Cricket Tournaments

What do you remember when we talk about the 1980s and 1990s in Indian cricket? Indians being the   underdogs cruised to a phenomenal victory over the mighty West Indians to lift the world cup. Emergence of some exceptional cricketers like Amarnath, Kapil Dev, it all happened in 1980s. Gavaskar’s excellent strides against the fast and fierce West Indian bowlers like no-one could ever do! 1990s saw some outstanding cricketers in action, from the likes of Sachin Tendulkar to Rahul Dravid to Anil Kumble to Sourav Ganguly.

But, these excellent years did have something to regret about in Indian cricket. Match-fixing sagas were the most disappointing ones among them. Playing against your own country even after being in the squad is one of the worst things you could ever do. Why would you ever do that? How could your conscience ever let you do that? How could you ever sell your own country? The thought just amuses me.

Indians were extremely confident about playing in India but when it came to pitches abroad they would falter. Basically India didn’t have proper technique to counter the pitches abroad, especially the ones outside the subcontinent.

But life isn’t always about what you need, it’s sometimes about what happens. And as said, everything happens for a reason.  Whatever happened was for a reason, and the reason was pretty awesome. This gave India the need to get in some-one who could actually coach them in a way to play against the teams in their own den.

Its been a decade since the resurgence in Indian cricket started. With John Wright’s inclusion to the team, it was time to adopt dome international standards and techniques. His being a unique style of coaching, it didn’t go down well with the Indian players in the beginning. But his ability to adapt and understand the Indian political situations in cricket well and creating strategies considering the Indian cricketer’s mindsets help made the perfect start for an excellent decade. His partnership with Saurav Ganguly as a captain was outstanding and they together paved the way for many more youngsters.

Their partnership was the reason to why we have such exceptional and mature cricketers like VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Virendra Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and many more in our arsenal. He set a base, a foundation for Indian cricket. Some exceptional wins, he led India to the final of the World cup. And the credit has to be given to him. But statistics doesn’t matter as much as they way he has taught Indians how to play cricket in the right manner. Some motivational tips, the team huddle and there you go play cricket in the right way, in the right spirit on the ground. That’s what he taught them the best, apart from coaching them how to play cricket.

But his era was cut short due to loss of form of Saurav Ganguly and other cricketers, including Sachin Tendulkar. Though his tenure ended abruptly, but a job well done! But what matters is that the way he still advises the young boys and feels proud about the Indian cricket.

But what came next, was completely out of imagination. Greg Chappel’s spell with Indian cricket was one of the most horrendous experiences ever to be believed.  A supremely dominating, dictating and tyrannizing coaches I’ve ever seen. I agree these are harsh words, but all he’s done is worse to the Indian cricket.

Removing Ganguly from the team, marking an almost end to his exceptional career he never could have done worse. Ego problems always create bigger problems. I agree Ganguly had to be shown the right way, but not with the harshest solution. It still shows how much hatred he inflicted in the hearts of Indian cricketers, as no-one still has no words for him and as his name comes, they just say ‘Pass on please’.

Though an exceptional cricketer, his tactics never went down well with the Indians, as the way his tactics didn’t go well with the world in his playing days when he was captaining Australia. Asking his brother, Trevor to bowl the ball as if they were playing in a school playground, was one of the most disgraceful moments in the world of cricket. Even his brother, Ian Chappel doesn’t acknowledge it.

As his term was over, Gary Kirsten took his place. One of the most media-shy coaches, he never went in front of the media except when he left. He understood every player’s mentality and the way to deal with them. A cricketing brain, he was exceptional with whatever he did.

With M.S.Dhoni he had forged a partnership which was worth to watch. Winning the World Cup after 28 years, they together with the team got smiles on the millions of Indians all around the world. He was like John Wright in many ways. But where Wright laid the foundation, Kirsten was the man to lead the team forward.

He was a coach, a friend, a supporter everything you needed at that point of time. His coaching style was different and how! After winning the cup, he was carried on the shoulders by the young guns like the way he carried the team during his tenure. Creating a place in the heart of these millions of people is not easy, and he’s done the impossible. He has got himself the respect which he deserves. Cannot be forgotten that soon.

With him leaving the post, his post has been taken over by Duncan Fletcher. Looks like a media-shy person like Gary Kirsten, hopefully he’ll continue from where Gary Kirsten left and very well, indeed.

Suresh Raina & Darren Sammy

India already reached West Indies a couple of days back but the hype around it isn’t the same as the expectations. Shocked, right? West Indies team has gone from being the example of dominance to being casted as the side easy to beat.

West Indies – India matches have always been one to look forward to. West Indies dominated world cricket for almost more than a decade during the late seventies and early eighties until India defeated them in the final of world cup in 1983. An unbeatable side, West Indies beaten by an underdog in the final of a world cup was an unimaginable but a sight to look at and a splendid clash anticipated in the upcoming years.

Except for Sunil Gavaskar, who played well above the expectations when it came to playing against West Indies playing splendid cover shots and hooks, the West Indian pacemen which included legends like Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner, Michael Holding and many others demoralized the Indian batting line-ups along with Amarnath who was an exceptional player of pace. Brain Lara’s comparisons with Sachin Tendulkar were nothing but comparisons between two players filled with talent and idiosyncrasies which drove them to practice all day long to become what they are. Sir Vivian Richard can never be count out whether whichever is the country playing against him.

Though this clash went on faltering and never could live upto its expectations as it went by, as the West Indian side kept on losing its dominance. They went from riches to rags by the time the 20^th century started. And with Lara’s retirement and West Indies not producing enough fast-paced battery that can actually inflict fear in the minds of people, the matches between hasn’t been able to create much excitement in the second half of the last decade atleast.

On top of that, West Indies Cricket Boards (WICB) hasn’t been able to work well. Their constant fights with WIPA and consistently not being to be able to take proper decisions & get in players who would be able to change the phase of cricket in country. Them being clueless about how to take the game forward in the country and trying new approaches like youngsters being the core part of the team by axing the senior players, led to the destruction of the team. Axing players like Shivnaraine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan & row of fights over club v/s country with Chris Gayle have had a major impact on the game of cricket in the country.

While West Indies was one of the major concern and a team to defeat, time hasn’t remained the same since years. Even most of the Indian senior players have decided to opt out of the squad to tour West Indies even though it’s just for the ODIs. All the senior players including Sachin Tendulkar, Dhoni and India’s pace spearhead Zaheer Khan. Though I don’t blame these players for missing the tours as it has been extremely tight schedule, as they’ve had back to back tours including the South African series, WORLD CUP and IPL and even the fact that it’s good to give the youngsters international exposure atleast in front of weaker teams.

Though the West Indian side does look like a struggling side but with cricket, uncertainties are always possible. But West Indian side do show some promises with the names of Darren Bravo who certainly just look like a re-incarnation of Brain Lara. Along with him are Darren Sammy and Devendra Bishoo too looking quite promising. But with Chris Gayle’s ouster, who has been in top form in the just concluded IPL, from the 1^st two ODIs atleast, it would have been a decision tough to make.

Indians are geared up too for the series with Suresh Raina leading up front. West Indies team would be approaching this series to be played basically for pride because of the way senior international players have approached the series against them along with an opportunity for youngsters to step up and take the responsibility. However, for Indians it is basically an opportunity to test their pool of players. A clash between the depleted Indian side and a struggling West Indian side, it’s going to be a treat to watch.

On the day of the summer equinox, two outstanding matches of different formats were held in the 90s. Pakistan played co-hosts New Zealand in Auckland in the 1992 World Cup semi final and India played Australia in Kolkata in a Test match in 1998.

In 1992, New Zealand under Martin Crowe’s innovative leadership, were one of the favourites to win the World Cup. They had to face Pakistan, whose form was lop-sided. The Kiwis won the toss and elected to bat first on a sunny day in Auckland. Crowe himself played a blinder of a knock, a perfect captain’s innings of 91 runs off just 83 balls to lead New Zealand to a competitive total of 262 in 50 overs. It was a tough ask for Pakistan and there were staring down the barrel at 140/4, until the young and burly Inzamam ul Haq decided to make the game his own. He alongside the experienced Javed Miandad struck a 87-run 5th wicket partnership to guide Pakistan home with one over to spare. Inzamam ended with 60 runs off 37 balls, unbeaten in the end. With this, Pakistan got an opportunity to win a World Cup for the first time and this was the beginning of Inzamam’s rise as one of the greats in world cricket.

Six years later, Australia toured India for a 3-Test series. India won the first Test at Chennai and today was the second Test at Kolkata. Australia were never in the game at 1/2 in the first innings, and India won by an innings and 219 runs. Mohd. Azharuddin, the Indian skipper scored a masterclass 163 not out on the way towards the team total reaching 633/5 declared. As a result, India won the series 2-0 and perhaps for the first time, Shane Warne was manhandled in a Test series.

Also on this day, Sunil Gavaskar scored the first Test century of his career against West Indies in Guyana, which led the way to a historic 1-0 series win for India in 1971. He scored 774 runs in the series, the highest aggregate by a batsman in his debut series. And also this paved the road for him to score a record 34 Test hundreds, which was broken fittingly by his ‘successor’, Sachin Tendulkar in December 2005.

Donald Bradman

Want to be a great batsman: Make sure you are not TALL

What distinguishes the good and the great batsmen from each other?

Hours of concentration, determination, hard work and technique.  If one ever needed proof that good things do come in small packages we don’t have to look beyond the cricketing circle. The following statistic proves the above:

These men are not just here proving a point; they have crossed the periphery of greatness. At least 7 out of the 8 batsmen mentioned above featuring in the Top 8 run getters in the world be it in the test or one day format. The only one missing out being Sir Donald Bradman but, who can ever question the greatness of THE “DON”.

What is it with these batsmen? Are they able to pick length better or is it just pure co-incidence. Are the good length balls to short for them? It is important for every bowler to change their length depending on the height and the manner in which a batsman plays. What’s the problem here? Perhaps, the bowlers have just not adapted to these “kind” of batsmen.

Is the recipe to being a great batsman being short? Perhaps, one of the shorties could tell.

Indeed, good things do come in SMALL packages.

With the series level at 1-1, India and Sri Lanka will have plenty at stake as they lock horns at Cuttack. Whoever clinches the game will become favourites to win the series, as the other side will have to come out victorious in the final two games to end on top, a rather improbable proposition if you go by history. For one, Sri Lanka will go into the match believing they can upset the Indian applecart once again. This after their magnificent chases in both the games played so far. India may have won the Rajkot battle, but it was undoubtedly Lanka who won more hearts, coming tantalizingly close, chasing over 400.

While the Indian batting has been in awesome form, they still need to figure out a way to utilize the powerplays when Virender Sehwag falls early, like it happened in Nagpur. India clearly lost out on a few runs because of his dismissal, which made a huge difference in the end. And though Virat Kohli did a good job coming up the order, Sunil Gavaskar’s suggestion that MS Dhoni should come up at number three in such situations must be implemented. This is only in hindsight, but it’s a point to ponder upon that had Dhoni come in earlier India could have notched up a bigger total, which could have made a significant difference.

Sadly for the Indians, this strategy cannot be implemented in the next two games as the Indian captain has been banned for the team’s slow-over rate. It goes without saying that Dhoni’s services as batsman, keeper as well as skipper will be missed dearly. However, there is no point in losing sleep over it. The Indians must instead focus on how to get their act right at Cuttack. For a start, Dinesh Karthik is not a bad replacement for Dhoni as keeper batsman. He has been in such situations before and has more often than not done a commendable job. India would be hoping Karthik delivers in the next two games as well.

In Dhoni’s absence, Sehwag will take over the mantle of captaincy. India will be hoping that the additional pressure doesn’t affect his batsmanship. The one positive for India might be the inclusion of Yuvraj Singh, which should definitely shore up the batting order in Dhoni’s absence. However, they have bigger worries to sort out, none more than their bowling in the first half of their innings and their so oft mentioned atrocious fielding efforts. While Zaheer Khan’s lapses in the field weren’t entirely responsible for India’s loss at Nagpur, they were symptomatic of the team’s performance in the field, which has been ragged from the time Lanka arrived in India.

The visitors themselves have a few problems of their own. After Muttiah Muralitharan and Dilhara Fernando, their Man Friday Angelo Mathews will now miss the remainder of the series following the injury he picked up during his match-winning knock at Nagpur. Their middle-order too needs to bat with a lot more responsibility so that the efforts of the top three – Tharanga, Dilshan and Sangakkara – don’t go in vain. All in all, yet another closely fought contest in the offing.