachin too hit a double ton (241*).
This series was followed by a tour of Pak in which India beat them comprehensively in both the Test Series (2-1) and the ODI series (3-2). India were now in top form. This series also saw Virender Sehwag's triple Century in the first Test. The next season had four back-to-back ODI tournaments involving India - Asia Cup, Natwest Series, Videocon Triangular Tournament and the Champions trophy. India showed some promise but could not win any trophy. They reached the final of Asia Cup but could not chase 228. They lost Natwest 1-2 and didn't reach the final of the Videocon tournament. In Champions Trophy they exited in the preliminary round winning only a match against Kenya and losing to Pak in the QF. After this India lost an important Test Series to Aus at home (1-2). It was a four-Test series which Aus dominated easily. India surrendered to their might. The next tour to BD was a party where India swept the Test series 2-0 and the ODI series 2-1. Over the next two years India won four ODI bilateral series by big margins. They beat Pak 4-1(5), SL 4-1(5), Eng 6-1(7) and WI 6-1(7). This was a big achievement and Yuvraj Singh was a major contributor in this period. He was in tremendous form and won the Man of the Series award three times out of four. Meanwhile India also won Test Series against SA (1-0)(2) and SL (2-0)(3). But India's biggest failure came in 2007 when India falied to enter the last eight stage. They crashed before BD and went out of the tournament. It was a major disappointment for India as a World Cup comes only once in 4 years and therefore carries huge emotions and feelings attached with it. India's ouster from these tournie was a very big failure.
Post the 2007 WC, India have been doing reasonably well and have been winning big matches and series consistently in both Tests and ODIS. Under Dhoni's captaincy India won a series agianst Eng, one against Pak, a Test against Aus in Aus, another against Eng in 2008, leveled a series versus SA in 2008, won a series against Aus at home 2-0(4), beat NZ in NZ 1-0(3), SL in Ind 2-0(3) and equaled with SA at home 1-1. All these were big accomplishments and India during this period did fairly well in ODIs too. They won the CommonWealth Bank series in Aus in 2008 and the Asia Cup in 2010.
The last one year has been extremely intense, where India has been fighting big teams like SA, Aus & NZ. They won against Aus 2-0(2) in home series, beat NZ at home (1-0)(3), leveled SA in SA (1-1)(3) and equaled SL in SL (1-1)(3). The win in SL, the two victories against Aus, the win against NZ and the one against SA at Durban were big wins as they all came very hard-fought. And VVS Laxman was a major contributor in all these matches. He stood tall in each of these five contests and scored big hundreds in each of them.
Now the next event is the WC and it is bound to be a big competition.
All the best India
|
 | | 09-Feb-2024 06:06 pm |
| Comments |
| This boom is bigger than the big bang boom. |
| saurabh@gmail.com |
| Replies | | The turnaround point of Indian cricket. |
| This Indian team has four extraordinary batsmen |
This Indian team has four extraordinary batsmen - In Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag & Gautam Gambhir. Each of them has the capability of winning matches single-handedly for India and each one is in stunning form at present. Sachin Tendulkar had a fabulous 2010. He scored a 200 in ODIs and hit 6 centuries in Tests and was the ICC Player of the Year. No amount of praise can describe his performance during this period. Dravid is an all-season consistent player. Virender Sehwag has been in terrefic form since 2009. He hit a magnificent 293 in Tests against SL in 2009 and has played many match-winning and match-saving innings in both Tests & ODIs for India. He has not only registered himself in the list of great batsmen but in the list of one of the greatest ever. India has been too dependent on his performances lately. & Gautam Gambhir is a really Gambhir player. He is awesomely consistent and stands like a rock on the pitch. He is really the Second Wall of India after Rahul Dravid. His performances since the 2007 WC have been truly remarkable. He has become a magnificent performer for India at the opening slot in Tests and at the No.3 in ODIs. We are really fortuante to find new players like Gambhir, Pathan & Kohli who are excellent in themselves and can change a match on their own. Virat's consistency in 2010 is laudable. All these four batsmen in the World Cup team form a solid top four for India. The foursome is a unit which can devastate any team and crush them like minnows. These four, if they hit the peak form in the WC, can demolish all the attacks and torment them. So, India's chances in the WC are very bright. Also the bowlers are also doing well these days. If the batsmen set up a good score, then the bowlers are able to defend them. So, all in all, India have very good chance at the Cup. All the best India.
|
 | | 07-Sep-2020 04:13 am |
| Comments |
| All four are in terrific form at present. |
| saurabh@gmail.com |
| Replies | | & Legends already. |
| Sachin had a fabulous 2010 |
Sachin's 2010 was tremendous. He ruled on the world in this year like a lion. He started the year with two centuries against Bangladesh in Tests. Then he hit the first ever 200 of ODIs against SA in Gwalior. After that he remained absent from the ODI scene for around a year. He is probably planning his cricket now and is playing less. He is playing only the important matches and is gradually moving towards retirement. In July he saved a very important match for India against Sri Lanka with a double century. It was his fifth double century. India were down 0-1 in the three-match Test series. He helped them equalise. India from there went on to win the third match and level the series. In October he again struck with a double century against Australia and rocked them. He helped India set up a big score in reply to Australia's inning and win the match. India won the series 2-0 and clean swept. It was India's first clean sweep against Aussies. His last strike came in the form of two centuries against the Proteas in the 3-match series where he tried hard to save the first match for India but did not get any help from the other end. It was his century no. 50. It was his entry into immortality. He had achieved a milestone which will remain unparalleled for a long time for now. Then he followed with another ton in the third Test and helped India draw the series. It was a phenomenal performance in all, he hit 7 centuries in Tests and one in ODIs and ended the year on a high note.
|
 | | 09-Feb-2024 06:09 pm |
| Comments |
| The Player of this Year. |
| saurabh@gmail.com |
| Replies | | The Player of History. |
| Dravid is a super consistent performer |
There have been many gods of different types but there has been only one who has heaped up 10000 in both formats & earned the title of "The god of solidity" with a defensive approach. He has raised the building with the wall of technique & rightfully got the title of "The wall" of the team. He has been the second most important batsman for India in his two decades & made the most runs in the twenty first century. He was a classical batsman by default & developed his technique around the old school of batting, focusing on only defending & hitting the ball only when it's of that merit. He got selected in the higher teams late - at 18 in the first class level & 23 in the national. He was a principaled & disciplined spirit since beginning & focused hard on his game & studies & didn't get distracted ever towards anything else. Humility & determination not to get distracted by anything were his first ethics & they reflected as much in his play as in his personal conduct. Growing up in a middle class family & service doing parents Jammy picked up the art at the age of 12 & learned the skills in a reputed coaching school. He had an elder brother also who played cricket. Rahul understood the importance of education & realised that his parents have struggled hard to meet his & his brother's needs. Coming from a South Indian family, calmness & composure were in his blood. Rahul, did his studies till graduation & attained 60% marks in B.Com. His school must have been one focusing more on the older format, that is why he developed a more traditional approach. Jammy worked in different modes accomplishing the different goals of life, but what remained common in these was his commitment to cricket & his diligent work. Rahul played I class cricket for Karnataka for 5 years & reached his destination gradually. The first time he got to wear the national jersey was in 1995 in an ODI match. His Test debut happened with Sourav in which he made 80s / 90s in both of the first two matches. Rahul's career had a misfortune of being eclipsed by someone else on important occasions always & he always remained under the shadow. On the debut, Ganguly scored bigger hundreds in both the matches, on his record breaking 145 in Taunton, Sourav again eclipsed to 183, in the historical Calcutta match, Laxman exceeded him, during his glorious run in the 2003 WC, he had to keep wickets. All through his passage he had to bear misfortunes which undermined his calibre. But Dravid never irked a bit in any situation & discharged all the duties with the utmost sincerity. It's due to this quality of his only that he was titled "The great wall of India". Dravid's rise to supersolidity started in the Test season 2003-04. He struck 3 big double centuries there in a span of 9 matches. He had already played some innings of solidity in the WC 2003 due to which he had been started considering as the most stable batsman of India. The Test season of 2003-04 saw him taking India to big scores in almost every inning. Within a span of 16 innings he scored 1296 runs & emerged as the no. 1 batsman of the year. This fetched him the Garry Sobers award for the Player of the Year that year. He hit 1 double century in each series & India dominated this entire season like champions. This period saw Rahul get great remarks from the top authorities of the world, like - Ravi Shastri stating that he had considered only 3 Indian batsmen great till now - Sunny Sir, Vishy Sir & Sachin. Dravid is the 4th one to walk into that club. Vivian Richards commented that Dravid was the most stylish batsman of the time because he was never no. 1, was always no. 3 or 4, no one thought I would come first, but finished first in the race of all. Sunny Sir stated during the inauguration ceremony of the NCA that the academy is being been presided over by the best player of his generation (Vishy Sir) & it is only apt that it is being inaugurated by the best player of this generation (Dravid). Ian Chappell had also verbed that Dravid is the joint no. 1 batsman of this world at present along with Hayden & Lara & is likely to finish among the top 10-12 of all time. Before this year also Dravid had smashed 600 runs in a 6 inning series in England with 4 consecutive centuries between West Indies & England. The 2003-04 Test season I will describe in elaborate detail as it was the most golden phase of Dravid's era.
The season involved 2 Tests vs Newzealand, 4 against Australia & 3 vs Pakistan. New Zealand had come determined that they will draw both the matches. This is the reason they played slow run rate in both the matches & batted 2½ days in the second tie to manage to save both. India had finished with the more successful edge in the first fight & Dravid had almost snatched the match from their fist with scores of 222 & 73. India batted first in it & set up 500. NZ got bundled for 340. We posted a 200 in the second again & gave them the target of 360. They ended up 272/6 opposite to it. Had the bowlers got one more session, they would have routed up this Kiwi lineremaining.
In the second combat Kiwi batted 7 sessions to avoid losing in a piled 630. India just managed to avoid follow on with my gritty 60 in the beginning. The remaining game then was a formality. The series thus ended in a boring 0-0 but Dravid's masterclass trailered what he was up for. This series was followed by a triangular ODI in which India fought throughout & beat the Australian might in the final. The ODI triangle was followed by India in an Australian summer which was being predicted as a full whitewash of India by the Australians. Pakistan experts had predicted that India will lose 0-4. Indian PM was in Australia at that time with the Australian PM who predicted that Australia will cleansweep the series. The series saw India firepower from the first match though. The starter was affected by rain which was the reason that the match didn't result. Australia got bundled for 329 in the first inning amid 3 days of rain & showed that they were pumping in bubbles only till now. Indian fightback was led by Ganguly with a captain's 144 & managed 490 with my defiant 81. The lead of 190 was sufficient to give them a pat for their overconfidence. Subsequently then they had to register a 421 to have sufficient score to bowl India out. But the time didn't develop & India closed the match at 84/3.
Still, Stuart McGill was at his teaser best & said that rain saved India & Australia will still wipe 3-0. The second match saw the history changer. Australia posed 400/5 on Day 1. On the second day they finished at 556 & gave India the chance to bat 1½ sessions. This was the beginning of the fightback. I & Virendar Sehwag who had given India good starts in all the innings in this season again initiated with a 70-odd stand. But the magical duo of Dravid & me picked from this point & took the score to 180/1 by stumps. The third day Dravid batted all day & took the score to 477/3 with his 199. On the 4th morning he completed his double century & stretched India to 620 with his 233. Laxman also hit 148. Australia were then frustrated with India's fightback & hasted a second inning batting for proving they can still win. But Ajit Agarkar took advantage of this hurry & ran through their order. They summarised for 196. India got a target of 152 which they managed with Dravid's anchoring 72*. Steve Waugh was moved with this fightback & brought back the winning ball & handed it to Dravid as a regard. This match was clear indication of the new power India were developing.
The third match was even more entertaining where Australia laid a greed top in Melbourne & India had to bat first. This was Virender Sehwag's day & he produced an explosive 195 on the first day only & India were 300 before the fall of the first wicket. I had contributed 180 in this partnership. India totalled to 546 in this inning vs which Austrlia tallied 558. This had consumed more than 10 sessions & India gave Australia a target of 286 in the 2nd inning in reply to which they could finish only 105/1.
India entered the decider with a lead. The Indian confidence was now justified & backed by a reason. The Sydney pitch was a spinning one & on this turner track Anil Kumble & Harbhajan Singh unrooted Australia twice before reaching the target. India had batted first & made 273/3 on Day 1 after being at 73/3 at one stage. Sachin & Laxman had a marathonic partnership & they took India past 615. Sachin remained not out on 241 & Laxman secured a 178. India were now safe to seal the series as the score was too high for the opponents to beat. Australia ended up around 400 against an 8-fer of Kumble & India scrapped them 200 in the second innings also with his 4-fer.
|
 | | 09-Feb-2024 06:12 pm |
| Comments |
| The Real Wall of international cricket. |
| saurabh@gmail.com |
| Replies | | A hilly rock of international cricket. |
| Virender Sehwag has been in tremendous form since the last two years |
Virender Sehwag has been in tremendous form in both forms of the game for the last two years. He has won and saved a number of matches for India. He has been India's most successful batsman in this period. He has risen to greatness. The kind of performance he has delivered makes him registered in the list of the greatest batsmen of all times. It is a great asset for India that a third batsman after Tendulkar and Dravid has risen to such form. It shows the depth of India's batting. Sehwag's rise has easened the pressure on Indian batsmen and it has created a fear in the hearts and minds of all the bowlers of the world. And the kind of devastating batsman that he is, it gives India a chance to chase big targets even if the time is less. He has done it a number of times. In 2008, India were supposed to chase a target of 387 against England in the fourth inning of a Test match in one day. And Sehwag made it not only possible but also easy to attain that. India managed the goal and in 2010 in a Test against Sri Lanka, he again helped to save a difficult match with his prowess. He remained in phenomenal form throughout 2010 and was the Player of the Series in both the Test and ODI series against SL in June-July. We hope he can do good for India in World Cup also and help them bring the trophy home.
All the best Sehwag.
|
 | | 09-Feb-2024 06:14 pm |
| Comments |
| A great in the making. |
| saurabh@gmail.com |
| Replies | | An all time great. |
| Gambhir is true to his name |
Gambhir is true to his name. He is a serious player. He has done consistently for India in both forms of the game since 2007. He was the highest scorer of the tournament and the Player of the series in 2007 T20 WC. He plays like a rock and stands like a wall on the pitch, just like Rahul Dravid. His technique is foolproof and there is nothing the bowler can do to breach his defence. India have got an opener like him after a long time since Manoj Prabhakar and Navjot Sidhu. He is a high-rate scorer in the ODI too. When he is going, he is difficult to stop and is a fearsome batter. He was chosen in the Indian team after a long period of consistent high scores in the first class level. He was the premiere batsman of India A team and under his leadership the India A team did very well in a lot of tournaments. Sandeep Patil who was the coach of India A team at that time had a lot of praise for him. He has a lot of strokes in his armour and is a delight to watch. India have huge expectations from him in the WC and we are confident that he will stand firm on our expectations.
All the best Gambhir
|
 | | 09-Feb-2024 06:17 pm |
| Comments |
| An earnest named person thereby. |
| saurabh@gmail.com |
| Replies | | Sincerely earnest. |
| Australia have been super-hiltop since the last whole decade |
Australia are truly the champions of this game and their height in this game is way ahead of all others. They are in a class of their own - a cut much above the rest. They have been playing tremendously over the last whole decade and have won most of their matches & series in both forms of the game. Their might is unparalleled and their record is awesome. The leadership of Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting has been amazing. They were inspiring skippers and led by example. This team is something from which all the others in this world can learn a lot of things. It's hard to believe that a team can reign and rule over the world of cricket over a whole decade and that too in a manner that there is a gap between them and all the other teams. They are not just the no.1 but a lot better than all others. This has been possible because of a bunch of cricketers who played in this era, each of whose were tremendously talented and skilled and delivered many awe-inspiring performances for their team. It was heartening to see the performances of Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Glenn Mc Grath, Shane Warne, Justin Langer & Damien Martyn who played during this period and took their team to glorious heights through their magnificent play. It is also unbelievable that so many players of this quality and caliblre played in this team at the same time. Each of these players is a stalwart in his own right and stands out in the international cricket outstandngly. The Australian team is supremely mighty and is still rocking at the top of their confidence. Nobody knows for how long they will continue to be this strong. For the viewers this is certainly extremely entertaining and thrilling and the people want them to play the same way for many more years. They are bringing a lot of pleasure to the lives of people all over the world and a lot of money to their organisers. What else does anyone want? So, the Oz team is in a space of their own and we wish them all the luck for their future contests. All the best Australia.
|
 | | 07-Sep-2020 07:01 am |
| Comments |
| The ultimate GOAT team. |
| saurabh@gmail.com |
| Replies | | GOATs across history & geography. |
| Australia have done a great service to the competiter teams by following aggressive approach which gives them extra time to compete |
Australia have revolitionised the way Test cricket is played. They bat @ R.R. of 4-5 & score 500+ most times in first inning. They have put the opposition under pressure by the heap of this bulk run in the first inning & compelled them to surrender gradaully to the tall target. They are the team to pile 500 most times, defeat teams by inning most times, enforce follow on most times & clean sweep series most times. But they have done the opposition teams a great service by this approach also. When the score high runs in less overs, they facilitate the other team more time to chase the target & this way they have benefitted them under a competitive spirit of cricket. This approach of the Oz team has helped the competition of cricket in a better way & entertained the fans more.
|
 | | 09-Feb-2024 06:20 pm |
| Comments |
| An advantageous opposition. |
| saurabh@gmail.com |
| Replies | | Positive opposition. |
| Australia are nearing a big loss by the retirement of Hayden, Gilchrist, Langer, McGrath & Warne together |
The generation of Australian players of the 2000s who run a ruthless phase of cricket in this era are neary the age of their retirement soon & many of them like Hayden, Gilchrist, Langer, McGrath & Warne may retire after this world cup. This bunch of these athletes was a golden one who are irreplaceable & iconic in history & the team is likely to suffer a big loss due to their retirement together. Their boots may be difficult to fill & they shall have to do strong building to develop new talent. I am personally a great fan of this team & I'm going to miss these stars much in their post-superannuation time. I hail this team as the greatest team in the history of cricket & salute this herd of Australians with bowed head.
|
 | | 09-Feb-2024 06:21 pm |
| Comments |
| The unprecedented unit. |
| saurabh@gmail.com |
| Replies | | The unpostedented also most probably. |
| My dream all-time WC XI |
My dream XI for the World Cup (in batting order):
1. Sachin Tendulkar2. Virendra Sehwag (Vice-captain) 3. Rahul Dravid (Captain)4. Gautam Gambhir5. Virat Kohli6. Yousuf Pathan7. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Wicketkeeper)8. Zaheer Khan (Strike bowler)9. Ashish Nehra (2nd strike bowler)10. Munaf Patel (3rd fast bowler)11. Harbhajan Singh (Spinner)
This XI is extremely competent and capable of winning against any side on any given day. Each of the team members are capable of turning a match and taking it home from there single handedly. Each one is a stalwart in his own right and therefore this team is capable of winning the coveted trophy for the 2nd time in history and setting records straight.
|
 | | 06-Oct-2021 01:02 pm |
| Comments |
| 100% matched. |
| saurabh@gmail.com |
| Replies | | An XI which will beat any team. |
| Sachin is the biggest phenomenon to have happened in international cricket |
There have been many great players in cricket. But none of them had the craze of Sachin Tendulkar. He was a phenomenon in the 1990s. When he was growing into a superstar, people could not believe that a cricket player could be this extraordinary. He was India’s first aggressive batsman. His rise to fame coincided with the emergence of Cable Television in the country. On one side he was growing bigger and bigger hitting century after century in every match and on the other side cable TV was making the game more and more popular in the nation with its charming, attractive and appealing presentation. All this made him all the more popular. There were many factors which went in his favour. He was an opening batsman. So he had more time and overs to play. So he could hit centuries easily. The fifteen over field restriction rule was introduced in 1995. This made the game more interesting. He played some heroic innings for eg the knocks in the final and semi final of the Sharjah Cup 1998. 1998 was his best year. He hit 9 one day centuries in that year and broke Desmond Haynes’ record of most one day centuries (17). He also surpassed Md Azharuddin’s aggregate of 9000 ODI runs in 2000 and reached 10000 in 2001. He was the most consistent batsman of his time. He hit centuries @ 1 per three matches in Tests and @ 1 per 7 matches in ODIs. Many batsmen have been compared to him – Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting for example. But none of them were as consistent as him in both forms of the game. Sachin is still rocking and entertaining the people. We wish him to continue in this form. May god give him stamina and strength to go on for long.
All the best Sachin.
|
 | | 07-Sep-2020 09:39 am |
| Comments |
| The unchallengeable God of cricket. |
| saurabh@gmail.com |
| Replies | | The One God. |
| Absolutely man. Who else has done up to the level of Sachin? |
| sid@ymail.com |
| 100% true. Sachin is the biggest phenomenon to have descended on this planet. |
| saurabh@gmail.com |
| Sachin's knock of 143 at Sharjah is the greatest ODI knock ever |
Sachin’s knock of 143 at Sharjah against Australia in 1998 was the best One-day inning of all times. It was a thriller of a match. Australia had batted first and scored 285. It was a daunting task to chase that target. But Sachin made it not only possible but also easy to achieve it. India needed 265 in that match to qualify for the finals. It was a triangular series involving Zimbabwe. Pepsi was the title of the Cup. Sachin scored a mammoth 143 off 134 balls and took India past the target and fell just before India were close to the target. It seemed that Laxman and Azhar who were at the crease at that time will take India past the required figure but that could not happen. India had sufficient wickets at that time but those batsmen did not show enough hunger to attain the goal. But still Sachin had done a mountainous task by reaching the qualifying figure. I think it was the most difficult match in the history of the game because Australia were an extremely tough team and they had set an extremely high target for India. Also Glenn McGrath were bowling extremely lethal deliveries from both ends. Both are world class bowlers. And the following match which was a final was again a thriller one with India having to chase 272 again against a difficult Australian team. And the master batsman did it again. These two matches I think were epic innings and there are very few matches in the history of One-day cricket which come close to the charm of these two matches. This final match was in my opinion the second best inning of the One-day history. I congratulate Sachin on his performance in these to matches. He is surely a champion and a figure in the history of the game. He rightly won a car as the prize of the Player of the Tournament. It was enchanting to watch that.
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 | | 09-Feb-2024 06:23 pm |
| Comments |
| The epic inning of cricket. |
| saurabh@gmail.com |
| Replies | | The 2nd epic is also the final of this tournament. |
| Laxman's marathon of 281 is the most epic Test inning of all times |
VVS Laxman’s inning of 281 against Australia in the 2001 Test series was the greatest ever played in the history of Test cricket. It was the most memorable match I had ever seen. Never before had I seen any team win a Test match after coming back from such a backward point. India were trailing by 274 runs in the first innings and followed on. It was only the third instance in the history of Cricket out of the 1535 Test matches played thus far that a team had won a match after following on. It was a thriller of a match. Never ever had a better fightback been witnessed by anyone. Steve Waugh himself gave this comment. It indicates that he must have been awe-struck by India’s performance. The three main heroes of India’s victory were VVS, Rahul Dravid and Harbhajan Singh. It was the second Test of the series played at Calcutta. Australia batted first and scored 291/8 on the first day. The situation was even on Day 1 as Aus had scored a good 291 runs but India too claimed their 8 wickets. Harbhajan Singh had taken a hat-trick – India’s first hattrick in Tests and 29th overall. The Australians seemed overconfident as they batted aggressively even after losing a good number of wickets. On Day 2 Aus went on to make 445. Steve Waugh scored a century (110) and Jason Gillispie made a career best 46. It was a good recovery by Aus after the late evening-lower order collapse on day 1. When India started batting, none of the batsmen could stand the fierce bombing of the Oz bowlers. Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Kasprowich and Brett Lee were delivering fire from both ends. India were 171/8 on day 2 and Laxman was the only survivor with 59 to his credit. On Day three morning the Indian lineup got dismissed for 171. The first inning trail was 274 and the team had to follow on. It was a mammoth task and even saving the match was looking unlikely. But destiny had something else in store of India. In the second inning Indian batsmen showed a different character. They fought hard and built 232/4 on Day 3. Laxman was batting on 107 and Rahul on 11. Both the batsmen were looking in good rhythm. But still the target was a mountainous one. VVS had come at no.3 and Rahul at no.6. Rahul was demoted in this match because the selectors and the team management were not happy with his recent form. I was extremely disappointed with this decision as it was a great insult to a batsman of his class. He is too extraordinary a batsman to be given this treatment by the board. He had played so many big innings and centuries in the past that he could not have been punished for a little slump in form. Class is permanent, form is temporary. India needed to make a huge score to save this match as they were still behind Aus’ first inning total by 42 runs. Nobody had thought what could happen on Day 4 but Laxman and Dravid proved that they were made of steel metal. They both batted the whole day and finished the day on 275 and 155 respectively. Laxman had surpassed India’s highest individual score of 236 in the course (Sunil Gavaskar). The Board was happy with him and announced a prize money of Rs.1000 per run as soon as he went past Gavaskar’s score. It was a classy performance by the two batsmen. Their partnership was of 376, the highest for India for any wicket. Laxman in his inning had hit Shane Warne for a number of fours over mid-wicket in a very stylish way. Warne used to bowl him at the leg stump and he used to jump forward and push away him for four. It was a thrilling contest. He smashed all the bowlers for boundaries and it was an epic inning to watch. Rahul Dravid’s knock too was no less. On day 5, Laxman got out for 281 and Dravid for 180. India declared their inning for 657/7. Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan played some lusty shots in the end and took the team’s score farther from Aus’ reach. The bowlers then did the remaining task as Harbhajan Singh took a magnificent 7 wkts and the visitors went all out for 212 chasing the target of 384. Harbhajan Singh finished the match with figures of 13 wkts (6 in I inn and 7 in II). But the biggest hero of the match was VVS Laxman (Very Very Special Laxman, as the Oz players started calling him from then onwards) who scored a big 340 runs (59 in I inn & 281 in II). Never in the history of the game had such a great inning been witness because never before had such a difficult match been played. VVS Laxman deserves all the credit for this hero’s win. His performance was truly magical. He is a giant of a player and is capable of playing many big knocks of this quality. India from there went on to make history by winning the third Test and beating Aus 2-1. It was India’s greatest ever performance in Tests. Any amount of praise is not enough for this performance. Thank you India for giving us this win. We are all extremely proud of this.
|
 | | 09-Feb-2024 06:26 pm |
| Comments |
| The turnaround of Test cricket. |
| saurabh@gmail.com |
| Replies | | The biggest turning point of Test cricket. |
| My favourite batsmen |
I have six favourite batsmen – Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Brian Lara, Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden & Jacques Kallis. Each of them are in tremendous form at present and each one of them has been playing terrifically well for the last 20 years. And they are the best batsmen of the world – the best of their generation and among the greatest ever. They are a class apart from the rest and have been ruling the game ever since they made their debut. Sachin Tendulkar has been a master since 1989. He started at the age of 16 and has played with the likes of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock. Curtly Ambrose too had been a great bowler of his time and had dismissed many a batsmen with his fierce deliveries. Brian Lara also belongs to the generation of Sachin Tendulkar and was his contemporary and competitor for most of this time. They were compared throughout their playing days. If Sachin was massively consistent, then Lara had the capability of hitting big centuries. Ricky Ponting came in 1996 and Jacques Kallis in 1995. Both were good players from the beginning but they were not of the class of Sachin & Lara. They rose to this class eventually. Ricky hit 1500 runs in Tests in 2003 and ever since has been hitting more than 1000 runs in both Tests and ODIs in each calendar year. He has been breaking all records and now is behind only Sachin in all types of statistics in both Tests and One-days. Jacques Kallis was not an extraordinary batsman till 2004 but ever since he lost his father in 2005, this event had a major impact on him as a person and this has shown in his batting. He has grown in phenomenal form and has hit 2000 runs in 2006. He now belongs to the class of the greatest batsmen of the world and is one of the finest of the last decade. Rahul Dravid was a classy batsmen ever since he made his debut against Eng in Lords and scored 95. He has been awesomely consistent since then specially in Tests. He is a Test specialist and had recorded batting average of 58 or 59 for most of his career. His batting average in One-dayers is also close to 40. Though his Strike rate is not great but his stability in the team is immense. He was also a very good captain and led from the front. He inspired great performances from others through is able captaincy. Matthew Hayden came in 2001. He started his career by hitting 549 runs against India in a 3-Test series and hit a double century in that. Ever since then he has been a great batsman. He hit 20 centuries in 4 years and finished at 30 in the end. His average in ODIs also is 46. He was an aggressive batsman and one of the most destructive of his time. These 6 batsmen are among the greatest ever and it can be said that the present phase of cricket is of great batsmen and explosive batting as there are many great batsmen in the world. All this started with the new rule of field restriction in 1995 which stated that one two fielders could be outside the 30-yard circle in the first 15 overs. The NZ were the first team to take advantage of this rule and start the trend of hitting big shots and scoring runs in bulk in the first 15 overs. SL realized this possibility next and made use of it in the 96 World Cup. Ever since then it has been normal practice.
|
 | | 07-Sep-2020 06:42 am |
| Comments |
| My list also matches with you completely. |
| deepika@rmail.com |
| Replies | | The unseen in cricket ever. |
| This is an unprecedented bunch. |
| The age of new batsmen has many G.O.A.T.s. |
| 200%. |
| An interesting format for the WC |
I have an idea for the World Cup format. This idea is better than all the formats applied so far. I think there should be only 8 teams in the World Cup. This will bring two advantages: First, the matches of minnows are meaningless. Those matches will be avoided. Second, the tournament will not be unnecessarily lengthy. What is more, these 8 teams should be the main 8 teams of the world – Ind, Aus, SA, Eng, NZ, Pak, SL & WI. Because these eight teams have been playing the game for the longest time, so it becomes their unchallenged right to participate in the WC. There should be no groups. All the eight teams should play each of the other seven teams once in the first round. This will ensure that each team has played each of the other teams. The top six teams from this round should go to the super six. There each of the teams should play the other five teams. This will ensure that each team has played a good number of matches. The more a team plays, the more it will be tested. So it is best to have each team playing all the other five teams in the super six. Then the top four teams from here should go to the semi finals. The point system should also be simple. 2 points for each match and the points of the round robin league are carried forward to the super six. The teams reaching the final will play 14 matches and there will be 46 matches in all. This format overcomes all the shortcomings of the previous formats and is the best possible format. I hope my format will be liked and used in the coming World Cups.
|
 | | 07-Sep-2020 07:09 am |
| IPL would better have been a One-Day tournament |
If IPL was a One-day tournament then it would have been better. Because ODI cricket is more exciting than T20. It would have been a thrilling tournament on the lines of the World Cup. It would have been the National One-day championship of India. There would have been 8 teams participating – the top 8 teams from the Ranji trophy. All teams would play each other once in the round-robin league and then the top 6 teams go to the Super-six. There again each of the 6 teams play the other 5 once and then the top 4 teams make to the semi-final: 1 vs 4 & 2 vs 3. The team reaching the final would get to play 14 matches. It would have been the National One-day Cup of India with states competing for the trophy. We could retain the IPL property of playing the same team for three seasons. In the first three seasons we could play with only the domestic players and each player representing his own state rather than playing for any team. From the fourth season we could introduce foreign players. The selection of players would have been from a lucky draw – the team winning the draw could be asked to choose a player of their choice. But we could avoid auction of teams – that makes the scene ugly. Auction seems as if players are saleable items. So instead of Corporates owning teams we could have the BCCI paying a good amount to the players. It would have been a fantastic tournament.
|
 | | 07-Sep-2020 07:22 am |
| Comments |
| ODI is still the greatest format. |
| saurabh@gmail.com |
| Replies | | Greatest across history & geography. |
| & The best across sports also. |
| ODI still rules the roost. |
| saurabh@gmail.com |
| ODI cricket is more interesting than T20. |
| saurabh@gmail.com |
| An Indian T20 league is still bigger than the T20 WC. |
| saurabh@gmail.com |
| Hope, it happens sometime in future. |
| saurabh@gmail.com |
| If cricket was played with tennis ball, it would have been interesting in another way |
We all have played cricket with tennis ball in our schools and neighbourhood. Cosco is the most popular brand of it. If cricket was played with tennis ball at the international level, it would have been much more interesting. The tennis ball is very light and soft and goes to the boundary or over-boundary very quickly. It is very easy to smash it hard all around. If international cricket was played with tennis ball, we would be seeing a thunderous rain of fours and sixes. Every second ball would go to the boundary. I wish the governing body realises this.
|
 | | 07-Sep-2020 06:49 am |
| Comments |
| Cosco ball is our childhood memory of all of us. |
| saurabh@gmail.com |
| Replies | | Even players. |
| 2020 may be a special year for Twenty-20 as its number only is the name of this format |
Co-incidences are special as they indicate links. 2020 is only one such link in Cricket as it points out to the name of one of its formats. & This year has anyway on its plate of schedule an unprecedented & much-awaited World Cup of this format. Much-awaited because the contests in this game are much high-level these days & unprecedented because of 2 reasons - 1) Because it is being hosted in the home of the boss of Cricket - Australia & 2) Because the last edition of this tournament was very high-profile & intense. Also, because other forms of this tournament this year like the Women's World Cup & the Under-19 World Cup have escalated the interests further. The new Super-Over rule has also made the thing even more interesting. Due to all these reasons the WC Australia has become a subject of high aspirations.
|
 | | 10-Sep-2020 06:17 pm |
| Comments |
| 20-Twenty. |
| saurabh@gmail.com |
| Replies | | Twenty-20. |
| We were preparing for a gigantic triumph in Australia. |
| saurabh@gmail.com |
| A WC in Australia is the peak of the Mt. Cricket. |
| saurabh@gmail.com |
| Oz are the dens of the cricket. Should have been the bestest to beat them there. |
| saurabh@gmail.com |
| The memories of the last T20 WC enthrall still. |
| saurabh@gmail.com |
| The commentater trio of Sunny Sir, Geofrey Sir & Tony Sir is the most interesting commentater team ever |
The commentater trio of Sunny Sir, Geofrey Sir & Tony Sir is the best commentater team in cricket ever. What unlimited excitement, what unparalleled style & what unbeaten class of passion & skill they brought in the game! They were all masters themselves & had this rare quality of energy, language & service. They served the game like warriors of an army & produced unqualified results in it. Their comments had immeasurable impact on the opinions of the people, the cricket community including the players & the experts & the events of coming times. All people watched their commentaries with breathless attention & importance & followed their statements religiously after judging them in their own intellects. These people had been doing this task since long time & were already there when the cable T.V. boom happened in India in 1992 & glamourised the game of cricket. So, people watched them as the 1st experts of the sport. They put their views in iconic fashion & words & in such style that it became a sensation for the common man. The ordinary people carried these outlooks to the common discussions of life & made them permanent. While the cricket community of players, coaches, team managements & the expert club took them to the decision tables of the teams & took their decisions & actions of the future matches accordingly. The way they analysed the events became the determining factors of what will be done ahead to overturn the failures & improve the performances & beautify the game. The authorities at all levels also considered their analysis & comments to decide how to improve & beautify the game. In all, the services of this trio was beyond appreciation. Although all commentators are invaluable like this only, but this team was extra special with Geofrey Sir & Tony Sir igniting fires with their extra loud & enthusiastic energy.
|
 | | 04-Feb-2024 03:54 pm |
| Comments |
| Really entertaining trio. |
| saurabh@gmail.com |
| Replies | | Enchanting expert. |
| Cricket is an institution of values, valour & fun |
There have been many arts & sciences with great body of knowledge & the history is rich with elite skills of human speciality, but cricket is an unprecedented profession with amalgament of many skills, arts & sciences in it & its class is valant, elegant & glorious. The event of cricket is skillful, great with values & full of fun & entertainment. The rules of cricket have been made with much ethics & justice & the game is played with much beauty & enchantment. The spirit of the game is in sync with the spirit of humanity & society & the game is a shiner in the history of human glory. For me the sport is just not a sport, but an institution of values, valour & fun.
|
 | | 09-Feb-2024 06:28 pm |
| Comments |
| A moral institution. |
| saurabh@gmail.com |
| Replies | | A natural institution. |
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