“People salute the rising Sun and slam the setting Sun!”

Not long ago, India was humbled by England in the recently concluded Test series 3-1. There was, then, a certain level of campaign kicked-off by almost all the news channels; their so-called “experts” slamming the captain and suggested to find a suitable replacement to lead the nation in the longer format of the game.

However, after the disappointing Test series, he got back his form in a grand style in the next two One-Day series, scoring a masterful unbeaten century against the arch-rivals, Pakistan, when the top 5 batsmen of our celebrated batting line-up lasted for just 29 runs under 10 overs. A series of good scores followed in the next two matches and in the 5-match ODI series against England. All of a sudden, MS Dhoni became indispensable to Indian cricket once again and now his tactics to stick with Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja were hailed as “Masterstrokes”.

Does this mean that all is well and MS Dhoni has brought the modifications in his game to have that same effect that he used to have on the Indian cricket once? I don’t think so.

First and foremost, no one can deny his contribution to Indian cricket and the statistics speak for themselves in his case. He’s the only Indian captain to win 2 World Cups. He has an average of over 50 in ODIs with over 7000 runs and has been applauded as the best one day player, by almost all the legends of the game. It seems that Dhoni can’t do anything wrong in ODIs. The only problematic area is his captaincy in the Test Cricket.

While in ODIs and T20s, the main aim is to reduce an opponent and restrict them to a smaller score, the key to win a Test match is to take 20 wickets of the opponent rather than to restrict them from scoring. This is where Dhoni seems to struggle.

He has mastered the art of captaincy for the shorter format of the game and used some bits and player to their optimum use there. Basically, Dhoni is a defensive captain. He tries to dry out the runs from the batsmen and then waits for them to make a mistake. This approach is very effective when it comes to ODIs and T20 but not so in Tests.

A captain has to be aggressive in Test matches and look out for wickets rather than waiting for things to happen by themselves. This is where I would like to bring a change in Dhoni. I would like Dhoni to change his approach and be aggressive in the longer version of the game.

On the other hand, if he feels that changing his style may affect him and his performance in other formats too, then he should not change himself at all. Also, this should not mean that he gives up his captaincy at this juncture of time, especially when Gambhir has been shown the door, Sehwag is as unpredictable as ever, Sachin nearing the end of his career and no other player has a decent experience behind him to lead the country. Moreover, any change in leadership now, when we will be playing Tests abroad, may destabilize the entire team.

This is where the Indian selectors should come into picture. The selectors should direct Dhoni to identify his successor and groom him adequately so that the transition of this shifting in leadership is a smooth process.

As for the shorter formats are concerned, no changes is required, at least in the captaincy. We just need to sit back and enjoy all that MS Dhoni has to offer to the Indian cricket for some more time to come. We all want him to lift the World Cup 2015 before he hangs his boots. I hope he succeeds!

In the early summer of 2003, India, who had gone Down Under in what was hyped as Steve Waugh’s last test series, suffered a huge loss when Zaheer Khan was injured in the first match against the hosts at Brisbane. Sourav Ganguly‘s return to form with a brilliant 144 at Brisbane oozed in some confidence to the team and made the critics eat up their words, who predicted India would go down 0-4 in the 4 match series. While the batting looked solid with a seasoned middle order and a new found success in the opening department with Aakash Chopra and Virender Sehwag giving good starts to the team, the bowling remained a worry for the visitors. With Zaheer injured and no established name to take over, Irfan Pathan, who then recently had got a 9-wicket haul in an under-19 competition against Bangladesh, was called overnight to Australia to play the 2nd test match of the series at Adelaide. This meant that Ajit Agarkar was now the spearhead of the Indian bowling attack.

As expected, Australia won the toss and batted first on what looked to be a batting paradise and when the day finished, the scoreboard showed an impressive 400/5. Not surprisingly, Australia had piled up runs easily against a tyro Indian attack. The next day, Aussies continued their attack and reached a massive 556 runs, with Ponting leading their charge with a brilliant double century. Anil Kumble, the most experienced Indian bowler took a 5-for, while the debutant Irfan got two scalps, including a prize wicket of Hayden pretty early in the innings.

In reply, Chopra and Sehwag gave India a brisk start, compiling 60 runs in 10 overs before losing their way completely. Rash shots, run outs and lack of luck resulted in reducing India to 83/4. That’s the time when VVS Laxman joined Rahul Dravid in the middle. The Indian fans would have wanted another Kolkata like innings from them but not everyday does history repeat itself. However, that was not the case to be and both batsmen recreated the Eden affair for the most of the third day and not only saved India from following-on, but took them much closer to the Australian total when they bundled out for 523 with Dravid top scoring with 233. The Indians handed over a tiny lead of 33 runs.

The second innings was underway and it looked as though this test too, like the previous one, was heading for a draw. Only for one man who thought otherwse – Ajit Agarkar. A decent one day bowler, but yet to prove himself at the test level, Agarkar, whose only claims to fame in the longer version of the game were a century at Lords and a series of 5 ducks in the earlier tour Down Under, took the matter into his own ends and presented a tractable target to his team-mates.

He took a brilliant 6-for against a side that were called ‘The Invincibles’, but were looking clueless every time Ajit asked questions off them. First to become his victim was Justin Langer, who couldn’t read his inswinger and was trapped in front of the wicket trying to play across the line. This gave India the perfect start they needed early in the innings.

The next to go was the double centurian from the first innings, Ricky Ponting, when he knicked an out-swinger from Agarkar to Chopra at gully. Agarkar was delighted to bag the prize wicket and it became all the more special as he got him for ‘naught’. A double century in the first innings and a duck in the second. That was a confidence booster for India, who started to look much more sharp and began bowling with much required intent on the field.

With a couple of blows from Tendulkar and Kumble each and a couple of brilliant catches by Dravid, India thought they have an outside chance of winning when they limited Australia to 183/6. Katich was the only recognized player batting. Thus, India needed to ensure that the tail didn’t wag or else the chance of winning would be out of the reckoning as they were the ones who were to bat on the fifth day against a quality Australian attack. Ganguly turned again towards the most successful bowler of the day.

Agarkar struck soon after when he disturbed the timber and sent Andy Bichel back to the pavilion. A big wicket followed in the form of a well set Katich, a mere four runs after, when he uncomfortably hooked a surprising bouncer off Agarkar to fine leg only to be gathered there safely by Ashish Nehra, leaving them struggling at 188/8.

He soon removed the remaining two wickets within a total of 8-runs and took a 6-for, when Stuart Macgill was undone with a reverse swinging delivery that disturbed the furniture and their innings collapsed to 196, leaving the Indians with an achievable target of 230 runs with more than 90 overs to spare.

Agarkar, after wrapping all his wickets was quick to grab the ball that concurred with his tactics and laid down the platform to win a match even after a forgetful bowling performance in the first innings.

India did win the match the match by 4 wickets, thanks to a gritty unbeaten 72 by Rahul Dravid but the performance of Ajit Agarkar could not be undermined under any circumstances, re-echoing the famous words, “Test matches are won by bowlers”. And for the poor critics who predicted a 0-4 whitewash for India and Steve Waugh who was eager to thrash India to vindicate the 2001 Indian tour, India had gone 1-0 up in the test series, against all predictions.

Let me take you back to the early summer in 2008 when South Africa was visiting India for a test as well as an ODI series. I’ll take you back to one of those test matches, the third test to be exact, played in Kanpur. India won that match by 8 wickets. After the match, there came up a critical group of people who refused to  stamp the Kanpur wicket as a proper “Test Wicket” as viewers witnessed a dramatic collapse of South African in the second innings for just 121 runs. The matter went up to the ICC who ordered to look in the matter and thus an official investigation begun soon after.

Going back a few years further back, in 2004, to when Australia visited India. After already having lost the test series 2-0 with one final test to go at Mumbai, India managed to sneak a win with a narrow margin of 13 runs. The match saw some dramatic incidents that included the test getting over in under three days with Micheal Clarke, the part time off spinner, running through the Indian batting line up in the second innings with career best figures of 6/9 (he took 5 wickets in mere 30 balls, 6 in 6.2 overs). The Indian spinners then joined the party with Murali Kartik leading the attack, and wrapped up the Australian innings for 93 runs needing a mere 107 runs to win. Again, a debate erupted on the nature of the pitch and high officials reported the case to ICC, calling foul play. The  governing body once again did not lose time after that and ordered an official enquiry into the matter.

Now let’s get back to reality. South Africa and Australia contested their 1st test match at Cape Town, which recently ended with South Africa winning the match. There are certain aspects in common between this match and the incidents described above. The match at Cape Town ended in mere two-and-half days. A total of 23 wickets fell on the second day, a first in the history of game since 1902 i.e. 109 years later. Not a single wicket was scalped by a spinner and the pacers dictated the terms throughout. The spinners, from both the sides, bowled a total of 13 overs in the whole match collectively.

No debates have yet been launched on the pitch, instead all are praising the “sporting wicket” that would take  test cricket ahead and instill interest in the game again. What I smell here is nepotism. Don’t you? My doubts are only getting stronger when the talks over Ferozshah Kotla’s pitch have gained momentum for its double bounce nature while no one complained about the Cape Town wicket, with experts taking it lightly by saying it’s just one of those funny days, some even Australia became complacent in their batting efforts of 2nd innings, while others just putting it down as a coincidence.

Being an eternal optimist and looking at it objectively, I in fact enjoyed the game very much, but then I also enjoyed the aforementioned two matches and didn’t think any foul play was involved there as well. Thus, I am not differentiating between the incidents, which many of so-called experts are doing.

I understand the nature of the game. I understand when a team is playing a match at its home, it has every right to create wickets of its liking; wickets which would  help them win and giving the upper hand against its rivals. That’s what we call as “Home Advantage”. I understand that South Africa must have pushed for the green pitch with fast bowling being their strength. They would have had reason for being not confident with the debutant spinner Imran Tahir.

It is the same with India as well. Having spin as their most potent weapon, which has led to many famous Indian victories, India has every right to push for the wickets that would provide it the advantages more than its oppositions just like South Africa has. India has a right to prepare double paced pitch or the turning square wicket as per its liking because that’s where the Indian strength lies. All they want to ensure that the pitch lasts for 5 days which has happened in each of the cases discussed earlier.

Now let’s come to ICC. The governing body was established in order to maintain fairness in the game, to ensure that the game is being played in the right spirit and no country dominates over any other unfairly. To do this, there must be fairness in its rulings to prevent it from being corrupt or compromised. The governing body must ensure that it does not develop double standards in its approach and thus lose the trust of some member countries. With such limited countries playing the game, the ICC definitely cannot afford lapses such as the one I have highlighted.

To conclude, I don’t know whether the pitch at the Newlands ground will be investigated or not. But, looking at the similar incidencts, this too calls for an official enquiry. Let’s see what happens!

A contest is deemed interesting when there is very little to chose between the two participating competitors. It doesn’t matter whether it’s T20, ODI or Test cricket. After competing in very gruelling T20 and ODI series between Australia and South Africa at latter’s soil, the much anticipated test series between the two major cricketing nation kick started on 9th Nov. The two-match T20 series has ended in a tie with one win a piece, while Australia narrowly winning the 3-match ODI series 2-1.

The first day of the test match being played at the beautiful Sahara Park Newlands, Cape Town didn’t disappoint to cricket lovers as the contest between the bat and bowl was intriguing till the last bowl in the otherwise shortened match due to rain interruptions and bad light. If Dale Steyn had his reputation of being the world’s best bowler on line, Michael Clarke needed to prove his leadership skills to his critics. Both delivered big time. Steyn bowled some unplayable deliveries that toppled the Australian top order while Clarke led from the front and scored a brisk century in a match which have not seen any player reach 2-figure’s let alone a 50 or a 100. First day was well contested and Australia finished the day with 214/8 after 55 overs of possible play.

However, it’s the second day that witnessed not only something unusual but also very unexpected as well as dramatic. Australia lower order along with their captain continued their resistance and added 70 runs in the morning session before getting all out on 284 runs. Clarke top scored with 151 valuable runs. South Africa started cautiously and went to the lunch session on 49/1 after losing Jaques Rudolph early. Nothing spectacular happened as of now. So, why all this hype about a regular day of test cricket? Let me explain you why.

Things started to go wrong from the second session onwards. Resuming on a well placed 49/1, Clarke decided to introduce Shane Watson into the attack. Watson, the world’s best all-rounder started off with 2 maiden wicket overs and South Africa found themselves struggling at 49/3 just an over after the lunch interval. The things didn’t improve a little bit for the host side, in fact, it got worst from worse when the whole team bundled out for 96 runs within 25 overs. Shane Watson scalped 5 wickets in just 21 deliveries. Ryan Harris provided able support by picking up 4 wickets. For the hosts, only resistance, to an extent, was provided by Graeme Smith who scored 37 runs. Thus, Australia was handed an healthy lead of 188 runs.

Expectations from Australia were to build on that lead and bat SA out of the match with more than 3 days to go. But as they say, “Always expect the unexpected”. Australia had a terrible start and lost 3 wickets for just 13 runs when they went for the tea break. The things looked similar after the break as they were before as Australia kept on losing wickets one after the other and failed miserably to capitalize on the lead conceded by the host. At one point Australia were reduced to 21/9 with a threat to be bowled out for the lowest score in the history of test cricket when the no. 10 and no. 11 extended their stay and took Australia to 47 and their lead upto a modest 235 runs. South Africa used only 18 overs to wrap up the Australian innings with the debutant, Vernon Philander, being the pick of bowlers by taking 5 wickets for 15 runs. Steyn and Morkel picked up 2 and 3 wickets each.

South Africa started their innings 2nd time on a same day, went about the chase smoothly until the close of play. They have already scored 81/1 losing Rudolph early yet again. SA needs 155 more runs to win with 9 wickets in hand. Greame Smith and Hashim Amla are in the middle and a close contest is expected on the third day.

Now, Why was the day so dramatic? The day was dramatic because Micheal Clarke scored 151 runs in the first innings while both teams couldn’t collectively make these many runs when SA and AUS collapsed in their 1st and 2nd innings respectively. The day was dramatic because the highest scorer for Australia in the second innings was their no. 11 batsman Nathan Lyon with 14 runs, second highest being Siddle. Also, at one particular point of time, as many as 17 batsmen on a trot couldn’t reach the double figure mark. Their scores read 3,0,8,0,4,4,9,1,5,4,9,0,2,0,0,3 and 3 before Peter Siddle was 12 not out. A total of 23 wickets fell on the, while a whopping 21 wickets went down in the last two sessions alone. In their 1st innings, SA lost their last 9 wickets for 47 runs, while Australia ended their second innings on 47 runs.

Another important feature of the day was UDRS. As many as four decisions were upheld by the third umpired after being challenged by the concerned side. Had there been no UDRS, the scenario of the match might be different. Billy Bowden, the tv umpire, was kept busy and his toes with the referral’s.  After so much happened in a day’s play, one thing was sure, no wrong decisions were given. And if there were any such decisions, they were corrected using the help of technology. Shane Watson might have taken 5 wickets in 21 balls but the real hero of the day was, undoubtedly, UDRS.

Amongst all this drama, the match is well poised for the third day. The match can turn either ways, given the events that folded on the second day. Micheal Clarke played, perhaps, his most important innings of his life and now, its time for his counterpart, Graeme Smith to replicate the efforts. On a difficult pitch, amongst some mindless batting, Smith would want to take their side home and take an important 1-0 lead in the 2 match series. South Africa must realize that the game, generally, doesn’t give a second chance. But they are gifted an opportunity by their rivals itself and it’s important they do make it count and make sure they don’t become victim of the ‘C’ word again!

1. Pragyan Ojha

Landmark Achieved : First 5-wicket hall of his test career. Pragyan Ojha is more associated to being thrifty in giving runs to oppositions and for that very reason has often provided second support to Harbhajan Singh usually. With Singh not playing and expected to be the spearheading the Indian spin attack, Ojha didn’t disappoint his team and picked up 6/55 in the first innings. It’s a laudable effort because the pitch provided little help and what really paid off is his perseverence and patience with a strict line and length throughout. Hope, there are many more 5-wickets hall in his destiny during his career span.

2. Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Landmark Achieved : 1st Indian keeper to hold 200 catches. The first thing that comes to mind when you see MSD keep is “Unconventional”. Unconventional may be, but pretty effective, nevertheless. During the first test against WI, Dhoni completed his 200 catches behind the stumps and became 1st Indian keeper to achieve this feat. Since the inception of his cricketing career, Dhoni has improved a lot in his wicket keeping skills and is perhaps the lightning in terms of taking wickets down in a flash in pursuit of stumping a batsman out. After having an ordinary series in England, Dhoni has come back pretty well and it’s a nice statistics to cherish for the Indian captain.

3. Fidel Edwards

Landmark Achieved : completing 150 wickets. Fidel Edwards who was bowling quick and let his bowling so the talking completed his 150 test wickets when he trapped Sachin LBW in the Indian 1st innings. He was unlucky early when he bowled out Sehwag on a no-ball. However, he wouldn’t be complaining as he scalped the prize wicket of Sachin Tendulkar as his 150th victim.

4. Rahul Dravid

Landmark Achieved : Second Highest no. of scores above 50. Rahul Dravid became the second player after Sachin to score more runs over 50 in test cricket. During his innings of 54 runs, he completed 96th score of 50 or above in his test career. The record is held by Sachin who has 113 scores of 50 and above. The wall is still going rock steady!

5. Ravichandran Ashwin

Landmark Achieved : taking 5-wickets and MOM award on debut. Ravichandran Ashwin, the debutant off spinner started off brilliantly his test career. Having been taken 3 wickets in the first innings, he scalped 6 more wickets in the 2nd innings to take his tally of wickets to 9 in his debut. This is the best performance by an Indian on debut after Narendra Hirwani who started with 16 wickets in his debut match. He also entered in the elite list of selected bowlers who have taken 5-wicket on their debut. By being awarded as the Man-of-the-Match, he beacame only the 3rd Indian to fetch the award on his debut. Quite a few achievements.

6. Sachin Tendulkar

Landmark Achieved : 15,000 test runs. Sachin could not complete his 100th 100 at Ferozshah Kotla but he certainly reached another landmark when he completed 15000 test run during his innings of 76 in the second innings. He has now become tha only person on the planet to do so. Also, he overtook team mate Rahul Dravid as highest scorer in the 4th innings in the world. He has a tally of 1515 surpassing Rahul Dravid’s 1507 runs.

There was some engrossing action at Delhi’s Ferozshah Kotla, where India and West Indies are battling against each other to win the first test of the ongoing three test match series. It was an absorbing day of test cricket with runs being scored, wickets falling, wonderful spin performances in the Indian conditions and some really good batting skills displayed by the two gentlemen who have scored the most runs in the test cricket history till date.

The first session started poorly for the Windies when the night watchman Fidel Edwards succumbed a catch to Dhoni off the bowling of Ishant Sharma on the third over of the day. But he did save one of the team’s front line batsmen being exposed to Indian spinners an evening earlier, so in a way, Edwards achieved what he wanted to. In the very next Ishant Sharma over, a difficult chance was put down by Ashwin at covers of the then new batsman, Darren Bravo.

The next victim was Kirk Edwards, who was going strong but misjudged an incoming delivery from Umesh Yadav. He showed arms to a delivery that was coming in to him only to crash on stumps and giving India a perfectly decent start of the morning. However, things completely changed in favour of the hosts when Dhoni made Ashwin bowl.

Ashwin started off brilliantly and struck right away. He more than made up for his missed catch when he took Bravo off his over off the day. Not only that he provided double blow when he took his second wicket off the over in the form of Marlon Samuels with a dream bowl and left Windies struggling at 63/6.

A quick wrap up looked on the anvil only to be denied by the same wily customer and old Indian nemesis, Shivnarine Chanderpaul who not only kept his ‘precious’ wicket in hand but also scored quite briskly to give his bowlers something to bowl at. He made a well made 47 when the flavour of the day, Ashwin picked him up with a yet another LBW dismissal. Ashwin completed his first 5-wicket hall and that too in his debut, when he bowled Sammy out.Sammy before getting out, provided some entertaining moments. A straight lofted shot to Ishant off his own bowling is worth mentioning.

The last pair of Rampaul and Bishoo provided some resistance and added 23 important runs for the final wicket when Rampaul handed over a catch to Ojha off Ashwin in pursuit of some quick runs. Ashwin in the process took 6 wickets for mere 47 runs and captured the best figures for an Indian spinner on debut after Narendra Hirwani. Ashwin scalped a total of 9 wickets in the match. The west Indian innings folded on 180, setting Indians the target of 276 runs on a difficult wicket.

Soon after the Windies innings wrapped up their innings, a deja vu of the second day came forth when the Indian openers were again left to fight for a tantalising short period before the tea break. The Indian innings started in the similar fashion as in the first innings, when Gambhir clipped Edwards off his pads on the 2nd delivery to boundary. The openers did manage to survive the 8 overs before tea interval and scored 38 runs. However, there were some lucky moments for India when Rampaul let go off a catch of Sehwag in the 4th over. The miss might prove costly to the Windies.

The Delhi duo started the final session more aggressively, for may be they knew the importance of scoring when the ball was still new as the bowlers would get away once the ball becomes soft at Ferozshah Kotla. Sehwag, being his usual self, provided some magical shots off the spinners. He took centre stage once Gambhir departed after collaborating for yet another 50 run partnership and scored at least one boundary per over and reached his second fifty of the match. He couldn’t better his first innings performance and dragged one ball off Sammy to his stumps and got out on 55.

The two stalwarts then united in the middle, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, who are also the top two run getters in tests They showed their wealth of experience and batted gingerly till the end of the day to ensure that no more casualties occured for India and the fans could sleep in peace. Their respective innings were characterised by compact defense technique and some flowing attacking shots. Sachin, in due course, completed his 15,000 runs in his illustrious test career and thus, becoming the first batsman to achieve such a feat. Though there were some close calls, the duo managed to survive any blues and Dravid ended the day with a beautiful cover drive off Bishoo for a boundary.

India are 152/2 at the end of the 3rd day proceedings, still needing 124 more runs to post a victory. If they achieve it, this would be their 3rd highest run chase to win a test match in the 4th innings.

Few things could be learnt from the 3rd day’s play. Ashwin is the new sensation on the anvil, and with Ojha also coming to party, Harbhajan needs to perform out of his skin to get back into the team. Obviously, remaining wicketless in a match would not help. Second, whenever India has a fight in its hands, India finds Rahul Dravid in the middle. Similar is the case here. With run-making not being easy and the other batsmen looking rusty, the onus is on in-form Rahul Dravid to take India home and his stay at the wicket should determine the outcome of the match. Final words : An intriguing day 4 is waiting for a kick start!

Drinks Break

In cricket, just after an hour into the proceedings of an intriguing test match, or just when your favourite team is going great guns and  the opposition in a limited overs game or vice versa, there comes a stoppage – in the form of ‘drinks break’. During a scheduled cricket match, a stoppage can occur in various forms, like lunch, tea, drinks break or rain interruption amongst others. While a break is welcomed by some section of spectators, others see it as an interruption to the game. We take a look as what different kind of spectators do in these breaks.

1. The first species of spectator comprises of those who don’t want a break. However, this species is on a decline in the recent past, though, it comprises of the true lovers of the game. When people amongst them go to the cricket field, they look deeply involved in the game throughout and don’t realize they are on camera, even if it’s eyeing on them for more than two minutes. Hence, not surprisingly, these are the ones who hate breaks in the game. Actually they hate any kind of stoppages in the game. Be it a drinks break or between the innings break, a tea break or a rain interruption.

What they do during breaks: They never change the channel. They listen to all the expert advices being poured down, even if it means Nikhil Chopra having a cricket bat in his hands and telling Sachin or any front line batsman how he could have played that shot that brought his downfall. They are amongst the ones who don’t shy away from giving advice to even the experts and doing their own commentary when highlights are being shown during the break.

I remember how once a caller made a call to DD Sports program “Forth Umpire”, which was then hosted by Charu Sharma and reprimanded the channel for ads taking over just after the last ball had been bowled and would not return until the first ball of the next over had been bowled. Before he could say more, an embarrassed Charu cut the phone and apologised for the problem caused. In short, these guys are really serious about their sport.

2. Second are those who want to take it as an opportunity to take a rest and get themselves ready for the next session of play to begin. The just finished intriguing game of Cricket has taken a toll off them and they need some time off to get their act together and immerse themselves once again. A drinks break is a welcome break for this kind of species.

What they do during a break: The lazy ones mute their respective television sets and lay back on the sofa. They close their eyes and have some rest. The athletic ones get out from their TV halls, take stroll down in the home or outside for sometime or indulge in some light exercises and get back to the game as soon as the game resumes.

3. The third kind of species are the most prevalent – the family spectators. This is the species where one family shares a TV and want to see four different channels at one point of time. While mother wants to see ‘Balika Vadhu’, although she discourages child marriages, father wants to catch up with the main headlines of the day and the geeky brother wants to enhance his GK by watching ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’, as if identifying the voice of Kareena Kapoor will get him selected to the IIMs. You are the only one want to watch the game. The break brings a respite to you as now, at least for the time being, you are not fighting for your channel. This species generally makes deal with their family and watches the game on time wise turns.

What they do during the break: They take a chill – pill and enjoy the little encounters amongst the family members, at least this time; they are out of the race. They see a little bit of all the channels in between and wait for their turns to return to the game.

4. The fourth kind of species consists of group of people assembled at one house to rock the evening with the game. Their main aim, however, is to have a gala time rather than to particularly appreciate the nuances of the game being played. They generally look forward to the break as to catch up with their friends.

What they do during the break: They refill the soda pitcher, wait for the food they have ordered. They garnish the food in the serving plates. Small groups are formed to discuss almost everything, right from their respective lives to how Raina could have scored a few more blows that could’ve led India post a score of over 300!

5. The final species belong to working class and haven’t watched much of the match in progress. They either are not aware of what has happened to the game till then or they have just followed the game through cricinfo by reading the live online commentary. The break gives them a chance to find out what has happened and how until then and build momentum for the proceedings to follow.

What they do during breaks: They surf through all of the news channels try to see some of the action that has already taken place. They don’t miss the follow up program and watch their every package right from ‘fours and sixes’ to ‘fall of wickets’. They make sure to grasp everything before they ready themselves for the resumption of the game.

Well these were the types of spectators who prefer to do various different things every time a break in induces in the game. What about the people in the middle, what they do. Not being one of them, thus I would be able to provide insights only as an outsider. The twelfth man not only transmits through messages from the team management to the players out there but also luxuriate himself to the glory of being a cricketer by feeling all the hoopla of being on the field and witnessing the electrifying atmosphere. Most common activity, apart from having drinks, of course, is checking out the bats of the batsmen by their counterparts.

However, one incident during last year’s championship league game featuring South Australia and Mumbai Indians deserves a special mention. The break was a forced break when Pollard in his usual style sent a ball out of the park for a six. While they were waiting for the new ball to come out, Dwayne Bravo, his partner at the non-striking end, called him to the middle of the pitch and they just started to enjoy the music that was playing in the stadium. They actually danced much to the enjoyment of Mumbai’s dug out and amazement of the commentators. An amused Ganguly, while commentating said, “Well, that’s the West Indian culture. Cannot imaging a Tendulkar, hitting a six over mid-wicket and dancing on the cricket field.”

Thus, we found out a hell lot of things to do during a break. Now just having gone through it, recognise to which species you belong to and post it down as a comment. Also, you are welcome to mention any other species that I might have left out.

Will the Tigers ever rise in test cricket?

With the friendly series against India being their first test match ever, Bangladesh wasn’t a complete disaster. Despite being handed a 9-wicket loss by India, Bangladesh did perform well in the first innings, being able to post 400 runs on their first innings ever of a test match. However, from the second innings onwards, they faltered badly and have not been able to found a firm foothold in the test cricket yet.

Bangladesh played like they have nothing to lose in the initial years of their test cricket history and to be fair to them, they really had nothing to lose in those times. In their pursuit of liberation to test cricket, they came mighty close to winning a test match in Pakistan only to encounter Inzamam-ul-Haq as a roadblock as he single-handedly won the game for his team(by 1 wicket). People showering rose petals on his return to the pavilion said a lot about the significance of the innings. Bangladesh lost the match, but started to provide some interesting test match moments every now and then.

Just when the world thought they were going in the right direction, Bangladesh cricket began to be content with just putting up a fight against teams and not cultivating that winning edge over its oppositions. They fought 34 battles on the field, losing most of them before finally beating the depleted Zimbabwean team in their 35th test match. On the other hand, Zimbabwe achieved their first win on their 11th attempt.  They had to wait for 8 years to taste their first overseas victory against West Indies team in December 2007. Till August 2011, Bangladesh managed to win just 3 test matches out of 70 matches competed, defeated in as many as 60 matches. Hence, it is clear that something is wrong with the Bangladesh Test Cricket. Lets analyze.

First and foremost of their problems is their temperament. They don’t possess the much required patience and perseverance for a test playing environment. Bangladesh have  transformed into an half-decent one day side and a good side at home, but they still remain a pathetic test playing nation. It is high time that they understand what is expected of them on the world space and deliver. What is infuriating is that they have the talent to achieve much more that they have actually achieved.

Mohammad Ashraful shows some class with his flamboyant batting at times but is not consistent enough. He could be to Bangladesh what Sachin was to India in 1990′s. But the problem is that he knew himself to be that key batsman for his but never fulfilled the promise he showed nor displayed the responsibility required for the job.

Another problem for Bangladesh is their approach to test cricket: they play test matches like playing two one day innings in 5 days. Of the 60 defeats mentioned, 34 have been innings defeats, which is a staggering number. It shows that they play too fast for a test match and in the bargain lose out more often than not. They seldom last a day when they bat and rarely get 10 wickets in a day.

And it is not a problem of their skill. Bangladesh boast of some really fine and skillful players in their armoury. Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib-al-Hasan(who is considered as one of the world’s best all rounder at the moment) are all great players. They also boast of really good spin bowling attack which has played a pivotal role in almost all their victories.

What the ICC’s action of granting test status to Bangladesh has done is made them more cautious of awarding test status to other nations after having witnessed the Bangladesh debacle. The governing body pondered over giving the test status to Kenya after the latter reached the semi finals in the 2003 Cricket World Cup, but the Bangladesh story made them opt otherwise. The ICC has indeed learnt a lesson the hard way.

It is high time Bangladesh takes its test cricket seriously and perform better rather behaving like a starlet even after 11 years of playing test cricket. Else they should be stripped off the test status like what happened to Zimbabwe. A message should be sent across very clearly. The quality of Test Cricket cannot be compromised. And Bangladesh needs to understand that!

With the proceedings of the day 1 of the India v/s West Indies hanging in fine balance with the visitors having scored 256 for 5, Chanderpaul looking good for quite a few runs more, the test match looked intriguing for the supporters of both the sides.

India however started the first session by stamping a thumping authority over their West Indian counterparts and wrapped up their innings for 304. That’s a mere 48 run addition to the overnight score. Most of the damage was done by the left armer Pragyan Ojha who scalped  6 wickets for 72 runs. Ashwin provided able support with 3 wickets and Ishant Sharma picking up the all important wicket of Chanderpaul.

India began their reply very strongly, with Gautam Gambhir hitting 3 boundaries in the first over. The runs came smoothly and in heaps of boundaries in the first session with India scoring 39 runs without any loss in the 5 overs. However, Fidel Edwards could have got Virender Sehwag early when a sharp delivery took away the Delhi swashbuckler’s off stump only to realize that he had overstepped while bowling. Thus, the first session belonged to India with clean bowling performance and a smooth start with their batting.

Second session started and the things continued from where they were left off in the first session. Gambhir and Sehwag picking up easy singles and finding boundaries with ease on their home ground and they reached 85 runs in mere 12 overs. The 13th over was supposed to be the turning over in the match. On the third bowl of this over, bowled by Sammy, Virender Sehwag stuck a clean straight drive which ricochets onto the stumps after taking Sammy’s fingers and found Gautam Gambhir short fo his crease. Wes Indies struck early in the second session despite India’s healthy run rate.

Virender Sehwag, not someone to slow down under any circumstances, carried on with his smooth knock and reached his second fifty on Ferozshah Kotla ground off just 39 bowls. He was looking to cut loose to the leg spinner Bishoo when he lost his balance and a smart work from keeper Carlton Baugh stumped the stunned sehwag on 55. India were reduced to 100/2.

Then in walked the God himself, Sachin Tendulkar and along with him accompanied the hope for his 100th International Century, only to be disappointed 13 runs later, when Edwards trapped him in plumb in front of wickets for 7 runs. VVS Laxman followed next and followed quickly back to the pavillion with his personal contribution of 1. Thus, India were found losing their way after a rolicking start provided by the Delhi duo.

In came the comeback man, Yuvraj Singh, who showed some resistance in the form of some quick runs to provide some momentum to the Indian Innings and toks them safely to 150 run mark when the umpires called for tea.

The last session, of which many of the fans had thought that a Yuvraj Singh special was waiting for them were left disappointed as he got out just after the resumption of the game after tea. The captain cool came out, who did not get out in the ODI series against England, but Test match proved to be a different ball game altogether, as he could not open his account and joined Yuvraj Singh as quickly as he came. Ravichandran Ashin, the one of the two debutants, followed his captain’s footsteps by scoring a duck himself.

Rahul Dravid, the wall, was left standing alone on the other side when Ishant Sharma came and gave him some support to defy West Indies’ bowlers who were looking to finish off Indian innings in a jiffy. Dravid completed yet another half century in the process but Ishant Sharma was soon out when the score was 203 on the board. Dravid couldn’t hold on for more and eventually got out on 54. Soon the Indian innings folded at 209 conceding a healthy lead of 95 to the opposition, which could be deciding at the end of the match.

All the bowlers did a good job for Windies with pick of the bowlers being captain Darren Sammy scalping 3 wickets along with the run out of Gambhir that started the downslide of the Indian batting. While Rampaul and Bishoo took 2 wickets apiece, Edwards and part timer Samuels picked up a wicket each. In the due course, Edwards completed his 150 test wicket, Sachin Tendulkar being his 150th scalp.

Although, West Indies didn’t start strong in their second innings and lost their openers quickly and despite being 21/2 at the stumps, they are sitting pretty with a lead of 116 runs under their kitty.

The pitch is deteriorating for sure. This can be concluded by the fact that as many as 17 wickets fell on the day. The dual bounce of the pitch will make the batting all the more tough, if its not already as 5 of the WI first innings wickets were out LBWs.

By looking at how the things went today, there is no doubt that the day belonged to West Indies despite having a sorry start. They are on the driving seat and should be able to dictate terms to the opposition. As for India, they lost out on an opportunity and it would take some really good cricketing skill to make a comeback in the game.

So here we are, the 1st leg of the Ranji trophy has concluded with all the teams having played their first matches. For the major part of the outcomes, ‘a draw’ seems the most common. While Mumbai tasted victory against Railways, the Baroda and Tamil Nadu match lasted for only 12 overs, thanks to rain.

Some players who were expected to set the stage on fire missed big time, Harbhajan Singh being the biggest loser while some others who had an opportunity to present their case to the selectors, for instance, the Pathan Brothers, didn’t get a chance. However, the first Ranji leg did witness some of the bravo performance from some of the individuals who are listed as follows.

1. Ravindra Jadeja(314) v/s Orissa : The much critised all – rounder of the Indian Cricket Team scored a triple century and pushed his case for the regular all rounder spot in the team. This was the 27th occasion of a triple century by a batsman in Ranji trophy and highest scorer for Saurashtra passing Cheteshwar Pujara‘s previous best 302*.

2. Natraj Behera(209) v/s Saurashtra : While Jadeja stroked a triple century, his counterpart, Natraj Behera replied aptly with a 209 helping his side to held on to draw in their encounter.

3. Manoj Tiwary(132) v/s Gujarat : Amidst much anticipation of Sourav Ganguly‘s comeback to Bengal Ranji Team, the person who stole the limelight from Dada was Manoj Tiwary. He continued his consistency in the Ranji circuit with yet another century which helped his side to reach a mammoth 560 runs.

4. Parthiv Patel(143) v/s Bengal : And Parthiv Patel never fails. Despite not being in form in the recently concluded ODI series against England, he opened his Ranji account with an outstanding century to provide the counter attack to the Bengal’s high score.

5. Mandeep Singh(175* and 51) v/s UP : Mandeep Singh was a lone fighter to present their case for Punjab against UP in their on-field battle. Looking completely at ease against the strong UP bowling, this young man is definitely a future prospect for the Indian Team.

6. Suresh Raina(204*) v/s Punjab : Raina is in the form of his life and can’t do anything wrong at the moment. Captaining for the first time for UP in Ranji, Raina scored a brisk and timely double century, that too unbeaten, to take his side beyond the reach of Harbhajan’s Punjab team. No doubt, he is pushing Yuvraj for that no. 6 position in Tests.

7. Rohit Sharma(175) v/s Railways : After being left out from the team for sometime due to finger injury, Rohit Sharma announced his comback in a grand style by scoring the highest score from his side against the Railways which propelled Mumbai to a comfortable 10 wicket win.

8. Rudra Pratap Singh(5/72) v/s Punjab : After his dismal performance on the England tour, RP Singh showed what he is capable of if in rhythm as he ran through the Punjab batting line up on the first day of the match to ensure the total never reach out of their control.

9. Shreyas Khanolkar(5/78) v/s Mumbai : The only positive gained by Railways from their encounter against Mumbai was the veteran off-spinner who made the Mumbai Batmen dance to his tunes to some level and prevent Railways from an innings defeat.

10. Lalith Mohan(5/55) v/s Jharkhand : The stand out bowling performance from the young 21 year old Lalith Mohan makes it to the list. The slow left armer ensured that Hyderabad got a huge 1st innings lead and secured their 2 points without much hassles against Jharkhand.

1. Gautam Gambhir : Gautam is perhaps the best batsman of spin in the world. He is the captain to each and every side which doesn’t have MS Dhoni, be it Challenger trophy or the IPL. His strength is to lead from the front and might prove to be a Steve Waugh of India, if given a chance. It will also be interesting to see how the team members would react to his aggressive style of captaincy to that of coolness quotient of our current captain! The downward side is his age. He is 30 years already and when MSD hangs his boots, not much playing days would be left for Gambhir.

What He brings to the team: Lead from the front, balanced captaincy

2. Yuvraj Singh : Yuvraj comes a natural choice, given his expertise and experience as a cricketer. He served as a deputy to MSD before his ousted from the national team. However, he didn’t quit and come back strong and made his presence felt almost instantly when he was adjudged 4 consecutive Man of the Match in WC along with the prestigious player of the series. Thus, his dogged determination may rub to some of his players, if made the captain. However, the problem is with his temper. He loses his cool sometimes on the field and that could pose a problem to him. Also, his inconsistent selection from the test side also works against him.

What He brings to the team : Experience and Determination

3. Suresh Raina : Raina is a very good friends with MS Dhoni. They play for same IPL side and their bonding can be felt on a cricket field. Maybe that’s why, it seems that Raina has learnt a thing or two in motivation from the captain cool. He can be seen on a field as a bundle of energy and never ever presents a dull moment while he is around. That’s what we get from – “Energy”. Raina is the first person to greet a bowler who takes a wicket, fielder who hits the wicket directly or takes a catch. He is everywhere in the field and keeps motivating “Men in Blue” on the field. Definitely, a future captain material.

What He brings to the team : Bundle of positive Energies

4. Virat Kohli : He is talented, he is skillful, he is a team player, he is aggressive and he is a dasher. In short, he is a leader of men. A replica of Sourav Ganguly in terms of aggression and Ricky Ponting in terms of cricketing skills, Virat is definitely a Man amongst the boys. His IPL team recognised his worth much before the world did by retaining him as the only player for RCB and he have not disappointed them yet. He is young and has an experience of leading the team.(he was the captain of the victorious U-19 team in 2007). He could complete the trilogy of best Indian Captains ever along with Sourav Ganguly and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, if given a chance.

What He brings to the team : Ruthless Aggression

5. Rohit Sharma : He is a personal favourite. The next big thing in the reckoning and I hope he justifies his talent and not become a case of another Ajay Jadeja. He has a natural cricketing skills. He is a brilliant fielder, handy bowler and a world class batsman. He has a whole lot of time to play a particular bowl no matter if its bowl the fastest that could be bowled. He brings “Lazy Elegance” to the table. He is an Indian answer to Pakistan’s Inzamam Ul Haq, only a few kilos lighter. Only problem is may be he, too, like everybody knows his talents and thus becomes a bit complacent at times.

What He brings to the team : Quaint Elegance, calmness

Today, in not quite surprising statement, Shahid Afridi has announced his comeback to the International Cricket(limited overs) and offered his services for the national side. I mentioned ‘not surprising’ because, of late,  it has become a norm in Pakistan Cricket. Younis Khan did it, Mohammad Yousuf did it and now, Shahid Afridi has done it too.

Shahid Afridi

Afridi had some problems with the then Ijaz Butt and Waqar Younis led Pakistan Cricket Board and the Team Management respectively. Now, with Zaka Ashraf replacing Butt as the new PCB chairman and other significant changes in the management has prompted Afridi to make a comeback. “I didn’t retire as such. I only said I would not play under the previous board but now people has changed, exactly as I wanted, so I am available for selection for the country.”, said an excited Afridi to the press.

The selection committee, on the other hand, has welcomed the move of their star all-rounder. “He is good enough to play for Pakistan”, said Mohammad Illyas, chief selector of Pakistan National Team. Illyas was hopeful of his return, although, he did maintain that Afridi would have to play at domestic games and mustn’t consider himself an automatic selection. He clarified, “I can’t say that he is an automatic selection for the team but at the same time we never questioned his abilities as he has played an ample amount of cricket for Pakistan. We know that he still has cricket left in him.”

His return to the game should give a huge boost to his side. Finally, the youngsters and new recruits to the side would find a role model in the form of Shahid Afridi available in their dressing room. They would be having someone to look up to, to turn for guidance whenever they need and to get inspired and motivated to perform better for their country. Also, what his presence would ensure is definitely more energy on the field, which currently looking quite placid under the leadership of Misbah-ul –Haq, both in Zimbabwe and now in Abu Dhabi. He would be able to provide them their most potent weapon, the killer instinct which may gel well with the calmness of Haq who is, otherwise, doing a fine job as a captain.

Misbah-Ul-Haq

What his skill would bring, apart from 6700 runs and 315 wickets, is a match winner which Pakistan wiould be happy to have. With Akmal brothers facing the match-fixing blues and still struggling to clear their names, the selectors would be happy to have an option of utilizing the services of experienced Afridi rather than rushing back to the tainted duo, at least for some time. Pakistan, now more than ever, is missing a genuine match winner in their line-up and Afridi is exactly that – a Match Winner whon can win them matches single-handedly.

We may expect a quick return for Afridi in the national team because despite his ‘conditional’ retirement, he has been maintaining his individual fitness. He may not have played in any International fixtures since May, but he played for Hampshire in England in their Friends T20 championship. All along, he maintained that he would prefer to play for his country but only after his certain demands were realized.

With Afridi coming back to the game may give respite to his fans and unfeigned game lovers, one player who needs to look out is Sachin Tendulkar. Sachin, better look for your legs, the next time you go out to bat, before he watches them again!

Welcome Back Shahid Afridi, yet again!

Fauja Singh

Meet Fauja Singh, an Indian born now a Bristish resident, has completed the 42 KM Marathon at the age of 100!

Yes, he participated in the event conducted at Toronto, Canada and after 8 Hours, 25 Minutes and 18 Seconds, he achieved what no other, at his age, has achieved yet. He completed the Marathon and created history.

He also registered his name in the “Guinness Book” of world records for being the oldest to complete the marathon. Earlier the record was held by a 98-year old Greek.

Family, friends and supporters gathered around him as he finished the race.

His coach and translator Harmander Singh said.

This was Singh’s eighth marathon – he ran his first at age 89 –

And on Thursday in Toronto, Singh broke world records for runners older than 100 in eight different distances ranging from 100 meters to 5,000 meters.

The 5-foot-8 Singh said he’s hopeful his next project will be participating in the torch relay for the 2012 London Games. He carried the torch during the relay for the 2004 Athens Games.

Let’s salute the ‘Latest Sensation’!

Presenting readers a list of countdown from 11-to-1 best quotes on Sachin Tendulkar ever. These quotes are from the experts from the game itself, thus, making it all the more valuable and incisive to determine the greatness of the man. Let’s celebrate a phenomenon –  ”Sachin Tendulkar!”

11. Hashim Amla: 
“Nothing bad can happen to us if we’re on a plane in India with Sachin Tendulkar on it.”

What does it Mean: The countless number of blessings, best wishes and unconditional love shower on Sachin by his, at least, 121 million devotees diurnally.

10. Mark Taylor:
“We did not lose to a team called India…we lost to a man called Sachin.”

What does it Mean: This was said by the then Australian captain after being defeated by India (or Sachin, as he said) at Chennai in 1997. It shows how dependant Indian team was on Sachin throughout 1990’s.

9. Harsha Bhogle:
“If Sachin plays well… India sleeps well.”

What does it Mean: Sachin is the most important player in the team and the most trusted player for the people. It also reflects the expectations the country has from him every time he goes out to bat.

8. Andy Flower:
“There are 2 kind of batsmen in the world. One Sachin Tendulkar. Two all the others.”

What does it Mean: Sachin stands out from the rest of the cricketers, no matter how brilliant the others are. Also, he is an institution in himself, while others are merely the students in there. In short, Sachin is the best!

7. Navjot Singh Sidhu
“India me aap Prime Minister ko ek Baar Katghare me khada kar sakte hain…Par Sachin Tendulkar par Ungli nahi utha Sakte..”

What does it Mean: The integrity of the maestro, not only as a cricketer but also as a human being.

6. Andrew Flintoff:
“When you bowl at him you are not just trying to get him out, you are trying to impress him. “I want him to walk off thinking ‘that Flintoff, he’s all right isn’t he?’ I feel privileged to have played against him.”

What does it Mean: The respect he commands from his contemporaries. How players across the world value his opinion of them, showing the unfeigned fan following amongst the rival competitors as well.

5. Brain Lara:
“Sachin is a genius , I am a mere mortal!”

What does it Mean: Even his closest competitor amongst his contemporaries gives it to Sachin, thus, establishing the fact that he is a very popular legend across the world, for the fans and opponents alike.

4. Mathew Hayden:
“I have seen GOD , he bats at no.4 for india in Tests.”

What does it Mean: It echoes what each Indian thinks about the prodigy :- If Cricket is a religion, then Sachin is God. Matthew Hayden, too, realizes after witnessing the frenzy around him every time he is in the country.

3. Shane Warne:
“Sachin Tendulkar is, in my time, the best player without doubt – daylight second, Brian Lara third.”

What does it Mean: Even the best bowler in the world considers Sachin to be light years ahead of his contemporaries.

2. Viv Richards:
“If there is a better batsman than Sachin then he hasn’t arrived yet.”

What does it Mean: The maestro has conquered the imagination of all time greats alike. It must make his critics wonder that if his fan list boasts of such legends, he must be something. In another statement Sir Viv Richards said, “I will pay to watch Sachin play.”

1. BBC Sports:
“Beneath the helmet, under that unruly curly hair, inside the cranium, there is something we don’t know, something beyond scientific measure. Something that allows him to soar, to roam a territory of sport that, forget us, even those who are gifted enough to play alongside him cannot even fathom. When he goes out to bat, people switch on their television sets and switch off their lives.”

What does it Mean: Everything about the man. The man who is motivation and inspiration for young recruits to the game, highest degree of excellence for the experts, poetry for artistes who have seen him playing, a pleasure for those who know him personally and the God for rest.

BONUS QUOTE

Sir Don Bradman:
“I saw him playing on television and was struck by his technique, so I asked my wife to come look at him. Now I never saw myself play, but I feel that this player is playing much the same as I used to play, and she looked at him on Television and said yes, there is a similarity between the two…high compactness, technique, stroke production… it all seemed to gel!”

Pakistan is a blessing to the game of cricket, no two ways about it. With already limited no. of countries playing the sport, it can’t afford to lose Pakistan at any point in time, even with Pakistan trying really hard to make it do so. With the situation getting worse for the Pakistan cricket and cricketers, we take a look why the sport can not do without them for much long.

The foremost of the reasons lies in the fact that over the years, experts have aptly coined a name for the Pakistan cricket team i.e, ‘the Unpredictables’. Given the very same nature of the game itself, who else could be the true ambassadors of the game, if not them?

Pakistan are considered to be the most dangerous sides in the cricket fraternity. Although, the fire has been mitigated to an extent in the recent years, the tag is yet to be disposed of. They have the best record outside their territory of all sub-continent counterparts. The other countries from their region, popularly known as the sub-continent, are India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. India have started to perform well in foreign countries only recently, while Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are still struggling to prove their mettle away from their respective turf.

The Pakistan Cricket have boasted of producing world class cricketers for ages now. From Mustaq Muhammad to Saeed Anwar, from Zaheer Abbas to Wasim Akram, from Javed Miandad to Waqar Younis, from Imran Khan to Shoaib Akhtar. These are the listed names(otherwise an endless list) of some of the players who have the label of legends written all over them. What is interesting to note from above is that the list involves both the batsmen and the bowlers, which is an indication they provide excellent players all around and perhaps, that’s the reason why they have been a dominating force in Cricket throughout.

Imran Khan

A sport is characterized by the famous characters to have played the game and moments which linger on to a spectator’s mind long after the actual proceedings held. Pakistan has produced both. Be it Javed Miandad’s six of a penultimate ball to take his side home or the famous Aamir Sohail – Venkatesh Prasad face-off at Chinnaswamy stadium. The most precious(at least for them as a country) how from being on the verge of an early exit in the World Cup 1992 to went on winning it is a different story in itself. Pakistan has given the game its fastest delivery and taught their contemporaries the art of reverse swing bowling.

Also, over the period, Pakistan have always managed to throw some unforgettable characters in the cricket field consistently. From legendary Imran Khan to brilliant Wasim Akram, from toe-crusher Waqar to doosra-inventor Saqlain, from lazily elegant Inzamam to flamboyant Afridi and from entertaining Miandad to brat Akhtar. Pakistan Cricket has served cricket a great in the past and, hopefully, will continue to do so in the future as well, if all remains good.

Winners – 1992 Cricket World Cup

This is what defines the very nature of the game. They have given Cricket not only its meaning but also its exclusiveness, USP and the much essential X-factor.

Why ardent fans and cricket enthusiasts all over the world want to see Pakistan in action is not only apropos to the rawness it brings to the game or the charisma they exudes on the field but also, and more importantly, they amazing ability to make any ordinary contest into a nail-biting one just like that. Merely their sheer presence in the middle gives down shivers to the opposition and their fans. Unlike with most of the teams where you can take a chance to choose between the teams on the basis of their then current situation, Pakistan is certainly not a country you would like to take a chance with. They have not lost or won it till they actually have lost or won it. Whatever be the outcome, one thing is for sure, they remain in the game till the last moment and that’s what makes classic contests. Hence, making the game of cricket look far more interesting. Such is their effectiveness.

Times have changed now, but not much has changed in the Pakistan cricket scenario, skill wise that is. They have the ability to churn out young sensations and match-winners on their will. This can be concluded by their performance over the last 4 world championships in as many years – 3 T20 World Cup(2007, 2009, 2010) and 1 World Cup(2011). In each of these concluded events, they have at least made it to the semi-finals, reaching the finals twice and winning once. Not surprisingly, theirs are the only side to achieve this feat. And what more, each time they had different heroes emerging. They were Misbah-ul-haq in 2007, Umar Gul in 2009, Mohammad Aamer in 2010 and Shahid Afridi in 2011. That’s what Pakistan do. It throws a young kid to the field. These kids don’t fetter on the big stage, instead they make the opportunity count and build their reputation. They become stars and continue their rich legacy.

Pakistan celebrating T20 World Cup Triumph

What has changed is the scenario outside the cricketing field. Recently, plethora of problems have surrounded over the Pakistan cricket densely, match fixing scandals being the most critical. Young and bright prospects(esp. Mohammad Aamer) are being caught in its web too frequently and self-destructing their careers. The players – board rifts have become the regular feature. Negative vibes surrounding the dressing room and team meetings leading to internal disputes. Shoaib Akhtar who’s the latest to admit it (players performing namaz were selected to play under Inzy’s reign). Politics taking over the sport. Terrorism preventing the country from hosting not only the World Cup but also a test match for around 4 years now. Other nations resisting to visit them after the attacks on the Sri Lankan team. All these are mostly non-cricketing factors but are seriously denting the future of its cricketing aspects.

Thus, it’s a case of a brat child who more often than not gets into the trouble, Pakistan being the brat child. Now, the world has to take the decision whether to help the troubled child or turn a blind eye to it. However, it is infuriating to know that no one can help them except for themselves. ICC can’t help them neither can Australia or, for that matter, India. The only one who can save Pakistan is Pakistan itself. And it must do it for its people, for the game lovers and, the most importantly, for the game of Cricket. The move to make Dubai as their new ‘home ground’ is definitely a step in the right direction. Hopefully, better sense will prevail in the times to come. Amen!

When the ICC introduced the ‘Umpire Decision Review System’, the cricketing body not only achieved a milestone in the game but also gave the umpire a new found friend, contrary to popular belief.

The UDRS was first introduced in the year 2008 (Sri Lanka vs India series), the teams were given three opportunities each in each of the innings where they could request (popularly known word used is ‘Challenge’) the third umpire to review the original decision made in the middle by the on-field umpire. The TV umpire then looks into the replays, uses technology and his points in the checklist to reach a final decision which either overturns the on-field umpire’s original decision or upholds the original decision. Since its introduction, the number of challenges has now been reduced to two per innings instead of three. Also, new technologies are being introduced, such as ‘HotSpot’, to help the concerned umpire reach the perfect (or near perfect) decision.

There are critics who vehemently put forward their arguments against the UDRS citing it as an insult to the umpires, who are considered as the supreme power on the field, and that their decision should be final. Challenging their power in the game makes it a disgrace to the sport, as it is a challenge to the very authority of the man who controls the proceedings in the middle.

While it is true that an umpire is the most important man on the field and it certainly should remain that way, what people miss in the fight against DRS is that the final decision in cases of challenges is still taken by an umpire only. The requests (or ‘challenges’) by a team would be reviewed by another umpire and the technology, however inconclusive it may be at times, helps him arrive at the best decision, which is very much in the interest of the game.

That umpires feel embarrassed on seeing their decisions being overturned (which are, at the moment, too few and far in between) is a wrong notion to subscribe to, for the man in the middle is being put to run the game in a smooth and judicious and that is exactly what the technology does by providing him with the additional assistance. Umpires should in fact be relieved at the prospect that UDRS would help them most of the time if they make a mistake, which otherwise could be a decisive factor in determining the outcome of a game, thus preventing a public crucifixion in the media if something goes bad.

So what the UDRS does is give breathing space to umpires, whose decision-making is not without a margin for error for they are humans, without having much impact on the game being played. Also the system gives them the liberty to loosen up a bit and the much needed confidence to take decisions instinctively, knowing fully well that if they go wrong, the DRS will come to their rescue, as opposed to the old times when there was great pressure on umpires to be absolutely sure of every decision they took, thus leaving no margin for error.

On 30^th March 2011 when India beat Pakistan in the WC semi-final, I am sure that the person who was happier than the 121 million Indians was the on-field umpire, Ian Gould. Gould had adjudged Sachin LBW and when the maestro requested for a review, the decision was overturned, much to the relief of the fans (and the umpire alike, if not more). Had there been no UDRS in place, or worse had India gone on to lose that match, I cannot imagine what Gould’s situation would have been.

I am sure that fireballs would have been thrown at him by fanatical Indian fans, the media would have vilified him as a villain and everyone, ranging from Kapil Dev to a paan-wala, would have crucified him publicly. Who knows, even effigies might have been burnt and the umpire would have been stripped of his position from the elite panel, but I might be exaggerating. What would have surely happened was that a great debate would have exploded, calling upon the ICC to address the issue of such erroneous decisions hampering the fate of a nation in a tournament as major as the World Cup. Fortunately, the DRS was on hand to prevent all this drama that night, as Sachin went on to play a match winning innings after his appeal turned successful, and the rest we know is history, for Indian went on to win the final.

What is perplexing and ironical however is how, despite this major incident that proved the DRS is a boon, the BCCI is hell-bent upon scrapping the review system and has consistently opposed it. At the end of the day, we must realise that the umpires are also human beings and they too are entitled to commit some mistakes. This is where the concept of UDRS is useful and effective, thus making it a boon to cricket.

Some critics doubt the technology being used as it is not 100% conclusive always. The inability to detect an outside edge on two occasions, one each involving VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid in the recently concluded series against England, accelerated the debate further. No doubt the technology is not perfect, but it sure has helped the rate of inaccurate decision-making come down greatly, which is a progressive sign in itself. There will always be such instances, but they would be very few and far in between.

The one thing that the ICC should do in such cases is to standardise the decision-making process. In the event of such disparities, the original decision should be upheld and no room for any discrepancy be left. In the aforementioned two cases, the original decision was upheld in the Laxman incident while in the other incident, the decision was overturned. So a standardised practice would let the debate die down, although very slowly.

Despite its perceived negatives, the UDRS has come as a breath of fresh air for umpires, and no matter how many debates erupt due to it (the Nasser Hussain – Ravi Shastri debate takes the cake here), one thing is certain; the UDRS is here to stay! Do I see umpires already smiling reading this? Probably yes!

Edited by Zico

While going through the morning newspapers, he happened to come across an article that said, “India Blue takes on India Red”. No, it wasn’t any advertisement (which the writer thought), but to his amazement, another, short but important, series was waiting for him before it leads to the India-England ODI series – “The Challenger Trophy”.

Rahul Dravid, Winner, The Challenger Trophy(2005)

A novel concept and like its previous editions, this time too it includes three teams :  India Blue to be led by Subramaniam Badrinath, India Red to be led by Gautam Gambhir and India Green to be led by Harbhajan Singh, who recently was at the helm of the proceedings for MI(Mumbai Indians) when they completed their first championship victory last night.

Over the years, the Challenger trophy has brought certain players into the limelight straightaway on a consistent basis. Whether these players capitalized on their opportunities or not is a different issue(we are not going there over here). Who can forget the ‘googly’ bowled to Sachin by Piyush Chawla when the maestro himself recommended him for a place in the national side? Robin Uthappa, Sreesanth and Venugopal Rao are amongst others who hopped into the Indian dressing room, courtesy, this very event.

Another important feature of this kind of competition is that there are no foreign participants, and thus all the focus would be solely on the local lads. Therefore, there would be no Chris Gayle who will single-handedly put his team on the finals. Neither would there be any James Franklin who will win the semi final and final for his team with both his bowling and batting efforts respectively. This would be a show conceptualized and implemented by the Indian players all the way.

With some prominent names in the line-ups of each of these three teams, it’s time for the established names to live up to their reputations, the ignored names to present their case to the National Selectors and come back into reckoning but, most importantly, for the younger or the comparatively less known brigade, especially when the national team is undergoing a transitional phase (bowlers, are you listening?), to raise their hands up by performing and let the country take notice of them.

So, all readers, make some way for the curtain raiser of ‘The Challenger Trophy’, hoping to discover useful talents. Let the show begin!