tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38805464695236183972024-03-13T07:26:38.706+05:30DieHard Cricket FansHome of Cricket Fans Around the WorldDieHard Cricket Fanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09712518878440027584noreply@blogger.comBlogger438125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880546469523618397.post-36950086473657732062023-01-31T17:58:00.006+05:302023-01-31T18:00:33.798+05:30The Gandhian Cricket Story<p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgU5TiL4U8Qfe9bmjpEzhdGjztwNaWoCa--x7jQ6wG572CCWSEHnqG6KCyPqffBEBYvc5UAReqfWw1AaL2r5O5RNfTS_RNYZHYY8BPTKu6vBDD3sgMXc9-UzjaMWZz9GC6p9a_uYLLHIx84xqgN6HsI92cSWNCgL7WnL6i2y-iDTbPC2T0dxzB2fv2m" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1352" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgU5TiL4U8Qfe9bmjpEzhdGjztwNaWoCa--x7jQ6wG572CCWSEHnqG6KCyPqffBEBYvc5UAReqfWw1AaL2r5O5RNfTS_RNYZHYY8BPTKu6vBDD3sgMXc9-UzjaMWZz9GC6p9a_uYLLHIx84xqgN6HsI92cSWNCgL7WnL6i2y-iDTbPC2T0dxzB2fv2m=w320-h400" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Lucknow pitch was mourning on the eve of Martyr's day. It had decided not to allow violence. Hence no batsman was able to "hit" the ball for a six, not even Surya Kumar Yadav. It was a night of near total nonviolence. As hard as they tried, nobody could send the ball over the ropes in 239 attempts.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Only batter who looked comfortable and capable of big hitting was Washington. No wonder, with that American name, he seems to have no reverence for Gandhi. Fortunately, SKY ran Washington out to ensure there won't be any blasphemous violence. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Hardik Pandya hails from the home state of Gandhi. But the New Zealand Captain Mitchell Santner proved to be more aware of the occasion than Hardik. Hardik had 3 overs of spin left in his kitty but he chose to unleash violence through pace. Santner on the other hand got everyone to bowl spin and even tried to coax his fastest bowler to "spin". It was truly magical that New Zealanders were more Gandhian than Indians as they chose to "Spin" in honor of the Saint of Sabarmati.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Finally, it was a tight finish with the hosts choosing not to hurt the sentiments of visitors in an exhibition of true Gandhian ethos. Lucknow, the city famous for its Ganga - Jamuni Tehzeeb of Nawabs combined Gandhi with Modi and declared, "Na Maaroonga, Na Maarne Doonga !".</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Newer generation unfamiliar with Gandhi and his values called it boring Cricket. But it was truly Gandhian Cricket where T20 was played in Test Match mode. No, not the Bazball type but the 1947 mode. Perhaps we can call it Gandzball. Finally, as Shastri (Ravi, not Lal Bahadur) would say, "The game of Cricket was the winner !" because New Zealand couldn't believe they lost it and India couldn't believe they won.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">PS: Hope the ICC slaps some demerit points on Lucknow pitch. It wasn't a pitch. It was Mirpur in slow motion.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Govind Raj Shenoy for DieHard Cricket Fans</span></p>DieHard Cricket Fanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09712518878440027584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880546469523618397.post-54442850170187119532023-01-19T18:25:00.004+05:302023-01-19T18:25:37.385+05:30Shubman Gill : Enormity of That Double Hundred<div><div class="" dir="auto"><div class="x1iorvi4 x1pi30zi x1l90r2v x1swvt13" data-ad-comet-preview="message" data-ad-preview="message" id="jsc_c_hs" style="padding: 4px 16px 16px;"><div class="x78zum5 xdt5ytf xz62fqu x16ldp7u" style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; margin-bottom: -5px; margin-top: -5px;"><div class="xu06os2 x1ok221b" style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x x4zkp8e x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: var(--primary-text); display: block; font-size: 0.9375rem; line-height: 1.3333; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhg4l-O_vg1_TzGylxFnP6dMR4mE6W_IvF8J9DSyDeBJrspuxHPZfc9D1a7sIVybfoLlq0rzwFtl_0QgGCUJri2puZPQcKxLofUjyZyGoR4fIUnM3GouHfzdIVJBytU7B4seXJaDXU3DbDedRlDNGuXtc_zdANqqyfpy2sd0TbXaGdWl1whhrRL7ZM5" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="804" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhg4l-O_vg1_TzGylxFnP6dMR4mE6W_IvF8J9DSyDeBJrspuxHPZfc9D1a7sIVybfoLlq0rzwFtl_0QgGCUJri2puZPQcKxLofUjyZyGoR4fIUnM3GouHfzdIVJBytU7B4seXJaDXU3DbDedRlDNGuXtc_zdANqqyfpy2sd0TbXaGdWl1whhrRL7ZM5=w400-h269" width="400" /></a></div>It's a special, very special knock by Shubman Gill, a lot more special than the very recent and much quicker Double hundred by Ishan Kishan. Here are some tidbits that tell the story of enormity.</span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial;">Shubman: 208 of 149 balls</span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial;">All <a style="color: #385898; cursor: pointer;" tabindex="-1"></a>others: 128 of 151 balls</span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial;">Shubman: 19 fours, 9 sixers</span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial;">All others: 12 fours, 2 sixers</span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial;">Both sixers were hit by Rohit and no other batsman cleared the boundary after Rohit got out.</span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial;">Second highest score: 34 (of 38 balls) by Captain Rohit as no other batter came anywhere near 50.</span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial;">SKY with 31 of 26 was the only other batter to strike at above 100% (SR: 119.23) while Shubman scored at 139.59 strike rate.</span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial;">Collective strike rate of all other batters was 84.77% compared to Shubman's 139.59%.</span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial;">Shubman scored 61.9% of the runs coming of the bat and 59.6% of the team total, playing just under half of the 300 balls.</span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial;">Shubman had a reprieve, thanks to missed catch by Latham. But that's always part of the game. The way he plated from 48th over is testimony to his ability to switch gears. </span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial;">This was indeed a very special knock and in the process, Shubman Gill became the "Fastest Indian" to 1000 ODI runs.</span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Shubman Gill era has officially begun !</span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-size: 15.972px; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Govind Raj Shenoy for DieHard Cricket Fans</span></span></div></div></span></div></div></div></div></div><div><div class="x168nmei x13lgxp2 x30kzoy x9jhf4c x6ikm8r x10wlt62" data-visualcompletion="ignore-dynamic" style="border-radius: 0px 0px 8px 8px; overflow: hidden;"><div><div><div><div class="x1n2onr6" style="position: relative;"><div class="x6s0dn4 xi81zsa x78zum5 x6prxxf x13a6bvl xvq8zen xdj266r xktsk01 xat24cr x1d52u69 x889kno x4uap5 x1a8lsjc xkhd6sd xdppsyt" style="align-items: center; border-bottom: 1px solid var(--divider); color: var(--secondary-text); display: flex; font-size: 0.9375rem; justify-content: flex-end; line-height: 1.3333; margin: 0px 16px; padding: 10px 0px;"><div class="x6s0dn4 x78zum5 x1iyjqo2 x6ikm8r x10wlt62" style="align-items: center; background-color: #242526; color: #b0b3b8; display: flex; flex-grow: 1; overflow: hidden;"><div class=""><span class="x4k7w5x x1h91t0o x1h9r5lt xv2umb2 x1beo9mf xaigb6o x12ejxvf x3igimt xarpa2k xedcshv x1lytzrv x1t2pt76 x7ja8zs x1qrby5j x1jfb8zj" style="align-items: inherit; align-self: inherit; display: inherit; flex-direction: inherit; flex: inherit; height: inherit; max-height: inherit; max-width: inherit; min-height: inherit; min-width: inherit; place-content: inherit; width: inherit;"><div class="x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x6umtig x1b1mbwd xaqea5y xav7gou x9f619 x1ypdohk xe8uvvx xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1o1ewxj x3x9cwd x1e5q0jg x13rtm0m x1n2onr6 x87ps6o x1lku1pv x1a2a7pz x1heor9g xnl1qt8 x6ikm8r x10wlt62 x1vjfegm x1lliihq" role="button" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; border-color: initial; border-radius: inherit; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: inherit; cursor: pointer; list-style: none; margin: 0px; max-height: 1.3333em; outline: none; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: inherit; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: none; z-index: 1;" tabindex="0"><div class="x9f619 x1ja2u2z xzpqnlu x1hyvwdk xjm9jq1 x6ikm8r x10wlt62 x10l6tqk x1i1rx1s" style="box-sizing: border-box; clip-path: inset(50%); clip: rect(0px, 0px, 0px, 0px); height: 1px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; width: 1px; z-index: 0;"><span style="font-family: arial;">All reac<span style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem; text-align: inherit;"> </span></span></div></div></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>DieHard Cricket Fanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09712518878440027584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880546469523618397.post-16501467928721867852022-12-28T15:37:00.002+05:302022-12-28T15:38:33.374+05:30The Elephant in the Room<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfxFwDb1Z8RT-TFEG0tRKjctsEoWDO1QzPzF73A0lIZ9BxchKwk5gDgKeRkMgICSCBKivhSdpcoLuqjlJUgj1Ugl29p44PvAtfpu_N8hl9ejp6MxEJ5K9cR-cRRYsAmUCYjbSjXHfG2oAASVy3V6M-BSyUuoyDvtE1yJKtwOksBYoKAf_F8y-scfCD" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1009" data-original-width="1500" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfxFwDb1Z8RT-TFEG0tRKjctsEoWDO1QzPzF73A0lIZ9BxchKwk5gDgKeRkMgICSCBKivhSdpcoLuqjlJUgj1Ugl29p44PvAtfpu_N8hl9ejp6MxEJ5K9cR-cRRYsAmUCYjbSjXHfG2oAASVy3V6M-BSyUuoyDvtE1yJKtwOksBYoKAf_F8y-scfCD=w400-h269" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">Disclaimer: This is about Test Cricket. Hence keeping Rishabh Pant, white ball Cricket and Sanju Samson fans out of the debate.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Rahul, Pujara and Rahane have faced a lot of flak for non performance and fitness issues over the past 3 years. Both Purane were dropped and Pujara has come back through some gritty performances thanks to a fruitful English county season. Rahane continues to strive in domestic Cricket. Rahul at least has two overseas hundreds in two test wins in England and South Africa, though his overall performance in non century knocks has been pathetic. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">But as far as red ball cricket is concerned, the Elephant in the room is Virat Kohli. He has had absolutely horrible three years.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">2020: 116 runs at 19.33 </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">2021: 536 runs at 28.21</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">2022: 265 runs at 26.5 </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">A total of 917 runs with 5 scores of 50+ in 36 innings in three years. Overall, his average was 26.2 in the last 3 years.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">What's worse is those dozen plus catches he's dropped in the same period. It's high time to send both Rahul and Kohli along with Rohit to play domestic Cricket or to County Cricket. Several young talents like Abhimanyu, Sarfraz are waiting for opportunities. Nobody should be greater than the game. Shreyas Iyer can be a good leader for the future in test Cricket.</span></p><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-5125071948423945265" itemprop="description articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 796px;"><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-5861300924081107301" itemprop="articleBody" style="font-size: 14.52px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 796px;"><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6726631062468238046" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 796px;"><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Govind Raj Shenoy for DieHard Cricket Fans</span></p></div></div></div>DieHard Cricket Fanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09712518878440027584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880546469523618397.post-68191465866696634042022-12-12T12:06:00.003+05:302022-12-12T12:15:37.081+05:30An Ode to Cricket<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhjsR3RojXP2ZuQEUIN5M3GZZ3rfn2n-wAyfL2THrG0fq8XhJ1-1ZE-pRqCts88kznCDSWWMHCAZO_al1_kVP4FFqOCfK9N9j_seDDCO07LNVIFW-07BR6k8qYwYAj1dKNvIPfShvUQUkWQw6pSYdHaptMFD09O8HgfwRiG4y9O6O-7BpnrrZWlKgMM" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhjsR3RojXP2ZuQEUIN5M3GZZ3rfn2n-wAyfL2THrG0fq8XhJ1-1ZE-pRqCts88kznCDSWWMHCAZO_al1_kVP4FFqOCfK9N9j_seDDCO07LNVIFW-07BR6k8qYwYAj1dKNvIPfShvUQUkWQw6pSYdHaptMFD09O8HgfwRiG4y9O6O-7BpnrrZWlKgMM=w400-h300" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">In the green fields of summer</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The cricketers play,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">With bat and ball they battle</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">For victory each day.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The bowlers run and hurl</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Their pitches with all their might,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">While the batsmen stand and wait</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">To give their best a fight.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The wicket falls, the fielding team cheers,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Another batsman takes the crease,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Determined to score runs</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">And bring his team to victory with grace.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span></span><span><a name='more'></a></span></span><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The game goes on and on,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Until the final ball is thrown,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">And the winner is declared</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">As the sun sets and the day is done.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Cricket, a game of skill and strategy,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Bringing joy to players and fans alike,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">A timeless pastime and a source of pride,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">A true gem of the sporting world, shining bright.</span></p><p><br /></p><p>chatGPT</p>DieHard Cricket Fanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09712518878440027584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880546469523618397.post-61517077067941515602022-12-01T19:13:00.001+05:302022-12-01T19:13:09.263+05:30Diarrhea of Runs<p>First day of Rawalpindi test between hosts Pakistan and England became the first ever test where Umpires offered bad light to bowling team to save them from English batters.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQeTiReeeMreyLWKexZBhrGAe6rfDwFt9gva7kenLQp2a9sSW137Cp6zd13aF8m3hFXlhC2wV5-r-BmSUJuC10KiI6Bv_2hNHrWdVXbs60_1MI0nQybEqmgnIrZSYneocovlgUjiyw1zOyPU9R_cMbTGz460s_hw3Q4WQlwbP7I3yeqRhD6zYFGX5a/s1688/scorecard.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1688" data-original-width="1079" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQeTiReeeMreyLWKexZBhrGAe6rfDwFt9gva7kenLQp2a9sSW137Cp6zd13aF8m3hFXlhC2wV5-r-BmSUJuC10KiI6Bv_2hNHrWdVXbs60_1MI0nQybEqmgnIrZSYneocovlgUjiyw1zOyPU9R_cMbTGz460s_hw3Q4WQlwbP7I3yeqRhD6zYFGX5a/s320/scorecard.jpeg" width="205" /></a></div>On a day when England scored at 6.74 RPO, Joe Root with 23 of 31 balls was the miserable failure for England with a pathetic strike rate of 74.19.<p></p><p>Pakistan's most economical bowler conceded 5.64 RPO in 17 overs.</p><p>England had 4 centurions, with Zak Crawley scoring 4th fastest ton (86 balls) for England. That record lasted a session and a half as Harry Brook did better in 80 balls.</p><p>Ben Ducket's hundred was really pedestrian with a strike rate of just 97.27.</p><p>4 centuries and 504 runs in a day are new records for Bazballing.</p><p>If England were to bat full 90 overs for the day, they could have had a fifth centurion in Ben Stokes and a total in excess of 600.</p><p>England players were leaking till yesterday. But once the game began, only Pakistan bowlers were leaking.</p><p>England hit 73 fours and 3 sixers in 75 overs, making it at least one boundary every over and 310 runs through boundaries.</p><p>Pakistanis taught the English how to wash their arses during diarrhea. English players did a great job of it on ground. Dho Daala !</p><p>Finally, the Umpires saved Pakistan from English WMD.<br /><br /></p><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-5125071948423945265" itemprop="description articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 796px;"><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-5861300924081107301" itemprop="articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 796px;"><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6726631062468238046" itemprop="description articleBody" style="font-size: 14.52px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 796px;"><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Govind Raj Shenoy for DieHard Cricket Fans</span></p></div></div></div><p><br /></p>DieHard Cricket Fanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09712518878440027584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880546469523618397.post-51250719484239452652022-10-28T16:10:00.004+05:302022-10-28T16:10:33.349+05:30SKY is an Illusion<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOv5zKqt7jD-iayRfAzDMCxsJhnEjIpxkq2kii7-66LO1HkgyNqwb41aW6k54g2JMGAsrc0IiosWHtxHLgw8kDNZk0D6UffbwUDFqaD_aUj7feAxEE1fOCRsLjy1IuEgR7fLBNumakO86sOTFLNIDaIpS9qT62IhkwEmrP-PBnVcUJ8AnRRLo7cUWM/s980/sky.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="724" data-original-width="980" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOv5zKqt7jD-iayRfAzDMCxsJhnEjIpxkq2kii7-66LO1HkgyNqwb41aW6k54g2JMGAsrc0IiosWHtxHLgw8kDNZk0D6UffbwUDFqaD_aUj7feAxEE1fOCRsLjy1IuEgR7fLBNumakO86sOTFLNIDaIpS9qT62IhkwEmrP-PBnVcUJ8AnRRLo7cUWM/w400-h295/sky.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br />While Indians are busy rejoicing Pakistan's loss to Zimbabwe, Suryakumar Yadav walked away with yet another Player of the match award. But the stunning fact is SKY, like "Sky" is an illusion.<p></p><p>Yet again tonight, Rahul prodded around, Rohit loitered and Kohli labored. Then arrived SKY. Or did he ? The sky was overcast but SKY wasn't. SKY was as bright and blue as SKY. Suddenly it rubbed on Kohli and there was Sunshine. We didn't notice and before that, SKY hit the last ball of the innings to bring up yet another fifty with a strike rate in excess of 200.</p><p>We can see sky but we cannot catch the sky. Ditto with SKY. Bowlers and fielders seldom get to catch him. SKY doesn't play to the galleries. The galleries plead with him to grace them and the spectators become gleeful fielders.</p><p>Other players hit the ball. SKY imposes himself on it. Others time the ball. He whispers into the ears of the ball in the last moment as to which direction to be taken. SKY is an Architect. He measures the distance between two fielders and then sends the ball between them inversely proportional to their respective speeds. The ball attains thrill in beating both the fielders to the ropes. No wonder he's been an Architect of many an Indian wins in a short period.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>There were 360° players before Surya. The difference is in the bat. Others turn 360° within the crease to produce their shots around the oval. Others use a bat. SKY wields a magic wand that turns 360° thanks to a pair of magic wrists. Bowlers seldom feel bad by the SKYscrapers he creates on the bowling charts. They feel good when they escape.</p><p>Other batters have to look for gaps. Gaps open up and chant "Khulja Simsim" to let SKY caress the ball through them. Most of the attention will be on the batter on the other side and SKY would have raced ahead without anyone noticing, including himself. SKY doesn't exist. SKY isn't real. SKY is surreal. SKY is ethereal. SKY is an illusion !</p><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-5861300924081107301" itemprop="articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 796px;"><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6726631062468238046" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 796px;"><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Govind Raj Shenoy for DieHard Cricket Fans</span></p></div></div>DieHard Cricket Fanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09712518878440027584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880546469523618397.post-65477390223278903802022-02-04T16:27:00.002+05:302022-02-04T16:27:44.821+05:30Indian Cricket's tradition of mistreating Cricketing Heroes<p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEitpDenO_Vtd_HZJJcMRNMLLCA3Hwv7Am0JPBrJxN7NwdHxiHKJNwXjMYP0LnBtQzBwZ_XyVgm3JNyBXCgliSBTCponN7ENVLC6mr6nmjoFyt7aTnCOEnyYU_kxPEI3xPKRMftfLoYlDqY1_bpVE5ipqHBDLO9BbHXyZEGKD-gTC5Ha8Jjp_2gb18Jo" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="768" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEitpDenO_Vtd_HZJJcMRNMLLCA3Hwv7Am0JPBrJxN7NwdHxiHKJNwXjMYP0LnBtQzBwZ_XyVgm3JNyBXCgliSBTCponN7ENVLC6mr6nmjoFyt7aTnCOEnyYU_kxPEI3xPKRMftfLoYlDqY1_bpVE5ipqHBDLO9BbHXyZEGKD-gTC5Ha8Jjp_2gb18Jo" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">We continue our age old tradition of shabby treatment of our cricketing heroes starting from Vijay Manjrekar, the latest victim being the incomparable Virat Kohli. I felt very sad watching him play in the recent matches. It seemed someone had squeezed the life out of him and he was just going through the motions. As a captain he was on the go all the time looking for a run when batting and a breakthrough when fielding. He had the energy and reserve to lead in all 3 formats of the game. That by any standard would require an exceptional level of concentration not to mention a phenomenal level of fitness. And he proved right on both grounds. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">There never was a dull moment on the field with him on the field and kept all the other players on their toes. He led by example and always gave 100 %. It must be said that all 3 formats of the game requiring different tactics and strategies would have put extreme pressure on him physically and mentally but it was never visible looking at him. But in the later stages of his career it must have affected him in some way. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">In hindsight if he didn't take the mantle of captaincy and just concentrated on his batting he probably would have scored 100 centuries with consummate ease. Despite that he achieved great goals in Test Cricket and took India to number 1 position and competed fiercely in the other 2 formats and the least the BCCI could have done is to give him freedom of choice to make his decisions about his future. Instead they imposed sanctions on his free spirit and as a result we may not see the real fighter on the cricket field again. Under the circumstances he may play for a while but I won't be surprised if he hung his bat and called it a day. I fail to understand why do the politicians or their dear ones need to get involved with the running of the game. We have such a superb array of ex-cricketers who performed exceptionally well on the cricket field and given the chance I am sure will excel at running the cricket board and the players will feel secure in the knowledge that they are under the care of the experts in the game. I really wish that we learn how to treat our heroes otherwise I am afraid Virat won't be the last one in the already a long list of our illtreated heroes.</span></div><p></p><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-7323090117241101573" itemprop="description articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 796px;"><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Dr. K.K. Srivastava for DieHard Cricket Fans</span></span></p></div>DieHard Cricket Fanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09712518878440027584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880546469523618397.post-20510853387626977482022-01-16T16:58:00.003+05:302022-01-16T16:58:39.690+05:30Virat Kohli – The Talisman Red Ball Indian Captain<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1CWQ1uEIrJY/YeP-Qh5blHI/AAAAAAABSg8/eml0NJQCFMU7b6BeFgl-RkxlUUrJpTHTQCNcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="622" height="180" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1CWQ1uEIrJY/YeP-Qh5blHI/AAAAAAABSg8/eml0NJQCFMU7b6BeFgl-RkxlUUrJpTHTQCNcBGAsYHQ/image.png" width="320" /></a>“We want to be fearless, that’s the brand of cricket we would like to play”. Virat Kohli was chalking out a new roadmap for Indian cricket in the red ball format. His captaincy style discarded the defensive approach and drove the team to not settle for anything less than a win.</div><div>Kohli started his test captaincy in 2014, after Dhoni’s sudden retirement from test cricket during the Australian tour. In 2011-12, the team had been drubbed 4-0 in tours to England and Australia. It was at that time that Kohli took on the baton. A small teaser was the 2014 Adelaide test where the Indian cricket team fought for a win, going against expectations for a draw.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>Virat’s mantra to win matches abroad was to get 20 wickets irrespective of the conditions. He, along with the support staff, created a pool of fast bowlers who were relentless and fearless. And, spinners took care of most test matches at home. Kohli’s tough period started with South Africa away tour, then England tour, finally to Australia. Though the SA and England test results were not in favor, there was a paradigm shift in Indian test cricket. The approach was bold, strategic, and most importantly, invoked fear in the minds of the opposition. Kohli always questioned the conventional wisdom, played 5 batsmen, 4 fast pacers and vouched more for all-rounders. At that time, it drew irks but the result was bound to come.<span><a name='more'></a></span></div><div>With all the hard work and consistency, the moment finally arrived. India won their first series down under. Beating Australia in their own backyard is not easy. India achieved this feat with back-to-back test series win in Australia. Kohli was not there the second time, but he had instilled the brand to play for and come out victorious.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Rij3aGQqhE8/YeQA5QxPLQI/AAAAAAABShY/WFFoExYgAvsjRI44dzkg3o4KJNFNPMmyACNcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="472" height="244" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Rij3aGQqhE8/YeQA5QxPLQI/AAAAAAABShY/WFFoExYgAvsjRI44dzkg3o4KJNFNPMmyACNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h244/image.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />Virat resigned from test captaincy in January 2022, soon after giving up T20 and ODI captaincy. He is someone who transformed the way test cricket is played. He had zero tolerance for poor fitness. His fitness regime pushed his teammates to follow suit. He is someone who believes in your face tactics. He thrives for supremacy at the highest level with all round performance. He built his army over a period of 6 years and had both high and lows in his journey. He displayed the aggression with brashness, which was not liked by many. But it worked in his favor and importantly in the team’s favor. He brought the fire and zeal to win away matches. In a total of 68 test matches played under his captaincy, India won 40, lost 17, and drew 11, with an unprecedented win-loss ratio of 2.35. Indian test team emerged world number 1 and stayed there for more than five years.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-T7hzfniGGtI/YeQAh2701eI/AAAAAAABShM/Ulwq4y4gG7IVRjVWb6cPqmNbZnrSifiawCNcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="396" data-original-width="558" height="227" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-T7hzfniGGtI/YeQAh2701eI/AAAAAAABShM/Ulwq4y4gG7IVRjVWb6cPqmNbZnrSifiawCNcBGAsYHQ/image.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />Virat Kohli will go down in history as one of the best test captains in the world. The anguish of not winning the 2021 SA tour, referred to as Final Frontier, will remain forever. An era marked with emphatic wins in Centurion, Lords, Oval, Melbourne, Brisbane, Ahmedabad to name a few as well as hurting loss at Cape Town and Adelaide comes to an end. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-M-aTHTt0WWI/YeQAsNJA1NI/AAAAAAABShQ/quFc1ZzGD4I5yz-7VuIfF44lrBygUHcjACNcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="344" data-original-width="482" height="228" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-M-aTHTt0WWI/YeQAsNJA1NI/AAAAAAABShQ/quFc1ZzGD4I5yz-7VuIfF44lrBygUHcjACNcBGAsYHQ/image.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div><div><div dir="ltr" style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" trbidi="on"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Madhurendra Kumar for DieHard Cricket Fans</span></div></div></div>DieHard Cricket Fanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09712518878440027584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880546469523618397.post-73230901172411015732021-09-17T02:01:00.018+05:302021-09-17T02:16:05.329+05:30India tour of England, 2021<p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GuwiI71FFtk/YUOpeCeHMaI/AAAAAAABOys/wVp90gwv-lgYoonbq5VOUQgZpcyA9gpzQCPcBGAYYCw/s1200/indeng.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1200" height="223" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GuwiI71FFtk/YUOpeCeHMaI/AAAAAAABOys/wVp90gwv-lgYoonbq5VOUQgZpcyA9gpzQCPcBGAYYCw/w400-h223/indeng.jpeg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;">The current India-England series (we still don't know if it is complete or not) is proving to be quite extraordinary in more ways than one. It has been quite a seesaw affair. Apart from the Headingley Test, the other 3 could have been won by either team. </span><p></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The last Test at the Oval has brought so many new truths home. India has always been a team of great individuals who played fantastic cricket but couldn't gel with each other as a team to win matches. They were capable of walking into any world eleven on their own accord. Players like Merchant, Mushtaq, Hazare, Mankad, Manjrekar, Gupte, Ghulam Ahmed, Nawab of Pataudi, Farokh Engineer- the list is endless. Mankad's performance at Lord's in 1952 was of such a class that the MCC decided to label it as Mankad's Test. Freddie Trueman when asked about the players he didn't like bowling to mentioned Vijay Hazare. <span></span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In those days a drawn match was considered equal to a victory for the team. Even the first series win at the Oval didn't inspire them to get into the winning habit as they had a disastrous tour in 1974 when in one innings they were skittled for a paltry 42 runs. 1983 World Cup win by Kapil Dev's team seemed to do the trick. We owe a lot to Kapil for his inspiring, aggressive and , positive approach and leading by example. Without his sensational knock of 175 not out against Zimbabwe we probably still be waiting for our first Cup win. He followed that with 2-0 win in 1986 here. Mohd. Azharuddin was also a great captain and individual performer of his time, instilling enthusiasm and confidence in his players but the final touch was applied by Ganguly. The incredible thing was that it wasn't always the established players who performed. It was the unlikely combination of Yuvraj and Kaif who shocked England in the NatWest final of 2003. Then by his single mindedness and unwavering faith in his own ability Dhoni displayed his own inimitable style of leadership that put India firmly on the International map. Players like Dravid, Laxman, Sehwag, Tendulkar and Kumble made an impact in their own way.</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The victory against Australia in Melbourne was achieved without the leadership of Kohli and by lesser mortals like Siraj, Sunder and Thakur. During all this time there have been some spectacular though sporadic individual and team performances like a victory against Australia in Calcutta in 2001 after being followed on by virtue of the innings of the century by VVS Laxman who scored 281 along with Dravid's 180 and Harbhajan's sensational bowling performance. </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When we talk about great individual performance there isn't a much brighter example than the one by Sunil Gavaskar's 774 in 4 tests against the might of West indies' most feared pace attack on his debut and that too without any helmet. And just to prove it wasn't a flash in the pan he went on to become the best batsman in the world of his time. He set up new standards for the incoming batsmen to follow.</span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Oval Test has proved beyond any shadow of a doubt that this team has come of age. They not only have great individuals but the new recruits who are prepared to stand up and be counted. Kohli has been severely criticised for the exclusion of the world's best spinner but if they can win 2 tests without him in such sparkling fashion it speaks volumes for his ability and confidence in his team and to get the best out of them in adverse circumstances. One of the great achievements of the present team is that apart from some class batsmen in Rohit, Pujara and Kohli, wily spinners in Jadeja and Ashwin they have the rare presence of impressive and genuine pace bowlers in the team. One wonders how much better Kapil Dev would have performed if he had such pacers to support him from the other end as they always perform better in tandem like Trueman and Statham, Miller and Lindwall, Lillee and Thompson, Waqar and Wasim.</span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;">After our team's superb achievement at the Oval we can relax and feel reassured that they will now be better travellers and won't keep us waiting for another 50 years to celebrate at the Oval again !</span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Dr. K.K. Srivastava for DieHard Cricket Fans</span></span></p>DieHard Cricket Fanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09712518878440027584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880546469523618397.post-58613009240811073012021-04-11T03:36:00.003+05:302021-04-11T03:36:43.905+05:30RCB's Plans for Future Matches<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pYTiRsveBwQ/YHIhWzHfUjI/AAAAAAABJdA/7dt79Hadz68BYRFlWi2uaowHiLfTfcUTACLcBGAsYHQ/s225/rcb.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pYTiRsveBwQ/YHIhWzHfUjI/AAAAAAABJdA/7dt79Hadz68BYRFlWi2uaowHiLfTfcUTACLcBGAsYHQ/s0/rcb.jpeg" /></a></div>After watching incredible efforts by RCB to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory against Mumbai Indians, here is an attempt to guess plans of RCB for the future matches.<p></p><p>First thing first. Let truth be told. RCB deliberately tried to lose the match to jinx Mumbai. The twice defending champions win every time they have lost the first match. Hence RCB tried to deny that luck this time. Alas, superstitious Nita Ambani's team turned out to be smarter.</p><p>ABDV is the match winner. He batted at No. 5 against MI to protect against top order collapse. RCB could play ABDV at No. 7 or 8 or even 9 in upcoming matches to overcome risks of a middle order collapse.</p><p>RCB will take inspiration from CSK and India legend MSD. They would try to take the match deep and if possible, to the last ball.</p><p>Washington Sundar will bowl just one over, even if he claims a hat trick in that over. This is to ensure the boy doesn't get tired. Kohli wants to keep him fresh for World Cup T20 later this year, where he will have a lot of work to do as water boy.</p><p>RCB fielders will continue to follow social distancing norms from the ball to prevent spread of COVID19. As of now, RCB fielders cannot even catch a cold.</p><p>To Maxi-mize the returns on the maximum investment they've made on Maxwell, RCB could use him as a floater to surprise opponents by changing his batting order in every match. To keep opponents guessing, Maxwell himself will not be told about his number in the batting order till the last moment. </p><p>Strategies keep evolving. Hence there will be more updates after future matches.</p><p><br /></p><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6726631062468238046" itemprop="description articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 796px;"><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Govind Raj Shenoy for DieHard Cricket Fans</span></p></div>DieHard Cricket Fanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09712518878440027584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880546469523618397.post-19836780586277431902021-01-27T06:59:00.004+05:302021-01-27T07:04:07.176+05:30The Summer of 36<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-79u4AXhqre8/YBDAehi40bI/AAAAAAABHB4/Y34J7bcZ5gY9_P4EuG_p_ZcoZEo4aAzgQCPcBGAYYCw/s409/BG.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="409" data-original-width="220" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-79u4AXhqre8/YBDAehi40bI/AAAAAAABHB4/Y34J7bcZ5gY9_P4EuG_p_ZcoZEo4aAzgQCPcBGAYYCw/w108-h200/BG.jpg" width="108" /></a></div>Border Gavaskar Series, the famous rivalry between India and Australia begun on the onset of winter in India. For Aussies, it was the start of their home summer season, trying to regain the trophy. Adelaide hosted the first ever pink ball test match between the two sides saw a bizarre batting collapse by India. 36 all out – the lowest ever made by India. As a fan was dejected to see such horrible batting display despite being on top of the match all along. It was going to haunt for years to come. Down and out.</div><div><br /></div><div>With 1-0 down in the series, Kohli leaving the camp and going back home, Shami adding to the injury list, there were too many problems in front of Indian cricket team. Ajinkya Rahane, led the team at Melbourne. The odds of losing the match and losing the series were high. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. The force of humiliation in Adelaide got the team moving forward. They showed brilliant character and made a great comeback at MCG. MCG was won and series was evenly poised at 1-1 going to Sydney.<span><a name='more'></a></span><span></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Sydney saw Warner joining the Australian team, giving them a firm opener who could score quick runs at the start. But Md Siraj, who had experience of just 1 international test match, had other plans. He dismissed Warner cheaply and it opened a gate for Indian team to rattle the Australian batting top order. As they say, champions don’t remain silent for long, Steve Smith returned to his form making a splendid century that shifted the momentum towards Australia. Come to Day 5, setting a target of over 400, with the anticipation of pitch deteriorating, it looked cakewalk for Aussies. Cometh the hour, cometh the champions. The first session saw an epic Pujara and Pant partnership. As they cruised, there was a sense of calmness in the Indian camp. In the second half of the day, came the resilience of Hanuma Vihari and Ravichandran Ashwin. A partnership of strength and toughness. Bruised and battered. These two played a marathon innings and draw the test match for the country. We were going to Gabba – the fortress with series on 1 apiece and Paine was eagerly waiting for it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Welcome to the Gabba, the fortress for Australia, never lost a test match since 1988. A perfect venue for Australia team to win the match and the series. But there was twist in the tale. The fortress was breached by a completely inexperienced bowling attack and relatively less experienced batting too. Again, Pujara started the fight even got few blows on the body but was firm in concentration. The last hour heroic moment was sealed by Rishabh Pant. Winning tastes sweeter when everybody expects the least of you. This young generation had the firepower that transpired a famous win at Gabba. Plenty of folklores to tell.</div><div><br /></div><div>What an exceptional tour for Siraj. From a 3rd choice seamer to leading the bowling attack in a matter of 2 tests. Debutants Sundar and Natarajan scripted another story they can tell for years to come, especially Natarajan who stayed back being a net bowler. Every player had their story to tell, a story of defiance, inspiration and dedication. Pujara’s determination, Vihari and Ashwin’s temperament, and most importantly the character of Ajinkya Rahane to lead this team to glory. A captain is as good as his team. This series win is more special as the team was without their main set of players. We have done it twice in a row. Great achievement. On December 19th we were bruised, on January 19th we won a battle. A battle against mighty Aussies at their home, routing out the world class bowlers.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Grit, Guts, Glory!</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div dir="ltr" style="color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" trbidi="on"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Madhurendra Kumar for DieHard Cricket Fans</span></div></div><div><br /></div>DieHard Cricket Fanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09712518878440027584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880546469523618397.post-67758051012513560592021-01-23T10:29:00.000+05:302021-01-23T10:29:27.496+05:30The Gen-Next<div style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><div style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;">A win for the ages! Fortress Gabba breached after 32 years! A second-string Indian team defeats the Aussies in their own den! These are some of the statements that were the headlines following India’s amazing and truly heroic win in the Brisbane test, which brought to the forefront once again the immense talent of the next generation of our cricketers – the gen-next!</span></div></div><div style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><img height="338" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/edKTCyUzXQeZGB4dO9keI2QsaQQz55P3yZYIcnD1GerLxz45MbgQA3h1THhovaKVFyQOWy5pGNdoeEffUQcD3Xg96KbeDCzIL8YPRx1p3p7WWvXWvEKI39v5tffCe0Cry693il0" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;" width="602" /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The fact that this win was achieved in the backdrop of absence of regular test captain and arguably the best batman in the world Virat Kohli, a long list of injured players, and having gone through the abyss of being bowled out for the lowest ever test score by any Indian team in the first test, makes it even more special. In all trueness, the series was won primarily due to the performances of the debutants like Shubhman Gill, Washington Sundar, Mohammad Siraj, Shardul Thakur, seasoned players like Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Ashwin, and not to forget, the man of the hour, Rishabh Pant, who played some scintillating innings, which helped save the match in Sydney and a win in Brisbane.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I feel that the advent of social media has made the fan following a bit of an extreme phenomenon, with extreme appreciation in case of a superb win like this and utter damnation when the team is down in the depths like it was with 36 all-out. Not to mention that there have been cases like that in the past, with Sachin being booed in Wankhede in 2006 against England and Dravid and the team being booed in Kolkata in 2005 in the backdrop of Ganguly-Chappell saga. But I feel that the fame, or condemnation, is bit too instant these days, just like the lifestyle. In one moment, you are made like a God, and in very next match, you face the wrath of trolls. For sure, not a scenario the players would like either, one can be sure.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That is why, I feel, that these players, the young crop, need to show the similar drive, and fire, for at least next couple of years, to cement their place in the team, with all the talent bursting through the domestic circuit. Not long ago, Pant had to face the ignominy of facing the chants of ‘Dhoni, Dhoni’ whenever he dropped a catch or missed a stumping (he has the additional pressure of getting the DRS calls right, which Dhoni almost never got wrong). We need to remember that Dhoni played quite consistent brand of cricket in his formative years – let it be as a hard-hitting basher – as well as in the subsequent years, as a finisher and captain cool. Pant has big boots to fill in. </span></span><span style="font-family: arial; white-space: pre-wrap;">That it is not impossible. Virat Kohli has created his own legacy, on verge of breaking Sachin’s records. The key is consistency, which is the hardest to achieve, at the global level. You need to play like a champion, at most times. This win has made all of us know what these players are capable of, and they need to be supported and cheered on, even on their off days. It is really fortunate for Indian cricket to have the young players coming in the team and performing instantly, something which as a 90’s cricket fan, I have been used to seeing in Aussie team only. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As for Pant, his wicketkeeping is a work in progress. Whenever Wriddhiman Saha gets a chance, he shows the difference in level of keeping and the improvement that Pant still must make. For it will not be a surprise to see the same fans cheering him on today to turn on him if he happens to make a costly miss in a high-stakes match. Those ‘Dhoni’ chants will come back again because that is how the fans are these days. Those misses can cost a match, as Tim Paine learned the hard way, who now stands to lose not only his captaincy but also his place in the team. Moreover, one can never be sure of their place being guaranteed in the team, even after career best performance - ask Karun Nair. For that matter, I would hope that Hanuma Vihari will not be overlooked once he makes a return after recovering from his second-grade muscle tear injury.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">However, now is the time to enjoy the toils of the hard work and celebrate this once in a lifetime win. The players deserve all the credit, and we all hope that this is the starting of a long, consistent, and successful career for all these players, to make the country proud.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 339px; overflow: hidden; width: 602px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="India beats Australia on last day of Gabba Test, winning Border-Gavaskar Trophy with remarkable run chase - ABC News" height="339" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/lyr0cp_xgeNYSSH1YpkaylaXzDk9RucpdAI-J51fLrQUfSQ1mzg05gajdPsWo-hYc2C2hWLEi1Q1WZZtcvG3CFcaqYh1zDRKcEVrgo1VRnqjidlvqHlJqTJpA5av-gVshxT5b2k" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="602" /></span></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Nishant Raizaday for DieHard Cricket Fans</span></span></p>DieHard Cricket Fanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09712518878440027584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880546469523618397.post-32313633818349646252021-01-21T03:47:00.007+05:302021-01-21T03:50:03.335+05:30Pantabulous Kung Fu Panda<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uye5z1C8WeI/YAirHwm-WdI/AAAAAAABGsQ/7c7ShvY-o4E_jt-XcnuZntnGOix3l9spwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1080/pant.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uye5z1C8WeI/YAirHwm-WdI/AAAAAAABGsQ/7c7ShvY-o4E_jt-XcnuZntnGOix3l9spwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/pant.jpg" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">There are many architects behind the epoch making Indian series win in the just concluded Border Gavaskar Trophy. Rahane, the cool as Antarctica Captain who scored the only century for India in the series to lift the team from the debris of Adelaide36. Jadeja who bowled, batted and fielded with passion till he got injured. Ashwin and Vihari who saved the Sydney test with epic fight back in spite of being severely injured. Bumrah who carried the burden of bowling till another injury benched him.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Then there were greenhorns. The surreal Shubman Gill , the warrior Washington, the sharp Shardul, the nippy Natarajan and the magnificent Mohammed Siraj, who played spearhead in only the second test of his career. All this was built on an incredibly resilient foundation called Pujara.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">But after we discuss everything about a great relay race, the world somehow tends to remember the one who ran the last lap and chested the ribbon. Rishabh Pant doing that was kind of poetic justice for the young wicket-keeper batsman. The ball just kissed the boundary rope as Pant and Saini kept running furiously to get those three winning runs.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Overweight, reckless, hyped up, useless, irresponsible and a lot more things. No youngster has copped as much flak and abuse as Rishabh has done over the past couple of years. He had two overseas test hundreds in England and Australia. He averaged over 4.5 dismissals after 10 tests, he had two 90 plus scores in two home tests. But his over enthusiastic batting and resultant failures in limited overs Cricket were magnified way beyond a common cricket follower's understanding. It's still difficult to fathom why he was treated so shabbily when such a brilliant talent needed support and assurance during difficult times. Perhaps, Pant needed all that because he's a hardened pro now at 23. A match winner, a test match winner in Australia. After 16 tests, there has never been a single Asian wicket-keeper batsman to match his statistics. And he wasn't even first choice keeper just 3 tests ago.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">His wicket keeping has flaws but has not been a disaster like his critics would like us to believe. 65 dismissals as a keeper from 16 tests just cannot be called disaster. His batting is a mixture of genius combined with madness. After a ball turns two miles from a crack in the pitch, most batsmen would be watchful against the next ball. Rishabh steps out and whacks Lyon for a six of the next ball. That pretty much sums up the Pant Philosophy. He plays the falling scoop that gets him a lot of runs. Yesterday, he played the falling pull. With the ball dispatched, Pant was flat on the ground and smiling. He gets back on his feet in no time too.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">He's overweight is a fact nobody can contest. But we cannot damn his fitness. May be the chubby frame is protecting him from injuries during those falling shots.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Rishabh Pant is actually a real life incarnation of the Kung Fu Panda. People can chide him for his eating habits, weight, lack of focus and a lot of things. But like Kung Fu Panda, he's a Genius with a capital G. He does a lot of talking and even sings "Spider-Man, Spider-Man" while keeping. He's an expert commentator on the stump microphone. He's a complete departure from what we'd got used to see behind the stumps for well over a decade now. The frozen calmness of MSD. Rishabh is no MSD. He's Rishabh Rajendra Pant and should not be compared to MSD, only to show his shortcomings. Because if we do that, we also must remember he has achieved a lot more in just 14 overseas tests than what MSD did in his entire career. Let that sink in. Let MSD be MSD and let us allow Rishabh to be the Pan-tastic future of Indian Cricket, in his own style.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">When the cute, chubby, cuddly Kung Fu Panda realizes his potential, he wins and does that in style. His time has arrived on the big stage and he's here to stay. The rehabilitated and Pantabulous Kung Fu Pant_da.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Govind Raj Shenoy For DieHard Cricket Fans</span></p>DieHard Cricket Fanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09712518878440027584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880546469523618397.post-67266310624682380462021-01-21T02:49:00.006+05:302021-01-21T03:50:41.074+05:30The Shock Absorber: Beyond Numbers<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kB3V0mCf7mk/YAieJkp1YFI/AAAAAAABGsE/HSsjZ2sq6jcJc_ap_nIVURa0_hjjJdo7QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1280/shock.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kB3V0mCf7mk/YAieJkp1YFI/AAAAAAABGsE/HSsjZ2sq6jcJc_ap_nIVURa0_hjjJdo7QCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/shock.jpg" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">Rishabh Pant has played the best knock of his fledgling career and has perhaps exorcised the demons that haunted him between the 2018 tour down under and this tour. Shubman Gill has announced his arrival on the big stage and he will be a Superstar for the coming decade. Mohammed Siraj has once again vindicated the belief in our first class system and the emergence of new India. Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur turned the test head over heels when Australia were in sight of a 130 plus first innings lead. Everyone contributed to this extraordinary win at Gabba. It was truly a team effort.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Every smooth riding vehicle requires an efficient shock absorber. Great monuments stand on great foundations. Cheteshwar Pujara was that shock absorber and that foundation in this series. When we enlist great Indian batsmen of the last 50 years, we will remember Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar, Rahul Dravid, Virat Kohli, VVS Laxman and Virender Sehwag. But what does Cheteshwar possess that none of these greats have ? He has anchored two test series wins in Australia while none of the past masters have even one. Kohli played second fiddle to Pujara in 2018 and missed all the fun this time.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Right through his career and especially during this series, people have criticized Pujara for his slow batting and lack of "intent". He even was dropped during the 2014 tour down under. When Rohit Sharma plays rank bad shot and gets out, people defend him claiming, "That's his natural style." Strangely, same people slam Pujara for "Tuktuk" batting. Double standards ! Fortunately for India, Pujara hasn't allowed none of this to affect him and has carried on with a Sagely calm.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Pujara scored just 271 runs in the series with an average of 33.88 per innings. His strike rate was 29.2%. Both are way below par compared to his career statistics. He scored almost twice as many runs during the 2018 tour of Australia. But perhaps, these 271 runs are worth a lot more than the ordinary numbers. Here is the reasoning.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">In 8 innings, Pujara occupied the crease for 1368 minutes or 22 Hours and 48 minutes. He faced 928 balls in the process and got out to extraordinarily good balls in 7 out of the 8 knocks. He played just one ordinary shot to get out while facing 928 balls. Cummins was the best Australian bowler in the series and Pujara alone faced 42 overs or more than 25% of his bowling. The importance of Pujara's knocks go far beyond mere numbers.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The one innings where he got out to a "duck", India folded up 36 all out in 20 overs. The other innings where he got out early was when India chased a small target to win the second test. Taking out these two innings, the least number of balls Pujara faced was 70 or almost 12 overs and the earliest he got out was after 105 minutes. During every other visit to the crease, he spent a minimum of two and a half hours and today, it was 5 hours and a quarter.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">He took body blows, ten of them today and stood there like a rock till he got LBW verdict that would have been not out if the Umpire were to think the benefit of doubt goes to batsman. But well, he had laid the foundation for the sensational win. Why was Pujara's time at the crease important ? Look at Australia's most destructive bowler Mitchell Starc. He ended up with 11 wickets at 44 runs per wicket. In essence, Pujara blunted Australia's most lethal bowler and in fact, shielded other batsmen through the most difficult and hostile spells. If we recollect how listless the Australian bowlers looked in the last session when India charged towards victory, we can understand the significance of the grind.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Cheteshwar Pujara simply ground the Aussie bowlers to dust so that the other batsmen could attack the tired bowlers. It was a team effort and Pujara had a role assigned. He managed to execute that like a dedicated soldier, like a guard in charge of protecting a fort. Every blow that he took on the body was a badge of honor. Those balls perhaps would have got other batters out. There were 10 of them, exactly the number of wickets Australia needed to win the test. He spent a total of 10 hours at the crease in the fourth innings of the third and fourth tests. One a thrilling draw and then a magnificent win.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">People tend to ignore the foundation when they admire a great monument and nobody thinks of the silent shock absorber after a smooth journey. That is how the world is. But the foundations and shock absorbers don't really bother and continue to perform their duties. When Pujara calls it a day, he will leave with the satisfaction, happiness and pride of winning two back to back test series in Australia and breaching the Australian fortress of Gabba. The meek did inherit the earth at the Gabba. We witnessed that happening and the magnificence of the "Shock Absorber" cannot be emphasized in a few hundred words. I just tried !</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Govind Raj Shenoy for DieHard Cricket Fans</span></p>DieHard Cricket Fanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09712518878440027584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880546469523618397.post-56681879777355435132021-01-06T05:00:00.004+05:302021-01-06T05:01:04.825+05:30The MCG Story<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TcmKHCGJC24/X_T1XvsAW5I/AAAAAAABGS8/aqpDRgHIpGs7hFBLR-9Ygr5cd7bptWbpACPcBGAYYCw/s715/ajinkya-rahane-1609051882.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="402" data-original-width="715" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TcmKHCGJC24/X_T1XvsAW5I/AAAAAAABGS8/aqpDRgHIpGs7hFBLR-9Ygr5cd7bptWbpACPcBGAYYCw/s320/ajinkya-rahane-1609051882.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">Undoubtedly, one among the top 5 test wins for India. Going in with 5 bowlers after getting bowled out for 36 at Adelaide. That is what this win is all about. Doing that in absence of your Captain and best batsman makes it even more special.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Let's look at the number of people missing from India's best test 11. Virat Kohli, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami, 3 absolute match winners missing. Add Rohit Sharma for the experience. Then Umesh breaks down right when he was on song. If India had gone with 4 bowlers, the match would have been lost then and there.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I have believed Mohammed Siraj is India's 4th fast bowling option behind Bumrah, Shami and Ishant since 2017/18. Some of my friends have laughed at this choice of mine. Even while he was called "Chenda" or "Drum" for his IPL woes, I was of the firm conviction that he deserved to play ahead of Umesh in tests, especially in Australia. The lad has done absolutely magnificent job coming after the sad demise of his father, who supported the youth all through the hard toil. Some special success stories do carry a tinge of moistness at the corner of the eyes. Perhaps it was just meant to keep the lad grounded and he would keep scaling greater heights.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Shubman Gill still is raw, flashy but perhaps the best batsman of his generation. He also is very quick in scoring. That adds positivity to batting. Hope he's nurtured well by the team management.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">A lot of people hate Rishabh Pant. But his test records are the best for an Indian wicket-keeper after 13 tests. He's the only Indian wicket-keeper with test centuries in Australia and England and only second Asian behind Kumar Sangakkara. His keeping is work in progress. But he has 50 plus catches and stumpings after 13 tests. He's ahead even there. Perhaps, he deserves a lot more support than all the hate he's getting. And he didn't bat badly at the MCG, involving in a crucial 50 plus partnership with Rahane in first innings that pushed India ahead after 4 wickets were lost quickly.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Jadeja is already a legend. His bowling average is lesser than Kapil Dev and Ian Botham and batting average is higher. Does that sound good ? Then remember he's the finest fielder we have in India. Can there be a more valuable player ?<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Ajinkya Rahane has saved his career and his team in one single masterly show. Hats off to the understated Khadoos Mumbaikar.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Pujara and Mayank have had pretty ordinary series so far. But let's remember so has Steve Smith. It has been a bowler's series so far with Australia managing 200 just once in 4 outings and just. India lost first test after one hour of sensational fast bowling at Adelaide. We were pretty harsh on the team, Kohli and Shastri. Team has won a fabulous victory now. Kohli deserves his paternity leave. It's just Cricket and not war.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Some appreciation for the much maligned Shastri too is due. It isn't easy to lift the morale of a team bowled out for 36. Shastri and his coaching team did exactly that. Hence they deserve this mention. We've seen total disintegration of the team a number of times in the past. Star studded teams have returned losing 4-0 and 4-0 in England and Australia. Hence this come from behind win is great.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Finally the success of Ravi Ashwin and Jadeja as bowlers. We had great spinners in the past too. Kumble still is the mountain Ashwin is trying to surpass. A lot of spinners from the past suffered because our pace bowlers were simply inadequate and ineffective. Kumble mostly came on to bowl when opponents were 80/0 from 20 overs or 100/0 from 19 overs or even worse. Ashwin and Jadeja are bowling at middle order batters, after the top order was jolted by our pacers. The incredible consistency of Bumrah, Shami, Ishant etc allows Captain to bring Ashwin earlier and lure batsmen to make mistakes. This isn't taking any credit away from Ashwin and Jadeja. But their success has been possible also because of the best fast bowling unit India has ever had.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Overall a truly happy win. Pujara is bending too much in his stance. He just needs to allow his spine to be a little more erect, the way he did during the previous series down under. That would make India even better. This series so far has been a bowler's series and promises to remain that way. Hence scores like 41, 28 and a 50 might make huge difference. Remember Australia didn't have a single 50 in the second test while India had a century, a 50 and a 45.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Test Cricket is alive and the series is kicking. Much better than the overdose of shorter format Cricket that has been dished out from different corners. Can't wait for the third test.</span></p><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-7404984831328506777" itemprop="description articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 796px;"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6815633543182875357" itemprop="description articleBody" style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 796px;"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-5937798382518042428" itemprop="description articleBody" style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 796px;"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-7503039466893228807" itemprop="description articleBody" style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 796px;"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #1c1e21; display: inline;"><span><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-3972522424697902334" itemprop="description articleBody" style="color: #666666; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 796px;"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;">Govind Raj Shenoy for DieHard Cricket Fans</span></div></div></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>DieHard Cricket Fanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09712518878440027584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880546469523618397.post-6527178493611172302020-07-19T04:37:00.001+05:302020-07-20T16:57:28.855+05:30Battle of the Eras : 1990s vs 2010s<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/LNC__j0AVnZHKrhErRDRdtjAJh6WpZ8-8i9xePhMAktnR6S4aqm8IOpbE2cWEErSabf5uSK4qNgi7LnBSI_Yhr4K_zoe2RkrHxNXUN6o7PU7ARJl3gdJe26c-tNf1hAauqXJmOtNq67fjqLTPA" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/LNC__j0AVnZHKrhErRDRdtjAJh6WpZ8-8i9xePhMAktnR6S4aqm8IOpbE2cWEErSabf5uSK4qNgi7LnBSI_Yhr4K_zoe2RkrHxNXUN6o7PU7ARJl3gdJe26c-tNf1hAauqXJmOtNq67fjqLTPA" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="400" /></a>It has been almost 143 years since cricket was officially played as an international sport for the first time. It was in 1877, when an English team toured the Australian shores and played 2 test matches, which are now known as the <span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">‘inaugural’</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> test matches. But it would surprise many to know that the first cricket match between 2 nations was played even before that – in </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">1844</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> between the </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">US</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> and </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">Canada</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">, at </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">St. George’s Cricket Club</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> in New York! The game has evolved a lot over the years, but the maximum expansion has been in last 30 years or so, with the advent of live television broadcasting, the massive amount of sponsorship money coming into the game, the coloured clothing in day-night matches, and many other changes. The rules of the game have also evolved, to make it more interesting for the viewers, and the dwindling interest of the not-so-die-hard cricket fans, led the cricket administrators to come up with a shortened version of the game – the </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">T20 format, </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">which reduces the duration of a match from 8 hours to 3 hours. The introduction of Indian Premier League (IPL) took the world by a storm and the game has only seen more money flowing into the game, and more viewers.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Change in Playing Conditions</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">From 1992 till 2005, only 2 fielders were allowed outside the 30-yard circle till 15 overs in an ODI, and then 5 fielders till the 50</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 0.6em; vertical-align: super;">th</span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> over. This prompted the rise of swashbuckling openers like Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwithrana of Sri Lanka, who took the ritual of making the most use of fielding restrictions at the start of the innings by hitting the lofted shots. This trend was started by Mark Greatbatch of New Zealand and India’s own Krish Srikkanth. Currently, there are only 2 fielders allowed outside 30-yard circle till 10 overs, only 4 fielders allowed between overs 11-40, and 5 fielders allowed in last 10 overs. This had led to the batsmen having an upper hand and score more runs since there is 1 lesser fielder outside the circle for 30 overs. This prompted Shoaib Akhtar to comment that if this rule were in place earlier, a player like Sachin Tendulkar would have amassed thousands of more runs in his career!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Change in the Pitches</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The rules are not the only factor of contention – the pitches have been made to be flatter and less hostile, even in test matches, than they were before the turn of this century. The reason being that the crowd wants to see fours and sixes being hit throughout the match, which makes the poor bowlers look even worse. Same has been the case in past few years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The image below shows a flat pitch, which is effectively a </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">‘bowler’s graveyard’.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 363px; overflow: hidden; width: 645px;"><img alt="A close up of a baseball field
Description automatically generated" height="363" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/3rGzyKWNxDNjjHpd3cIlqzg28qOVKJWpSk8u1mVRrDW8GUulrtcfwn715uAc1urkkhh8uEy1yZTi6AwCnlg7jJ0jxugEGsHmsz6yOPpZkYntAAn78OTj1rlEwTSdIOWhZsa60L6RyM4xx0yAzA" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="645" /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The batsmen make merry on this pitch, giving a hiding to the bowlers. These are most common to find these days, since that is the demand of the crowd, to see the batsmen score heavily and get entertained.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">However, the pitch below is a ‘</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">green-top’</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, making the seamers lethal, giving shudders to many a batsman.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 349px; overflow: hidden; width: 620px;"><img height="349" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/w1miK213eXBENLaucbK6n-juFNiyzqcje2RpkbCxKk87JYraaxil8N0Zm6_b3sNblR4NY0JIaQ5eTAgy3nf7FJfYHsKx50Dbt8Stt1urTjm0EUOBlcm8JdkDibXfX9TPFGnpJSCzHLpZ_914Dw" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="620" /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is rare to find such pitches these days, but these were quite common to see in 80’s and 90’s decade, even in the Indian subcontinent, which is known to be conducive for spinners.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Next are the </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">‘dust bowls’, </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">also known as the spinner’s paradise, which are usually seen in India and Sri Lanka. These make batting almost impossible in the last 2 days of a test match.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 401px; overflow: hidden; width: 602px;"><img height="401" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/Em2rP46Ei5Z6HcLtw3EdL4QKjwdOLx-E3pB1xxGbm-2XtdC07u_8ucYIc0rBYCqkXCD_tcnHEtpsOwOraf0B1JjNI7vUBIIxN8H1eTnfgTWDGWcQUfC4xrksMc2M-gMPNOEKhqBXvDv8fslCmg" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="602" /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And then there are the </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">‘hard tracks’</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, which are conducive for both batting and bowling. They neither degrade like dust bowls to assist the spinners, nor are completely flat to dominate the bowling, although the fast bowlers do get a steep bounce, which helps them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 338px; overflow: hidden; width: 602px;"><img height="338" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/4y_2hyadnx7FHMK5WAMwdv2BJRLZ7pFtIZFnqTwCpZYsPzJ1VgcU6DEkD1Tp8EgEoKUhUpG71_-n4TvTD_Q2Wpg_-jIAWSDeugafhsF5J5RiAHlStF60UjBOKfKaIXM6fL0X8DcJo49Uk11pAw" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="602" /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Charm of 90’s</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are a lot of debate about whether the batsmen of today era would have succeeded in the same way against the bowling attacks of the 90’s. I feel there is merit in that debate </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">because of all the changes in the playing conditions since then, as I have mentioned above. I won’t necessarily comment that the bowlers of 2010’s don’t have the same quality as their predecessors – bowlers like Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada, Jasprit Bumrah, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Nathan Lyon, Trent Boult, Mitchell Starc have shown that they have the capability to succeed outside home also. And if we consider that the conditions and rules are stacked against them, it makes their case even stronger. But to say that the threat of these bowlers is not the same as that was of the bowlers in the 90’s, would also be true.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There were some fearsome pacers in 90’s – The 2 W’s of Pakistan (Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis), The 2 C’s of West Indies (Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose), the South African predator Allan Donald and India’s Mysore Express Javagal Srinath can be touted to be fast bowlers, who at some point of time ended up hurting the batsmen physically also. The list grew by the end of the century, with the arrival of the Pakistan’s Rawalpindi Express (Shoaib Akhtar), Australia’s Binga (Brett Lee) and New Zealand’s traffic cop (Shane Bond). These 3 had an enticing contest among them, to decide who would eventually be the fastest bowler, which caused constant nightmares to the poor batsmen facing them. Such express pace, unsettling the batsmen, has been seen very rarely in the current decade.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 440px; overflow: hidden; width: 602px;"><img height="440" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/LNC__j0AVnZHKrhErRDRdtjAJh6WpZ8-8i9xePhMAktnR6S4aqm8IOpbE2cWEErSabf5uSK4qNgi7LnBSI_Yhr4K_zoe2RkrHxNXUN6o7PU7ARJl3gdJe26c-tNf1hAauqXJmOtNq67fjqLTPA" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="602" /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was not just the pacers breathing fire at the batsmen, the 90’s saw its fair share of bowlers</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> with guile and skill to make them greats, even without having express pace. The likes of Australia’s Glenn McGrath and Damien Fleming, India’s Venkatesh Prasad, South Africa’s Shaun Pollock, Sri Lanka’s Chaminda Vaas, the Kiwi Dion Nash and England’s Darren Gough and Dominic Cork are some of the exponents of quality seam and swing bowling, who were equally effective and deadly as the other express bowlers of their generation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And I am yet to mention the 3 spin wizards, who bamboozled the best of batsmen with their craft and mastery – the Sri Lankan Mutthiah Muralitharan, the Aussie Shane Warne and India’s Anil Kumble. Not surprisingly, they are the 3 leading wicket takers in test cricket, with 800, 708 and 619 wickets, respectively. The record itself speaks volumes about their class. No wonder, tackling such greats of bowling with equally surreal display of masterclass batting made the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Rahul Dravid, Ricky Ponting, and Jacques Kallis legends too. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That is where the comparison between the 2 decades becomes starker. When you have world class batsmen, competing against equally skilled bowlers, in conditions favouring the opponent, while playing in foreign conditions, and still coming out on top, made the contests even more exhilarating to witness. It is not just about wreaking havoc on the batsmen on a green top pitch or a dust bowl or plundering runs against the hapless bowlers on a flat track; it is about showing character and grit in adverse conditions. Bowling an extraordinary spell of fast bowling or laying a trap of spin when the batsmen are well set, or overpowering the bowlers single-handedly when they seem to be running through the batting line up are the traits of greats of the game, and 90’s witnessed a lot of such events. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Memories</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The events with most recall value in 90’s would be Sachin’s desert storm innings in Sharjah against the invincible Aussies, Brian Lara’s twin tons against the Aussies to win the test matches on his own, Sachin’s heart-breaking effort of 136 against Pakistan at Chennai in a losing cause and Kumble’s 10 wickets in an innings in the next test match to name a few. But there were also some innings which were played in extremely adverse conditions, when the chips were down – case in point would be Sachin and Azhar scoring magnificent quickfire hundreds at Cape Town when the team score was 58/5 and saving a certain follow-on, Azhar’s century in 74 balls against the Proteas at Eden Gardens when the rest of the batsmen had surrendered, and Steve Waugh’s innings of grit and determination (after being dropped by Herschelle Gibbs) to see the Aussies through against South Africa in a do-or-die match in the 1999 world cup. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the bowling domain, Shane Warne’s magical spells to turn the semi-finals of the 1996 and 1999 world cups on their head, his man of the match winning performance in the 1999 final, and Muralitharan’s figures of 16-220 against England at the Oval in 1998 are forever etched in cricket lover’s minds.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But in between these epic performances, there were also moments of sheer competitiveness and intensity. There are 2 bowling spells of Allan Donald, who was also known as </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">‘White Lightening’,</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> which are a testament to this statement</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">His spells to Michael Atherton at Trent Bridge and to the Waugh brothers at SCG are moments of pure joy and exhilaration, the kind of adrenaline rush you would get while watching an F1 race! And it is also a fact that these moments came in test matches, which were considered boring and unexciting to watch. But it cannot be denied that without the presence of gritty players like Atherton, Alec Stewart, Steve Waugh, and Rahul Dravid, who used to put an extremely high price tag on their wicket, such battles would not have been possible.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Watch those scintillating spells here:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I mentioned fast bowling spells here as it takes not just skill, but courage to face a hard leather ball coming at your body at close to 100 miles per hour. Any kind of protective covering is not enough to save you from physical harm if you are inept at facing such quality fast bowling. Wasim and Waqar were infamous for their toe crushing yorkers and Ambrose and Walsh for their lethal bouncers. Not to mention that it wasn’t any easier to face the trio of spin wizards, but at least the batsmen only lost their wicket against the spinners, not a part of their body or even worse, their self-belief.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Such spells in this decade have been far and few. The only prominent ones have been Wahab Riaz’s inspired short-pitched bowling to Shane Watson in the 2015 world cup and of course, Mitchell Johnson’s thunderbolts against England at home in 2013-14. His bouncers tore apart the English batting line-up, and even caused Jonathan Trott to leave the tour mid-way and eventually retire, since he found himself at sea against such quality short-pitched bowling, while already struggling with mental health issues. It was a sad incident but again highlighted the fact that fast bowling can trouble the best of batsmen, in different ways.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Below is the link for Wahab’s spell:</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.icc-cricket.com/video/1090512" style="text-decoration-line: none;">https://www.icc-cricket.com/video/1090512</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Check out Johnson’s fireballs here:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Conclusion</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is no doubt that quality of cricket has increased in the past decades. There have been many nail biting contests in this decade – let it be the match winning last wicket partnerships in test cricket, headed by Sri Lanka’s Kusal Perera in South Africa or England’s Ben Stokes at Headingly, or probably the greatest cricket match ever – the world cup final 2019. The skills of bowlers like Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah and batting greats like Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Kane Williamson, Rohit Sharma have taken the game to new heights. The fielding standards have also increased massively from 90’s, and now each team is extremely competitive in ground fielding, saving runs and taking extraordinary catches. However, one thing is not as prominent as it was in the 90’s – the match saving innings in adverse conditions in test matches.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For a cricket connoisseur like me, test cricket is the real deal. As the name signifies, it is a true test of skills, determination, and character. The greats of 90’s truly deserve all the praise heaped on them as they had to overcome the difficult conditions and world class bowling to save the matches, which they did manage to accomplish sometimes. Such instances can be counted on fingers in this decade – be it Gautam Gambhir’s marathon innings at Napier in 2009, which saved the match for India and helped to win the series or Faf du Plessis’ century in his debut test match, scoring 110 not out off 376 balls on final day of Adelaide Test in 2012 to save the match for his team. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 458px; overflow: hidden; width: 480px;"><img alt="A person holding a sign
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lastly, a valiant effort by Hashim Amla and AB De Villiers in Delhi in 2015, who played a </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">‘blockathon’</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, where ABD scored </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">43 runs in 297 balls</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and Amla scored </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">25 runs in 244 balls</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Although India won the match, but such innings show the true skill set of these players, their determination and grind, especially ABD, who holds the record for fastest 50 and 100 runs as well as 150 runs in an ODI. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Such moments of competitiveness have been very few in this decade, along with the absence of fearful bowlers like the ones in 90’s. The presence of Wasim and Waqar was almost certainly a death knell for the tail enders, so was the reputation of Kumble, Warne and Murali to run through a batting line-up. Ambrose and Walsh were infamous for cleaning up the top-order on the flattest of tracks. Such reputation of bowlers has been hard to find in this decade, and the change in rules, favouring the batsmen is also to be blamed for it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But again, the cricket fans who witnessed the 70’s decade would feel the same way about the 90’s decade, as there were even more fearsome and dangerous fast bowlers in the 70’s era. The famed pace quartet of the Windies – Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, Joel Garner and Colin Croft was almost unplayable as well as Australia’s Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee were equally fast and ruthless. The fact that the batsmen in that era played with even lesser protective covering, without a helmet for most of their careers, and faced the bouncers of these bowlers at their prime, yet scored thousands of runs, makes them seem even more skilled than their successors. West Indies pacers have been renowned for causing fear in the minds of the batsmen. Charlie Griffith nearly killed India’s Nari Contractor with his bouncer in 1962. Malcolm Marshall was one of the toughest bowlers to face and used to bowl vicious bowlers even with his short height.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Roberts, Holding, Croft and Garner – The fearsome foursome</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eventually, it is all about celebrating the game and relishing the riveting contests between bat and ball. Growing up in the 90’s makes me a bit biased towards that era, but I still enjoy the competition on the field between bat and ball, with performances that would seem nearly impossible in the 90’s era. But records are meant to be broken. As far as comparison of eras is concerned, well, it is always good for a banter and discussion, but it will always be difficult and unfair to compare legends from different eras. Late Richie Benaud also quoted that “a champion from one era, can always be a champion in another.”</span></div>
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DieHard Cricket Fanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09712518878440027584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880546469523618397.post-29998956553850526732020-07-09T04:26:00.000+05:302020-07-20T17:00:29.096+05:30Curious Case of Kieran Powell's Omission<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Sri Lanka is known to produce mystery bowlers, West Indies is known to produce mystery Selectors. The tussle between the West Indies Cricket administration/selectors and the players is well documented. It has been frustrating for the players as well as the fans who have missed deserved players from action often due to inexplicable reasons. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The latest casualty of the selection policies is Kieran Powell. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Leewards Islands captain Kieran Powell has been left out of the provisional 29-man squad for the West Indies tour of England which might go ahead despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Cricket West Indies and England & Wales Cricket Board are working out plans to somehow carry forward this tour which has been delayed due to the pandemic. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The provisional squad sees return of Shannon Gabriel, Veerasammy Permaul and Jermaine Blackwood and also includes quite a few new selectees in Preston McSween, Paul Palmer, Shane Mosely and Keon Harding. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Given Kieran has scored heavily in regional cricket, his absence from a squad of 29 is surprising to say the least. Powell has been the top scorer in the regional 50 over competition this season and also scored well in the 4 day format. Though he didn't top the charts in the 4 day competition, an as opener he played quite a few very solid innings when the team was under pressure. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“I haven’t really been as productive as I would like in the four-day format but I still managed to stand out above everyone else who played in the tournament so it’s disheartening for myself to learn that I hadn’t been selected based on the volume of runs I scored,” said Powell.</span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Powell was also left out of the squads against India, Ireland and Sri Lanka despite being the leading run scorer in the Super50 competition. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Powell is also disappointed by the lack of clear communication from CWI to him. When Evin Lewis failed to clear fitness test for the matches against Sri Lanka, Powell was primed to take his spot in the team as he was in prime form but reports suggested that Powell failed the fitness test as well. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“I don’t mind not being selected. This is part and parcel of being in West Indies cricket. It has been here long before me and I’m pretty sure it will be long after but communication is the most important thing,” Powell said regarding the failure of the fitness test.</span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It is the duty of CWI to communicate on the aspects of the tests a player fails so that they can work on it. According to Kieran, he is yet to hear from them. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“Obviously there are more factors to it, which is what I am trying to ascertain. What are those standards, so I can work on whatever I need to work on so I can get my international career back off the ground?” he said.</span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Kieran says he has full faith in the current administration and coaches and that they have the best interest of cricket at heart, but does point out a certain stigma which has made his stay in the West Indies cricket a bit difficult.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“I remember a coach of the West Indies team telling me that I don’t need to play for the West Indies team because I was financially good and that I should leave it for people who aren’t financially good and I didn’t understand,” said Powell.</span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It is really shocking to hear such <span style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21;">unprofessional, prejudiced mistreatment of a player. Nothing but merit should be the selection criteria. Going by this logic, many greats would have never played the game. Imagine India losing Sourav Ganguly to such selection policies. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The selectors have maintained that the selections are based only on cricket and there are no other factors involved. They say they have picked the squad most suitable for the conditions. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">That brings us to Powell's performance in the English conditions. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In English conditions, when the ball is doing so much, the job of the openers is to provide a solid start and shield rest of the batsmen from the new ball. Powell did that job quite well. In terms of the balls faced, he was third on the list and in terms of the runs scored 4th. Powell's performance as an opener was better than England's second opener. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Given all these facts, it is only fair to say that Kieran has been treated unfairly and CWI needs to be more accountable in selection policies. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">DieHard Cricket Fans</span></div>
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DieHard Cricket Fanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09712518878440027584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880546469523618397.post-10998110276223920212020-06-24T04:54:00.000+05:302020-06-24T23:06:22.301+05:30World Beyond the Cup - Tete-a-tete with Cricket Brasil<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0PXc0IQnIPI/XvKO408WW-I/AAAAAAABBQw/kBjYOTCoOaE3lEilB5j1j7klTSgx6VcaQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Brazil_Cricket_Logo.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="190" data-original-width="180" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0PXc0IQnIPI/XvKO408WW-I/AAAAAAABBQw/kBjYOTCoOaE3lEilB5j1j7klTSgx6VcaQCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/Brazil_Cricket_Logo.gif" width="189" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>DHCF:</b> For most people Brazil means Football but what they don’t know is that Cricket was introduced in Brazil before Football. Cricket has a rich history in this football obsessed country. Tell us a bit about it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>CB:</b> Cricket in Brazil began in the mid-1800s in Rio de Janeiro, during a period when a portion of the city’s population was British or of British descent. By the early 1860s, a number of cricket clubs were in operation. Beginning in 1860, as part of a much-needed beautification programme for the city, Emperor Dom Pedro II created several new parks, including a large grassed area in front of his daughter Princess Isabel’s house, who is a big figure in our country’s history, and this space eventually became the country’s first proper cricket ground, and hosted cricket, tennis and bowls matches for many years. Princess Isabel and her father were frequent spectators, and often called upon to present trophies to the winners.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">From that moment to this century, Cricket has been played in several capitals and a street Cricket game called “Taco” was created. You can easily see taco being played in small cities by children – and most of them will not even know that it is related to Cricket!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Coming to the new era of the game in Brazil, the national Associação Brasileira de Cricket (ABC) was founded in 2001, and Brazil became an affiliate member of the ICC in 2003.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We started grassroots projects for Brazilians in Brasilia and mainly Poços de Caldas in 2011. The projects have been a success and we have more than 3500 children playing cricket on a weekly basis, and that has led to a U13, U17 male and female teams and a Senior Male and Female teams playing on T20I status since 2018.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>DHCF:</b> With Brazil now been granted T20I status and International cricket action on for the national teams, what does it mean for the future?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>CB:</b> It is already being a big change. Since 2018 we have invested more on our women’s team and 2020 they were the first team from Brazil to have central contracts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That is part of the plan on improving the pathway on the female high performance side and taking this team to ICC tournaments.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>DHCF:</b> What is the near term international schedule like for the national teams?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>CB:</b> For 2020 we had planned a Women’s series in Argentina, for April, South American Championships in September and October (U13, U17 Female and Male, and Seniors Female and Male), and preparation for ICC WC Qualifiers for Women’s.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>DHCF:</b> What is the domestic cricket structure like in Brazil?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>CB:</b> We have a John Landers Shield, that is done in two legs with our members male teams.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Ladies National Championship, also played in a combination from two different tournaments and has been having records of participants.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We have Junior League in Poços de Caldas for the local U13 and U17 teams throughout the year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And we have all local leagues played by the members and their tour, in Poços de Caldas, Brasilia, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro. It is a shame the quarantine, because 2020 was a very busy cricket year for us.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>DHCF:</b> How popular is the sport in Brazil? Is it gaining any popularity?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>CB:</b> Cricket is getting recognition and increasing popularity. Brazil is a country of 200 million people and we have plenty of potential to make cricket well known. We are working on sustainable pillars to have a good growth.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>DHCF:</b> We have learnt that among the developing cricketing nations, Brazil is one of the few where non-expats are picking up the game. Is that true?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>CB:</b> We cannot answer about the other developing cricketing nations, but all of our youth and female teams are made of Brazilian only. The senior male team now has the best percentage it ever had of Brazilians playing, and all of them come from the development projects done in the past years. So we are heading to the right direction in getting Brazilian players in the pathway and reaching high performance.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>DHCF:</b> What measures are being taken to improve the standard of cricket in Brazil?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>CB:</b> I think we developed a structure that allows us to grow in a sustainable way. The establishment of the project was done by taking small steps on a strong and structured foundation:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">First, we opted to have good, committed teachers who taught children about the sport in a fun way, increasing interest in participating in the projects.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Second, we chose projects with the profile of students who would embrace cricket and grow along with our group. And year by year we were increasing in number of projects, with consistency and greater curiosity and involvement of the students. We also created our Training Center where project children could access the sport during the week and start interacting with other young players, as well as developing their skills.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And third, we have been valuing students with games, competitions and bringing the students that had a spirit of leadership to our project as instructors in the school itself. We started with a system of monitors within each project,called Black Shirt project, and now we have eleven of these monitors attending Physical Education University, where they will soon become teachers of cricket to increase the number of projects assisted with qualified teachers. This year we have our first qualified teachers from this initiative: Luis Felipe Pinheiro e Renata Dina de Sousa, who received Gray Nicolls equipment and will be representing Brazil and inspiring players in the country.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This video explains the Black Shirt Project from the beginning: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>DHCF: </b>We have heard that ICC and Cricket Australia has been involved in development of cricket in Brazil. Tell us a bit about it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>CB: </b>Yes, we had an exchange program done with support of ICC and Cricket Australia on 2017 and our Media Officer and skipper, Roberta Moretti Avery. Our intention was to see how the projects are structured in Australia and what we could apply it in a developing cricket country in all areas: grassroots, coaching, marketing, administration, tournaments. This is very important to up skill our staff and improve the level of our cricket in Brazil.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We also had two coaches from the Black Shirt program spending time with Cricket Scotland last year and Alexandre Felippe, our U13 coach and Developing Manager, spent time in England to improve his coaching cricket knowledge. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All of these programs brought us ideas of where and how to improve our pathway. Great experiences. </span><br />
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DieHard Cricket Fanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09712518878440027584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880546469523618397.post-74024782010978634712020-06-22T04:42:00.000+05:302020-06-22T04:45:29.977+05:30Total Recall #2 India vs South Africa, 24th November 1993, Kolkata Hero Cup (First Semi-final)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In this second article of Total Recall series, we are going to relive one of the most iconic matches of the 90’s era, one which shaped a youngster into a man and made millions of Indian fans hopeful that their team is going to get a lot of success in the coming years.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Backdrop</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The <b>CAB Jubilee Cup</b>, known as ‘<b>Hero Cup</b>’, as Hero Honda were the sponsors, was organized from 7th November – 27th November 1993, to commemorate the diamond jubilee of Cricket Association of Bengal. It included host India, along with Sri Lanka, South Africa, West Indies, and Zimbabwe. Pakistan was also scheduled to participate, but they pulled out just four days before the start of the tournament. All the ten league games (each team played the others once) were held at ten different venues and the semi-finals and final were held at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Controversies</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There was crowd trouble in the match between India and West Indies at Ahmedabad, which shortened the game, as well as a firecracker burst in the face of Keith Arthurton of West Indies in the final match against India (yes, even firecrackers were allowed to carry inside the stadiums in those days, imagine!).<br /><br />This was also the first tournament to be broadcasted live on a satellite channel, Star TV. Until then, state terrestrial broadcaster Doordarshan had a monopoly of broadcasting cricket matches in India. Doordarshan even approached the Supreme Court in 1995, stating that the broadcast should be uplinked from India (Star TV did from Hong Kong), but this plea was rejected, which started the entry of multiple sponsors and broadcast rights bids in India.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Points Table (at the end of league stage)</b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 15px; overflow: hidden; width: 23px;"><img height="15" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/6ZlUH7pUuMTFcn8MIwfPiv8UuGGZlmYD2FfA-ZK3EyBEF3oq-GxGmRWkHiHnqhAy97c94XJXPoDYlFnJV5R1p6q97gJ1Eb46m3MX71MnT2hmHW1GinwgYfsT4gdEyX1ib-7xEDw-EhqelbFYMQ" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="23" /></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Indies_cricket_team" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b0080; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">West Indies</span></a></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3</span></b></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #ccffcc; border-bottom: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-left: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-right: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-top: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1</span></b></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #ccffcc; border-bottom: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-left: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-right: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-top: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">0</span></b></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #ccffcc; border-bottom: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-left: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-right: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-top: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">0</span></b></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #ccffcc; border-bottom: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-left: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-right: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-top: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">6</span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #ccffcc; border-bottom: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-left: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-right: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-top: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">+1.055</span></b></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="background-color: #ccffcc; border-bottom: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-left: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-right: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-top: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 15px; overflow: hidden; width: 23px;"><img height="15" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/7mQv_mwgamGeZmDY_-MSdxceFIOv293-UTqj4kYGBZbLNZFkzGK8JUuLMN7dnSOSriuUrhQEwEYKJ30Cx0GlQoVo-DaEd91zYzFEhRJUhDyc-zO-OBLhnwP-8OrpuPg5TyG3vo9OkQ_z4c_sbw" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="23" /></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa_national_cricket_team" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b0080; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">South Africa</span></a></span></b></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #ccffcc; border-bottom: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-left: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-right: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-top: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">4</span></b></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #ccffcc; border-bottom: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-left: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-right: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-top: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2</span></b></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #ccffcc; border-bottom: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-left: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-right: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-top: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1</span></b></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #ccffcc; border-bottom: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-left: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-right: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-top: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">0</span></b></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #ccffcc; border-bottom: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-left: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-right: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-top: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1</span></b></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #ccffcc; border-bottom: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-left: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-right: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-top: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">5</span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #ccffcc; border-bottom: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-left: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-right: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-top: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">+0.543</span></b></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="background-color: #ccffcc; border-bottom: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-left: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-right: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-top: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 15px; overflow: hidden; width: 23px;"><img height="15" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/DEpIwgrE5hZ7xF1knOYpgHRvmz94gPauG_GV-DWA6DjLn_udeSA9ApgC6ibx3Q_762vTzS30kNcaWjiYyFukG4BcI71rH-3MJcd-bmYkonSE8FcwsjgUjbid_PNfMxZ9Wpc9LP6bQHHrlQnCqw" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="23" /></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India_national_cricket_team" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b0080; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">India</span></a></span></b></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #ccffcc; border-bottom: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-left: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-right: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-top: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">4</span></b></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #ccffcc; border-bottom: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-left: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-right: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-top: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2</span></b></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #ccffcc; border-bottom: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-left: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-right: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-top: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1</span></b></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #ccffcc; border-bottom: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-left: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-right: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-top: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1</span></b></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #ccffcc; border-bottom: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-left: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-right: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-top: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">0</span></b></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #ccffcc; border-bottom: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-left: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-right: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-top: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">5</span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #ccffcc; border-bottom: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-left: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-right: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-top: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">+0.082</span></b></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="background-color: #ccffcc; border-bottom: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-left: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-right: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-top: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 12px; overflow: hidden; width: 23px;"><img height="12" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/OO43hA5Y-1pZwsc2UpJYANi6Nv3LIMfinrpKl3ZTOEjlidhZg62h84-m6_x7uf_yrOd3e3Qq25LfmA-CWB3GporaRFZ19jQUeM5lTDQG6Nzsml_Uqw08-MK2W6Dc6f--Y6z8Fou87TqlZomlvg" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="23" /></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lanka_national_cricket_team" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b0080; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sri Lanka</span></a></span></b></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #ccffcc; border-bottom: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-left: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-right: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-top: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">4</span></b></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #ccffcc; border-bottom: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-left: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-right: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-top: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1</span></b></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #ccffcc; border-bottom: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-left: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-right: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-top: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3</span></b></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #ccffcc; border-bottom: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-left: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-right: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-top: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">0</span></b></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #ccffcc; border-bottom: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-left: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-right: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-top: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">0</span></b></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #ccffcc; border-bottom: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-left: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-right: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-top: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2</span></span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #ccffcc; border-bottom: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-left: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-right: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-top: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">−0.478</span></b></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="background-color: #ffffcc; border-bottom: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-left: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-right: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; border-top: solid #a2a9b1 0.75pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 2.4pt 4.8pt 2.4pt 4.8pt; vertical-align: middle;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 12px; overflow: hidden; width: 23px;"><img height="12" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/aK9XN8_-EHwmV8mD_X37LDYcdwcVVB5htCbtvFYD42OljQmcnvpGL0vnCGj31PmtNqhqoX1ye6gPzRW-DqtQK8xTAYxHA9bdSjFAzf2kAeU_a3swFrBjNMm4SUyiT0MdEw-zkV2FGjbg_CMPig" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="23" /></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zimbabwe_national_cricket_team" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b0080; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Zimbabwe</span></a></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">4</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">0</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122; font-size: 10.5pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">−1.260</span></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Match</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">India had defeated South Africa in the league stage, but that did not mean anything in a semi-final, which was a new experience for everyone involved. It was the first day-night ODI held at Eden Gardens (the first day night match outside Australia was held in Jawahar Lal Nehru stadium in 1984). So, it was not a very common experience for Indian team to play under lights. The fact that it was winter made things more tilted in favour of the bowlers with some swing and movement at offer. South Africa had been a force to reckon since their re-entry into cricket in 1991, and this was going to be a mouth-watering contest.<br /><br />Md. Azharuddin won the toss and elected to bat first. By the 7th over, India was tottering at 18/3, with Manoj Prabhakar and Vinod Kambli being brilliantly run out by Daryll Cullinan and Ajay Jadeja out LBW by Fanie de Villiers. When Sachin Tendulkar got out for 15, India was reeling at 53/4. That is when Azhar resurrected the innings, along with the help of Pravin Amre, who scored a slow, but much needed 48 off 90 balls. Such was the domination of South Africa, that these three were the only batsmen to reach a double-digit score (the fourth highest contribution was from Extras, 13 of them!)</span></div>
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Azhar waged a lone battle on his favourite ground and ended up scoring 90 off 118 balls. The wickets kept falling at the other end. India scored just 195 runs and seemed at least 25 runs short of a safe total. Fanie de Villiers bowled brilliantly with figures of 10-1-19-3, ably assisted by Richard Snell (33-3) and Hansie Cronje (9 overs for just 25 runs). Indian bowlers needed to bowl brilliantly well to secure a place in the final of the tournament. One advantage India had was the presence of a massive, energetic, and loud crowd of almost 100,000 people, which cheered their team on with each single run being scored. They were going to play a big part in motivating their team to win the match.<br /><br />India started off well, with a young and lanky Javagal Srinath removing the skipper Kepler Wessels. Cronje, Cullinan, and Jonty Rhodes came in after that and chipped in and got starts but then got dismissed for scores of 13,10 and 16, respectively. Opener Andrew Hudson was still on the crease when he was joined by the bulky all-rounder Brian McMillan at the score of 106/4. Hudson was looking in good touch and had scored 6 boundaries. He looked to play the role of an anchor, who could hold one end safe and see the team through to the end. His innings was cut short by Anil Kumble, who bowled him for the score of 62. <br /><br />The team score read 130/5, but the required run rate was still under control, and South Africa’s lower middle order could bat decently. So, the match was still on. Kumble had played the same role that De Villiers did for South Africa and was very economical with figures of 10-0-29-2. He was very well assisted by Ajay Jadeja, who had figures of 9-0-31-2. Yes, Ajay Jadeja was a regular bowler for team India in those years, and very effective too!<br /><br />Brian McMillan was the danger man. Wickets were falling at the other end, but he was the hope for South Africa. Once the wicketkeeper Dave Richardson was out, the score read 190/8 at the end of 49th over. South Africa needed 6 runs to win and reach the final. There was a small meeting going on between Azhar, Sachin, Jadeja and Kapil Dev out in the middle. Kapil Dev had an over left and Azhar wanted him to bowl. But Kapil was seen rotating his left shoulder, seemingly suggesting that it is sore. One could see the focus in young Sachin’s eye during the discussion. To the utter bewilderment of everyone in the ground and watching it on tv, Azhar tossed the ball to him! Sachin had not even bowled a ball in the match and now he was supposed to defend 5 runs in the last over. It seemed an audacious task, and even though Sachin had managed to tie the match with his bowling in the low scoring match against the Windies in Australia in December of 1991, the stakes were very high this time.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Last Over</b></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The excitement was on its prime. With everything to play for, the crowd was on the edge of their seats. It was now or never. Sachin looked eager to bowl.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>1st ball</b> – Sachin bowled a slow ball outside off stump, which was hit through to deep cover by McMillan. Salil Ankola fielded the ball. De Villiers dashed back for a non-existent second run but was stranded mid-pitch as McMillan refused the run and the keeper Vijay Yadav took off the bails. There was jubilation in the crowd. The score read 191/9, last man Allan Donald was now supposed to come out and face the music.<br /><br /><b>2nd ball</b> – Donald tried to hit the ball through covers but could not connect. Dot Ball.<br /><br /><b>3rd ball </b>– Donald tried to tap the ball towards mid-wicket and rotate the strike, but Sachin was bowling very slowly and skilfully. The ball rolled back towards him and again a dot ball.<br /><br /><b>4th ball</b> – Again Donald tried to have a wild swing at a ball outside off stump but could not make any connection. Dot ball, and now South Africa needed 5 off 2 balls. The nervousness was peaking. This was getting close.<br /><br /><b>5th ball </b>– This time Donald waited for the slower ball, hit it in the air towards long on and got off the strike. 4 needed of the last ball for a victory, which was very much possible with McMillan on strike. He was batting on 48.<br /><br />There was again a discussion between Sachin and Yadav. The atmosphere was as tense as it could get. The expectations were too much. Yadav was now standing at a considerable distance from the stumps, to prevent any wides or edges running to the boundary.<br /><br /><b>6th ball</b> – Sachin ran in and bowled a fuller ball, angling in towards McMillan. He tried to heave it over the top but missed it completely. The ball went between his pads and the leg stump, safely in the gloves of Yadav. They ran across for a bye, but that was it. India had won a thrilling contest by 2 runs! Sachin was jumping for joy in his trademark style.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The hero of the moment was a 20 year old Sachin Tendulkar – the shy, curly-haired boy, who was touted to be a batting great in future, had kept his nerves ice cool in a time when even legends can get cold feet, and won the game with his bowling. It was later revealed by him that Kapil Dev suggested that the pace of his own bowling can make it easier to score, and hence he suggested that Sachin should bowl that over.<br /><br />The crowd went delirious. There were flames lit up, firecrackers were going on and the noise would have blown off the roof, if there was one! India ended up winning the final at the same venue against West Indies 3 days later, and lifted the Hero Cup, one of the finest hours in India’s one day cricket history. That win paved the way for future Indian stars to be motivated and created many new ardent fans of the game, especially Sachin’s, who in the next few years, would become a darling of India and a household name, and the backbone of India’s hope till the turn of the millennium. There used to be an endearment for Sachin in each family, as if he were one of their own, and this last over and many such moments later in his career, played a huge role in that.<br /><br />For all those wanting to relive the magical moments, the videos of the short highlights package and the last over are here.<br /><br />The match highlights:</span><br />
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The Last Over :<br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-531fc240-7fff-ce29-a94f-7838c699a4f1" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By DHCF Nishant Raizaday</span></div>
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DieHard Cricket Fanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09712518878440027584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880546469523618397.post-5759477691491451652020-06-18T05:13:00.001+05:302020-06-23T05:06:26.054+05:30Tete-a-tete with Ryan Campbell, Former Australian & Hong Kong Player, Present Netherlands' Head Coach<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vv-Zzs39ArA/XuqqShp204I/AAAAAAABBCM/dSub_k1uk9sYZGVIFjM-22_JucII_sEbACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/ryanc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1120" data-original-width="1400" height="256" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vv-Zzs39ArA/XuqqShp204I/AAAAAAABBCM/dSub_k1uk9sYZGVIFjM-22_JucII_sEbACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/ryanc.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>DHCF:</b> Late 90s and 2000s was a time when people said that if Australia fielded 2 teams, they would be No. 1 & 2 in the world. The Australian XI was so hard to get into, that it deprived the World Cricket of some serious talent. How frustrating was it to keep performing in Domestic cricket and not making it to the national team?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Ryan:</b> Of course it was frustrating but it was also the greatest time to play cricket in Australia due to the amazing competition that was going on. Our Test players (Gilchrist, Martyn, Langer, Katich etc) always said that coming back and playing Sheffield Shield was harder than playing Test cricket. It was an amazing period for Australian cricket and I feel very privileged to have been a part of it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>DHCF:</b> You were known for your high octane game. Do you wish T20 cricket was invented a decade earlier? Atleast the world would have had a chance to watch you play in the leagues like BBL and IPL, a glimpse of which was seen in ICL.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Ryan: </b>Yeah of course, I was lucky enough to play in the first ever T20 match in Australia, it was against Victoria and they had to close the gates at the WACA. We knew we were onto something then. I loved T20 but when I decided to retire I had made peace with my decision.</span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H4eoJLl3eNg/XuqqccsOr-I/AAAAAAABBCQ/stHcgvYKaCIaqJeXCxnvokUTpe79wKThgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Ryan-Campbell-wt20.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="509" data-original-width="350" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H4eoJLl3eNg/XuqqccsOr-I/AAAAAAABBCQ/stHcgvYKaCIaqJeXCxnvokUTpe79wKThgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Ryan-Campbell-wt20.png" width="220" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>DHCF:</b> How did the move to Hong Kong come about? How was your experience with Hong Kong cricket, having played multiple roles of advisor, batting coach and a player?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Ryan: </b>When I retired from cricket it was due to my heavy workload outside of cricket. I was heavily involved in the media, hosted my own Travel show (Postcards WA) as well as being on morning radio, I actually said no to putting my name into the first IPL auction as I was hosting the coverage for Channel 10. But in the end, I missed the game and my good friend Charlie Burke (HK National Coach) had asked me to come up and work with the squad for a week. He knew I had my Level 3 Coaching certificate. An opportunity then came up at the Kowloon Cricket Club as Director of Cricket/Head Coach. I had just turned 40 and was single, I felt it was a chance for a great adventure and thought an year would be awesome. Little did I know that I would stay for 5 years, get married, have a son and play for the National team!! I love everything about Hong Kong and still miss it daily.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>DHCF:</b> How did it feel to make a comeback to International Cricket that too in a World Cup? Was quite remarkable to make T20I debut at an age of 44.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Ryan: </b>To be honest, I didn’t want to play. I felt I was way too old and didn’t want to embarrass myself on the world stage or draw bad publicity to Hong Kong cricket. But Charlie felt we were in desperate need of some experience and that he said I was still clearly the best player in Hong Kong. So eventually I said yes, I would have loved to have been 10 years younger but I look at it now and say that one day I can at least tell my kids that I opened the batting & bowling at a World Cup.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>DHCF:</b> With Afghanistan and Ireland bagging the test status last year, do you see the Dutch national team to also play Test Cricket anytime soon?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Ryan: </b>Quite simply no. The Dutch will never play Test cricket and we don’t want to. Our game here is based around the white ball formats, we are extremely good at it and every junior in the country only plays white ball. Yes, as an Aussie, I would like some multi day cricket (ICUP was great) as it is a great way to teach youngsters the game. I think also that Afghanistan and Ireland are finding out that Test cricket is extremely expensive to put on.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>DHCF:</b> Do you feel if the Associate nations will be given the test status, will it reduce the standard of competition and thus interest of viewers, as claimed by those opposing giving them test status?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Ryan: </b>I think the whole “Test Status” has gone out the door, “Full Member” status is what we and others are aiming for and this can now be achieved without having to commit to Test Cricket. The standard of Associate Cricket has gone through the roof and teams like Scotland, us, Oman, USA, Namibia & Nepal etc are all extremely competitive. Unfortunately, not many see this as the reduction of teams at World Cups has been extremely disappointing. All full members have a duty to grow the game, not just line their own pockets.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>DHCF:</b> You have donned so many roles in the world of cricket, player, advisor, sport reporter, commentator, advisor, coach... Which one have you enjoyed the most?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Ryan: </b>It’s a tough question, I’ve enjoyed all parts of the game and the one thing I’m 100% sure about is that I love this game, I love everything about it. The lessons it teaches you, the competition it brings between opposition & your own players, the simple joy it brings to the faces of fans…..but if I really had to choose, I would say Coaching is my number 1 only because it gives you the opportunity to help mould and guide a young player so that he can be good/great at an extremely high level.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>DHCF:</b> With so much time away from family and pressure to perform every match, a lot of players suffer from anxiety and depression. Few players have recently come out and talked about it and taken a break from the game. You were reported to have gone through it as well. As a coach, what do you tell young players to tackle this and keep them mentally healthy?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Ryan: </b>Yeah it is a tough one, Mental Health is a really important issue in professional sport. I try and make sure our players have a good balance between playing, family life and own time. If you become too fixated on only one of those areas, if something goes wrong it is very easy to crumble. I also have a very “Open door” policy, players know they can speak to me anywhere and at any time if they are not feeling great. We have had a couple of cases recently and I am very proud of how we handled it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>DHCF:</b> Do you see a multi nation franchise based T20 league as a way of improving European teams?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Ryan: </b>The Franchise competition would be a great way to improve players, I was extremely disappointed when the Euro Slam was cancelled. It would have given our players a great chance to play with the best players in the world and also give them another platform to showcase their skills to the world. We can only hope it can be resurrected.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>DHCF:</b> Which has been your most memorable day/match as a cricketer/coach?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Ryan: </b>Of course winning is why we play and its especially awesome in a team sport. Winning 2 Sheffield Shields and 3 One day titles with Western Australia stands out as a player, winning the World Cup Qualifiers last October was my coaching highlight, especially after us going into that competition winning only 6 of 16 matches (as the sole selector in the Netherlands I was committed to giving all of our Dutch Based players an opportunity to get selected for the World Cup, hence we didn’t bring our Dutch County players back during the year), questions were being asked but we stayed strong and played brilliantly. And finally, I will always cherish the day I played for Australia, especially as my Mum & Dad flew across to Sydney to see me play.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>DHCF:</b> Anything else you would like to share, any special memory/any fun stories?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Ryan: </b>The one particular thing that sticks out to me over my journey, is the wonderful friendships I have made and the people that I have met. I would also like to say that everyone should enjoy our great game for what it is, a battle between bat and ball, we can complicate things sometimes but just enjoy the game & it’s great players!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We would like to thank Ryan for taking time out and having a conversation with us.</span><br />
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DieHard Cricket Fanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09712518878440027584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880546469523618397.post-64149556179735823602020-06-09T04:57:00.001+05:302020-06-09T04:57:50.808+05:30Total Recall - 1 India vs Australia, 21st October 1996, Bengaluru Titan Cup (Group Fixture)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Every journey is gradual. The pedestal on which Indian cricket rests today has been due to the years of toils of the players, and the business acumen of the administrators. If cricketers brought the spectators to the field, the administrators brought the sponsors and money into the game. The decade of 90’s saw both these factors gain more traction and get the ball rolling for Indian cricket.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In this special series of ‘Total Recall’, I will take you back to those memorable matches from yesteryears, so we can relive those numerous unforgettable moments again. The first segment in this series is the Titan cup match between India and Australia in Bengaluru.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Australia Innings</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Having lost their opening matches against a strong South African team, both India and Australia were looking to get a win in this game and open their account in the points table. Opting to bat first, Australia got off to a slow start, and by the end of 10</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 0.6em; vertical-align: super;">th</span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> over, they were struggling at 23/2. Steve Waugh joined his captain Mark Taylor in the middle and they forged a partnership of 92 before Steve Waugh departed in 31</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 0.6em; vertical-align: super;">st</span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> over. Michael Bevan, who was yet to claim his fame as Mr. finisher, came to the middle and had a partnership of 82 runs with Taylor, before the latter fell for a laborious 105(144). This was Taylor’s maiden ODI century in his 98</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 0.6em; vertical-align: super;">th</span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> match. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A late flourish from the lower middle order helped Australia reach to a modest total of 215/7, which was far lesser than what India managed against Pakistan in the World Cup quarterfinal at the same venue, just over 6 months ago. But from the start of the Australian innings, it was evident that this pitch far more sluggish from the earlier one. The chase was not going to be an easy one, against a competitive Australian bowling line up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">India Innings</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sachin Tendulkar, the new captain, opened the innings with the new player Sujith Somasunder from Karnataka. In fact, he was one of the 6 players from Karnataka in the team that day! This was just his 2</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 0.6em; vertical-align: super;">nd</span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> match and if the struggle against Allan Donald and company was not enough in his debut match, this one was a nightmare against the menacing opening spell of Glenn McGrath, Damien Fleming, and Jason Gillespie. He especially struggled against the short pitched and accurate bowling of McGrath and scored a painstaking 7(31) before seeing his stumps shattered by a peach of a yorker by his nemesis. India was 30/1 at the end of 11</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 0.6em; vertical-align: super;">th</span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> over, and McGrath’s figures read an unbelievable 6-2-8-1! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">India slumped to 42/3 by the 16</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 0.6em; vertical-align: super;">th</span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> over, when Md. Azharuddin was adjudged LBW against Gillespie. That was a tight call, and the displeasure shown by Azhar on being given out was enough to make the crowd, who had been seeing their team suffer, start protesting by throwing items on the field. The match had to be stopped for about 20 minutes, and Azhar himself had to venture out to the boundary line and try to pacify the angry crowd. It was unbelievable because Sachin, India’s one-man army in the 90’s, was still at the crease, looking bewildered at the scenes unfolding in front of him. But one has to realise that the Indian fans had been subjected to disappointing performances by team India throughout the year, starting in the infamous world cup semi-final walkover and continuing in the Singer cup in Sri Lanka and the Sahara cup in Toronto against arch rivals Pakistan. Their anger was going to spill over sooner or later.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 480px; overflow: hidden; width: 488px;"><img alt="A crowd of people watching a baseball game
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When play resumed, India faced a further setback in just the next over, when a bad call on a misfield by Sachin sold Sourav Ganguly down the river and he was run out. Ajay Jadeja walked out, one of India’s rescue men in the 90’s. He started to resurrect the innings with Sachin and although playing a slow knock, he made sure that the scoreboard kept ticking as Sachin was able to score the boundaries. But this was not supposed to be a match devoid of any more drama, as while taking a quick run on his call, he collided with McGrath mid-pitch and both the players were floored. Meanwhile Steve Waugh snooped in from mid-on and broke the stumps. Mark Taylor did not retract his appeal and Jadeja was gone for 27 with India at 126/5. Wicketkeeper Nayan Mongia and Sunil Joshi also did not last long, and when Sachin missed a full toss from Steve Waugh (who was a handy bowler back then) and was adjudged plumb LBW, India was 164/8 after 42.1 overs. With 52 needed in 47 balls, the match was almost over. Or so we thought!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The local boys Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath were out in the middle. Kumble is supposedly more accomplished batsman of the two and he played that way, taking singles and rotating the strike. Srinath, known to bat as recklessly as a bull running astray, was playing his shots. He connected a full delivery from Steve Waugh and dispatched for a huge six over long off. Even McGrath and Gillespie were dispatched for boundaries. The sloppy fielding from the Aussies, who were slipping in the outfield due to the dew was also partly responsible for giving some easy runs to India. The highlight package of that partnership was the presence of Kumble’s mother and grandmother in the stands. Once the partnership picked up pace, the cameraman was panning the camera on them in the stands almost after every delivery. Kumble’s mother’s folded hands, joy on each boundary, nervousness on a close LBW call and the overall anxiousness was probably representative of most of the fans watching the match live on tv, including me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Once the winning runs were hit, the crowd was delirious. This was the same crowd who was protesting some 2 hours back, and now they were going crazy applauding their team, and especially the local boys Srinath and Kumble, the architect of victory. This win would go on to prove important for India later in the tournament, as South Africa was in superlative form and it was only a matter of who between India and Australia would reach the final.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That day was also the festival of Dussehra, also known as Vijay Dashmi, when Indians celebrate the victory of one of their God on making a triumphant return home. That is why 90’s was a special decade. I do not remember any match in last 20 years when a match has been held on the day of a major festival. This coincidence made this victory even more memorable, especially since after Sachin’s wicket, no one expected India to pull it through. The presence of Kumble’s family in the ground was an icing on the cake. All in all, it was a much-needed win for team India, which made them more confident for future matches.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As a 9-year-old, having recently got hooked to the game, and suffered to see the pain of the loss in world cup semi-final, this match made me even more die-hard fan of the game. Even today, while watching this match, I get goose bumps! You can relive the short match highlights here and feel the same for yourself.</span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-531fc240-7fff-ce29-a94f-7838c699a4f1" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By DHCF Nishant Raizaday</span></div>
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DieHard Cricket Fanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09712518878440027584noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880546469523618397.post-57327309430961323462020-06-06T20:25:00.000+05:302020-06-07T01:23:20.462+05:30Tete-a-tete with Prasanna Agoram, Proteas Performance Coach<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b>DHCF: </b>How did it all start for you? Given its quite a niche career option, what challenges did you face?<br />
<b>Prasanna:</b> It's everyone's dream to play for India, whatever level of cricket you play and I was no different. When I was playing state level cricket for Tamil Nadu in age categories like all other young boys, I wanted to play for my country. It didn’t happen as I felt there are guys who had more talent than me. Then I became a qualified umpire in BCCI in 2000 dreaming about walking in Eden Gardens and Melbourne cricket ground but unfortunately it was not as easy as I thought and I don’t want to elaborate on this. Then finally I finished my Engineering in Electronics and Communication and went on to do my post graduate diploma in Computer Applications and was employed as a software engineer in Bangalore. This is when I saw an article in Hindu stating that a software company is developing a software for match analysis for Indian cricket team in 2001. I thought look I have decent cricketing knowledge and when it comes to developing software not many can match my speed. So I started developing match analysis software all alone from that time which I demonstrated to the National Cricket Academy. NCA employed me as their technical head in 2003 and the rest is history. The main challenge I faced was when few of the top cricketers and coaches kept on asking me that I not being a certified coach, am I qualified to talk so much of cricket. Then thanks to Cricket South Africa I did my level 3 coaching certification from CSA in 2014 and now with so much of experience not many question my credentials.<br />
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<b>DHCF:</b> How has cricket analytics changed over the years?<br />
<b>Prasanna:</b> A lot. The amount of data one can derive is huge now. But let me make it clear, with the <br />
<a name='more'></a>data we can get now, close to 500 points can be written on Virat Kohli’s batting for example but there is no value in it. No one wants to read a document of 500 points. It is all about what is the best 2 options which you can exploit a player technically/tactically. So the analyst has to be knowledgeable enough to feed the players what exactly is required and that too in short and crisp way. Giving too much of info can also be exhaustive.<br />
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<b>DHCF:</b> Given more and more data is being generated now for each delivery in a match, do you see machine learning/AI becoming a force in sports analytics?<br />
<b>Prasanna: </b>I do capture around 13 parameters for every ball live during a match. When a player asks me where did I go wrong in bowling to Steve Smith, my answer has to be simple enough to say your lines were wrong and that is how tailor made my match analysis software Block Hole is. It tells you exactly where a bowler went wrong against a batsmen after the game. Data is a force as long as people know how to maximise its effect.<br />
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<b>DHCF:</b> How do you help a player when the player keeps on repeating the same mistake match after match? Does it get frustrating at times?<br />
<b>Prasanna: </b>Look we should never ever get frustrated in our job. If we do then this is not the place where we can hang around. No player steps on to the field of play thinking about committing a mistake. Many occasions a player will come and say I tried this which will be completely against the plan given by me and might be the batsmen's strength as well. But the way you make him understand is what is going to create a win win situation for both of us.<br />
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<b>DHCF: </b>Name a player who was/is most interested in analytics<br />
<b>Prasanna: </b>Look a player will get much interest only based on the proven intelligence, what we give in our job. If I give a plan for Steve Smith, the player trusts me and executes the same on field. If it works I gain respect. The players will come to me only if I have some thing to offer. Amla , Maharaj, Shamsi and Nortje to name a few.<br />
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<b>DHCF: </b>Name a player who didn't/doesn't believe in it at all 😀<br />
<b>Prasanna: </b>I won't say anyone doesn’t believe in it. Players just take what they want. AB Devilliers will just ask a few questions like - what variations a bowler has in death overs? Please explain me the trends on this ground, is it high scoring, if so when teams have accelerated ? - to set his game plans. That doesn’t mean he is against analysis.<br />
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<b>DHCF:</b> How different is the role of an analyst across different formats of the game?<br />
<b>Prasanna: </b>Role is same for all formats. Nothing differs. Importance on certain parameters differs based on the duration of the game.<br />
<br />
<b>DHCF: </b>How different is it to be in your role for an international team vs a franchise team say an IPL team?<br />
<b>Prasanna: </b>The role doesn’t differ, it is pretty much the same as all the coaches/players know me well now as I am in this field from 2002. IPL is more taxing as you play different opponent in alternate days so you need to space your time well to be available for the players. Bilateral series are a little bit easy compared to IPL.<br />
<br />
<b>DHCF:</b> If someone wishes to pursue sport analytics as a career option, how and where to start, what would be your advice?<br />
<b>Prasanna:</b> Its simple. I would advise this to an educated person to sharpen skills. More you watch cricket more you learn. Unfortunately there is not much of guidance in this profession like other in cricket. My goal is to come up with certification courses to aspiring analysts may be next year which will give them a clear understanding on what to do to achieve their ambitions in this field.<br />
<br />
<b>DHCF:</b> Which has been your most memorable day/match as an Analyst?<br />
<b>Prasanna: </b>Most memorable match would definitely be the world cup quarterfinal 2015 match Vs Sri Lanka where we won a knock out game for the first time in a world cup event.<br />
<br />
We would like to thank Prasanna for taking time out and having a conversation with us. </div>
DieHard Cricket Fanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09712518878440027584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880546469523618397.post-31618872986340040632020-03-26T18:14:00.002+05:302020-03-26T18:14:33.446+05:30Commentators are not neutral anymore? <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1CnKYcnxCnY/XnyjmwwzR6I/AAAAAAAA8gA/6-EvFZ4wQJ0-dz8e2UNg2NtdbpkH_Rr9ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Sanjay-Manjrekar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1CnKYcnxCnY/XnyjmwwzR6I/AAAAAAAA8gA/6-EvFZ4wQJ0-dz8e2UNg2NtdbpkH_Rr9ACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Sanjay-Manjrekar.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Has
commentary, which defines the best experience for cricket viewers, lost its
touch? With more cricket players now being seen in the commentary box, we
expected more banters, on field experiences, and interesting anecdotes. We got
a few glimpses of these but the touch of neutrality seems to have started to go
away. We have been lucky to be born in a generation where we have seen
commentators like Richie Benaud, Tony Grieg, Geoffrey Boycott, who went beyond
the nationality to serve the TV viewers. The excitement of Tony Grieg whenever
Sachin hit a straight drive, or the joy in Richie Benaud’s voice whenever the
spinner flighted the ball, or hearing the now famous Line “Prince of
KalKuta(Kolkata)” in Boycott's voice, those memories will stay forever in
cricket lovers’ minds.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Of late,
the standard of commentary has not been what it used to be. Cricket players who
retired have joined commentary but few stay for a long haul and make an impact.
Also, while commentating the game, they tend to pick up a side eventually. The
recent event of the BCCI throwing out Sanjay Manjrekar, may not be due to his
non-neutral side, but more because of his trash commentary. He was
ultra-critical in his tenure, made unnecessary remarks, which ultimately led to
his axe. In the past, Harsha Bhogle faced a little period of ban from Indian
commentary due to him criticizing some players. Being a critic is acceptable,
but you cannot get beyond the line and spill out unnecessary remarks for a
player. The basic point of being a commentator is to cater to the audience and
engage them in the game. Picking up a player or a side will lose the charm of
commentary.</span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In my
opinion, commentators need to be neutral. Praising your beloved country or
sportsman is important but more is focusing on the talent he/she possesses.
It’s a thankless job which they do to make the sport livelier and more
energetic. Imagine a cricket match with no commentary? Wouldn’t it be a dead sight?
A commentator brings out his perspective of the game from both sides and
praises whoever does well in the match. Commentary is a lifeline of cricket,
hope the commentators bring out the best of the game, avoiding personal and
biased remarks.</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-3281638272661414428" itemprop="description articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 796px;">
<div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Madhurendra Kumar for DieHard Cricket Fans</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="clear: both;">
</div>
</div>
</div>
DieHard Cricket Fanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09712518878440027584noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880546469523618397.post-73152565834869078712020-03-17T21:18:00.004+05:302020-03-17T21:22:18.938+05:30Winning, the Aussie way<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">8th March 2020 will forever be a historic day in cricket, women’s cricket to be specific. Not just because it was the final of women’s T20 world cup, but because of an attendance of 86,174 people at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). It was the highest attendance for a women’s cricket match globally and the highest for any women’s sport event in Australia. It was a day of unprecedented enthusiasm and passion for women’s cricket. However, something not so unprecedented was an Australian domination in the final of a world cup and the Australian women’s team winning the T20 world cup for the record 5th time in last 6 attempts.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img height="400" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/1YZWsjArgh4pHr2BFzC77JDZcOR9FGhCI2gcz1jOrDj9mIQ-Yc_mvemg31ARBpnUmhYUTxf2Sfni_eTGhKgwpC8W5XkVgPmWqaHoOlVzGl4vStypqtS4JbztBdP5GLEOTdi9qdNKMk8A0bFflw" width="640" /></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There was a lot of hype about this final in India also. The fact that India had reached the final of women’s T20 world cup for the first time was exciting enough, but 8th March being the International Women’s Day and birthday of Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur made the media report more prominently about this final than it ever did before for a women’s match. India had convincingly defeated this Aussie team in the tournament’s opening match, with young sensation Shafali Verma taking apart the experienced Megan Schutt in the first over with 4 boundaries as well as Poonam Yadav spinning a web around the Aussie batters with 4 wickets. India came into the final on a winning streak throughout the group stage and it was touted as their best chance ever to beat the Australians in their own den and win the cup for the first time.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But what happened in the final was totally anti-climactic, from India’s point of view. Australian openers Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney batted the opposition out of the match. The pressure of chasing a big score in a world cup final in front of a massive Aussie crowd proved too much for the Indian team and they capitulated to be bowled out under 100 runs. Unfortunately for the Indian fans, it was a painful reminder of another day in March, 17 years ago. Australian men’s team decimated the Indian team in the ODI world cup final on 23rd March 2003 in Johannesburg in a similar fashion. Being a 15-year-old fanboy at that time, that defeat was heart-breaking, on par with the miserable loss in the 1996 world cup semi-final defeat against Sri Lanka. But since that day, if there is anything we have been used to seeing, is an Australian team that plays like a well-oiled machine on the cricket field. The Australian team did have a tough time in the early years of this decade when their team was rebuilding, but they recovered sooner that other teams would have hoped for.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img height="415" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/s0W5hkx-vcpNiYG2n7kqy_1GIJpMHM-epdpWOZZMGfnl3koj6SiNBlBwM6MplVWeHHWZuzcLw7X6k-1ubiaOIRLHJaIYGIJyQUpFTIiA-9w2KbrdsypyQkukZiBxY-A5aasGEIOZfnZSZlXKKg" width="640" /></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But what is it that exactly makes the Australian teams almost invincible in the finals of a world event? Is it the fault of opposition players, like when Indians dropped the Aussie openers in the initial overs? Or is it the luck of Aussie captains winning the toss and making a mockery of the opposition? One can’t argue about this as in the 4 ODI men’s world cups that Australia has won from 1999 till 2015, they won the toss only once in the final (2007) and in the 5 T20 women’s world cup wins, Australia won the toss only twice in the final (they in fact lost the only time in 2016 after winning the toss). So, the toss is not a deciding factor. As far as the below par performance of the opposition teams is concerned, the pressure of the final match is on both the teams. Then why does an Australian team triumph in the finals, more often than others?</span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A major reason for this lies in their grassroot structure of cricket. Starting from their age group cricket, I would dare to say even the school cricket, the level of performance expected is top notch. The players toil hard and the overall level of cricket in their domestic league (Sheffield Shield) is also not in any way lesser than International level. Also, the level of facilities provided to the players and the training and ground infrastructure is world class. But these can be managed with loads of money, as available with Indian and English cricket boards. But that does not seem to reap the same rewards for India and England.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The major difference between an Aussie side and other teams is the MINDSET. The Australians are fierce, fierce competitors, and the mindset of bringing your A+ game when it really matters comes naturally to them. It is not that the other teams do not practice as hard as the Australian team or they are any less talented. The difference is in their approach to the game when the pressure is paramount, like in a world cup final. Yes, of course, the hours of hard work and sweat is a major factor in honing the skills, but how your brain reacts to the pressure of a final is something entirely different. And the Australians have also evolved from the time of Steve Waugh, when the sledging or the so called ‘mental disintegration’ was their primary weapon to win half the battle. That approach culminated in the sorry episode of ‘sandpaper gate’ fiasco in 2018, when captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner were banned for a year, along with youngster Cameron Bancroft. It was a result of the aggressive team culture, where the captain was expected to be a tough guy and do ‘whatever it takes’ to win. After this incident, the newly appointed captain Tim Paine and the new coach Justin Langer made all possible attempts to mellow down the now infamous Aussie aggressiveness on the field. It was a face-saving attempt by the Australian board to change the culture of the team. However, it is ironic that previously, they tried to convert a calm and gentle guy like Steve Smith into an aggressive captain like Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting or even Michael Clarke, who famously sledged James Anderson to “be ready to have a fu**ing broken arm”. Tim Paine is exactly the kind of guy that Steve Smith would have been, had he been allowed to handle the matters in his own way.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Previously, the Aussies used to go after the opposition captain and star player in press conferences, to gain a mental edge before even a ball had been bowled. Now, they act like they themselves are the ones under pressure, by praising the opposition. A case in point here is the statement by Megan Schutt before the final, where she said that she hates to bowl against India and especially Shafali Verma, who smacks her bowling at will. This clever move put all the pressure on the 16-year-old Indian opener, who felt obliged to deliver in the final. This resulted in her dropping Alyssa Healy in the very first over and then getting out on just the third ball of the innings to none other than Megan Schutt. The moment Megan came in to bowl the first over, I dreaded the fall of Shafali’s wicket and that’s exactly what happened. No doubt, it involved some superb planning and execution on part of the bowler and her captain, but still the mental aspect of it cannot be underestimated. It brought back the memories from the men’s world cup final in 2003, when Glenn McGrath snared Sachin Tendulkar’s wicket in the very first over and killed almost any hope of an Indian win.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It has been more than 2 decades since the rise of one of the greatest teams to have played this game, the Australian team at the start of the millennium till almost the end of the decade (1999-2009). The women’s team is matching them now, especially in the T20 world cups. What is similar between the two teams is the killer instinct, the hunger to succeed, the confidence to feel better than the opposition and the skills to prove it on the field. The fact that Aussies enjoy the big stage is a major difference between them and other sides. In each of their world cup wins, there has been one standout performer in the finals. In 2015 men’s world cup also held in Australia, it was Mitchell Starc, who removed the Kiwi captain and their most important batsman Brendon McCullum in the very first over of the final, for a duck. The Kiwis never recovered from this setback and handed Australia almost a one-sided win. This time around, it was Alyssa Healy, whose onslaught at the start of the innings set the stage for a huge score in the final. It can not be considered a coincidence that Starc and Healy are married to each other and were both the player of the match in their respective final matches. In fact, Starc left the national duty and skipped the final ODI against South Africa to come and cheer for her wife in the final. One must imagine the pressure on Alyssa also, but all through the match, she was smiling and seemed to enjoy the setting, rather than getting bogged down. This mental aspect of the Australian teams over the years has been a pivotal cause of their continued success in big matches. The Australian Cricket Board must also be applauded for allowing Starc to come back home and support the women’s team and his wife. It is in stark (excuse the pun) contrast with the unnecessary trolling and criticism faced by Anushka Sharma, wife of Indian captain Virat Kohli, when she goes to support her husband and team India, and the team loses. I am sure that no such lashing out would have been seen towards Starc had Australia lost the match and Healy failed miserably.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is therefore a challenge for other teams and players to match up to this strong mindset and self-belief of the Australian players, if they are to succeed against the Aussies in finals. The Australian team’s win percentage in finals of world events is surreal. I remember starting to watch cricket first during the 1996 world cup. The charisma, clinical performance, and the grit of the Australian team then also impressed me a lot and used to make me nervous whenever they used to face the Indians since then. It is a process that they have developed and mastered over the years. The onus is on other team managements to prepare their teams to match up to and overcome this winning way of the Australians.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nishant Raizaday for DieHard Cricket Fans</span></span><br />
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DieHard Cricket Fanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09712518878440027584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880546469523618397.post-74049848313285067772020-02-22T02:10:00.000+05:302020-02-22T02:10:07.765+05:30Poonam and Shafali: Beauty and the Beast<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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"Poonam has become a favourite adjective in the skippers' dictionary. Whenever a match is in a fix, skippers call Poonam to address it. And, she has always used her weapons with sheer flair and twisted games in favour of her team," said Reema Malhotra, former India leg-spinner and now a commentator about Poonam Yadav the 28 year old Indian Leg Spinner.</div>
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Yes, she indeed repeated her act once again today when Alyssa Healey was running away with the match with her team at 67/2, chasing 133 for a win in the India Vs Australia T20WC group match. Beginning with the scalp of Alyssa Healey, Poonam turned the match head over heels in a matter of next 7 overs. Though women's Cricket cannot match the men's game in terms of power, dynamics and skill, the artistry of players like Poonam makes it worth watching. She was giving unbelievable flight to the ball, ball after ball. Some of her leg breaks went up in the air, stood there for some time as if reluctant to come down and then left the batters bamboozled on the descent.</div>
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The Googly has become the most dreaded weapon in her armory, especially because she is more consistent with the Googly than her stock leg spinning balls. Poonam now is India's highest wicket taker in T20 Internationals and was decorated with Arjuna Award in 2019. Sidelined by injury for most part of India's preparations for the 2020 T20WC, Poonam had ceded her place to the relentlessly consistent Radha Yadav. But the Team management decided to rope in Poonam for the X-Factor or should we call it Y-Factor ? If not for Keeper Tania Bhatia missing a tough catch, Poonam could have had a Hat trick today. This incidentally is the third time she's missed a Hat trick.</div>
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A genial, ever smiling Poonam is a calming effect on her teammates. She is always helpful with her inputs for the Captains. She was Mithali Raj's favorite and she is Harman's favorite too. India's fortunes in this World Cup depend a lot on Poonam's ability to bamboozle opponents in the middle overs.</div>
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India's batting order is arguably the most exciting in this Championship. Smriti Mandana and Jemima Rodriguez followed by Harman, Veda and Deepti in the top half is a pretty awesome lineup with good mix of experience and youth. What happens when a 16 year old precocious kid walks in to open and tonks the ball around like some of the men do ? Well, Shafali Verma celebrated her sweet 16th birthday less than a month ago. She is stocky, strong and sensational. In 2019, at 15 years and 285 days, she broke the record for youngest Indian to score an international 50. That was a 30 year old record owned by a certain Sachin Tendulkar.</div>
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If anyone has doubts as to why the Australian Coach is in awe of this Rohtak girl, they ought to watch her innings today. A short Sehwagish cameo of 29 from 15 balls with 5 boundaries and a six. On a pitch where only 3 others managed to score at more than 100 strike rate, Shafali was striking at 193. Only Alyssa Healey managed 145 on this pedestrian pitch. After 15 matches Shafali averages 25 with two half centuries. But a whopping strike rate of 144 makes her the tornado in women's Cricket.</div>
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Her best hasn't even begun and she is already intimidating. Coming from Haryana, the land that manufactures Wrestling Superstars, Shafali seems to have wandered out of the Akhara into the Cricket stadium. But her approach isn't much different from that of a wrestler. She just hits the daylights out of the ball. That effortless six over extra-cover stands testimony to an extraordinary talent and also a warning to bowlers all over in the coming years.</div>
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Like the Men's team, Indian women's Cricket team too is getting better and better. If Poonam embodies the beauty of the art of Leg Spin and Googly, little big Shafali is the beast out there, the destroyer. Poonam and Shafali are two among a bunch of extremely talented girls going out there with passion to excel for their team. They deserve our support. They deserve our eyeballs when they play and our cheers and love.</div>
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<span style="color: #1c1e21; font-size: 14px;">Govind Raj Shenoy for DieHard Cricket Fans</span></div>
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DieHard Cricket Fanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09712518878440027584noreply@blogger.com0