The new generation of cricket lovers may not identify David Shepard easily, but for people of my generation who started watching cricket on black and white television sets, he was clearly one of the most recognizable faces and umpires of 80s and 90s.
He along with Dicky Bird were the mainstay of cricket umpiring. Between the two of them Shepard was my favorite though..(even when it was fashionable to call Bird as best umpire ever)
I particularly remember an Indo-Pak world cup encounter where Javed Miandad was doing a monkey jump to poke Indians and Kiran More and how Shepard handled that situation really well. He was aware of Indo-Pak matches tensions and would sooth the nerves time and again making sure situations won't go out of hand. An apt Gentleman for a Gentleman's game.
He was also the umpire when Amir Sohail and Venky Prasad had a something going on on the pitch during the famous Banglore encounter of 1996 WC.
He was a thorough professional and good Englishman. And he probably would be most remembered for his 'Nelson' idiosyncrasy. As they say...'Go well Sir'
Showing posts with label cricket. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cricket. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
New Mantra
Team India coach Gary Kirsten has asked men in blue to eat, play and love to avoid fatigue and give better performances. The new 'sex mantra' by the coach is for boosting up team’s competitiveness wherein sex is a must, even if it means going solo.If I had a coach like him, I wouldn't complain :D
On a side note, Yuvi's absence is going to kill the Indians. He is the backbone. He and Sehwag not being in and Dravid (The Wall) being out in the jungle playing his "technically correct" innings, I don't see how we can go too far.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Indian Mem
Looks like the British Groom is now looking to woe Indian memsaab - The IPL
Have the tables turned or what in 61 years. Brits "moving heaven and earth" to accommodate India's product? Well what can you say? Money speaks, I guess.
In the meantime South Africa has already "proposed" to land of Gandhi.... Lez see who wins the Indian Mem finally. She for once looks gorgeously desirable.
"Once the ECB are aware of the requirements of the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) and IPL, they will move heaven and earth to try to accommodate this."
Have the tables turned or what in 61 years. Brits "moving heaven and earth" to accommodate India's product? Well what can you say? Money speaks, I guess.
In the meantime South Africa has already "proposed" to land of Gandhi.... Lez see who wins the Indian Mem finally. She for once looks gorgeously desirable.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Cricket Australia : End of an Era
I wrote this in my old blog in August of 2005, when England beat Australia in an Ashes game(something that happens only once in a blue moon)
**************
How things change in less than four years. Cricket India is truly in the saddle. SA just beat the bejesus out of Australia. Ricky Pointing has a slipping grip over his captain ship and Australia has no formidable player to replace him. Hayden just retired so did Gilchrist, Warne,McGrath in last few years.
For someone who saw the Rise and Rise of Australian cricket, this is a bitter-sweet moment. I was a great fan of their professionalism. They probably gave the world some of the best cricketing moments we ever saw. Australians brought the glamor, the life, the pace to modern day cricket (Kerry Packer and Co, a salute to you). They truly were the pioneers of the game in a lot many sense.
But as with life, it is true for cricket. No great force can sustain for ever. It happened to the mighty Windies, it has happened to Australia. For me the writing on the wall is clear - "It's official. The Australian party is over".
But for all the great entertainment provided by the Aussies (and I am sure they will continue to do so in future as they re-invent themselves) this a royal salute to a great cricketing nation. You guys, gave us Cricket like we always wanted. Fun, Fast and Hard Core.
**************
As the gutsy Australian opener Justin Langer wrote in his column in BBC.com...
[..] in the bigger scheme of things it is one of the best things that has happened in international cricket for a long time[..]
No kidding. It takes a lot of self-confidence to say so, Justin !
As a cricket lover i have seen the Australians rise from the 'ashes'. I guess it was Bob Simpson and Alan border who built that formidable Australian side of 1987 which went on to win the Reliance World Cup in India. Thereafter there was no looking back. There was of course a minor dip in Australia's fortunes when Australia failed to reach even the last four of 1992 world , which incidentally was played in Australia. Barring that brief period Australia never looked easily beatable. I guess except for South Africa under Hansie Cronje, none of the teams really stood up to Australia's professionalism on the field. Their mental toughness has been un-matched ever since.
It takes a lot of foresight and planning to build such a temperament and attitude. Bob Simpson almost redefined the way one-day cricket was played. He threw his weight behind untapped areas of fielding, physical fitness, running between the wickets and discipline.No wonder teams like Windies,Pak and India who depended largely on just the batting/bowling skills of their players started looking increasingly inadequate against the Aussies.
The Australians ooze a silent confidence with their body language. Aggression is their second name. They play hard. But all this was not procured overnight. They actually build this step by step.Remember the tied match at Chennai when Ravi Shastri almost gave us victory. That word "ALMOST" has been our bane. The same word was applicable when we "ALMOST" beat Australia in 1992 world cup; when Steve Waugh even after dropping a catch of last ball had the cools to make an accurate throw at the keeper and run the lazy Sreenath out.
But to be fair to India, we have given Australia a run for their money from time to time. Whether the famous VVS Laxman series where he turned around a lost cause into a sweet win or when Tendulkar bull dozed Waugh's team out of Sharjah's dessert storm.
The Aussies have seldom failed to live up to their reputation. They have the last two world cups in their pockets and are likely to be the favorites for 2007 with their current form.
But as like in every sport and every team the downfall of Australia will come. The West Indies seemed indomitable and unbeatable not so long ago. They were the kings and rest all the other teams competed amongst themselves to come distant second. Their domination over the game was absolute. It was complete. I always argue that Clive Lloyd's team of late 1970s and early 1980s was the best cricketing side ever.
But as with Lloyds team when the key players started retiring one by one leaving a vaccum, the same fate is likely to hit Australia. Warne and McGrath are likely to retire sooner than later and Australia might need to build a second-rung of players who will fit in their shoes. Thats easier said than done. Off course Ricky Ponting is still young and very able skipper.
I would like to see England,South Africa and West Indies build up a formidable challenge to the Asians to see a balance in cricketing world. Cricket was much better when these teams were playing well. Today somehow it has become more asian and lost some of its lustre.
****************
[..] in the bigger scheme of things it is one of the best things that has happened in international cricket for a long time[..]
No kidding. It takes a lot of self-confidence to say so, Justin !
As a cricket lover i have seen the Australians rise from the 'ashes'. I guess it was Bob Simpson and Alan border who built that formidable Australian side of 1987 which went on to win the Reliance World Cup in India. Thereafter there was no looking back. There was of course a minor dip in Australia's fortunes when Australia failed to reach even the last four of 1992 world , which incidentally was played in Australia. Barring that brief period Australia never looked easily beatable. I guess except for South Africa under Hansie Cronje, none of the teams really stood up to Australia's professionalism on the field. Their mental toughness has been un-matched ever since.
It takes a lot of foresight and planning to build such a temperament and attitude. Bob Simpson almost redefined the way one-day cricket was played. He threw his weight behind untapped areas of fielding, physical fitness, running between the wickets and discipline.No wonder teams like Windies,Pak and India who depended largely on just the batting/bowling skills of their players started looking increasingly inadequate against the Aussies.
The Australians ooze a silent confidence with their body language. Aggression is their second name. They play hard. But all this was not procured overnight. They actually build this step by step.Remember the tied match at Chennai when Ravi Shastri almost gave us victory. That word "ALMOST" has been our bane. The same word was applicable when we "ALMOST" beat Australia in 1992 world cup; when Steve Waugh even after dropping a catch of last ball had the cools to make an accurate throw at the keeper and run the lazy Sreenath out.
But to be fair to India, we have given Australia a run for their money from time to time. Whether the famous VVS Laxman series where he turned around a lost cause into a sweet win or when Tendulkar bull dozed Waugh's team out of Sharjah's dessert storm.
The Aussies have seldom failed to live up to their reputation. They have the last two world cups in their pockets and are likely to be the favorites for 2007 with their current form.
But as like in every sport and every team the downfall of Australia will come. The West Indies seemed indomitable and unbeatable not so long ago. They were the kings and rest all the other teams competed amongst themselves to come distant second. Their domination over the game was absolute. It was complete. I always argue that Clive Lloyd's team of late 1970s and early 1980s was the best cricketing side ever.
But as with Lloyds team when the key players started retiring one by one leaving a vaccum, the same fate is likely to hit Australia. Warne and McGrath are likely to retire sooner than later and Australia might need to build a second-rung of players who will fit in their shoes. Thats easier said than done. Off course Ricky Ponting is still young and very able skipper.
I would like to see England,South Africa and West Indies build up a formidable challenge to the Asians to see a balance in cricketing world. Cricket was much better when these teams were playing well. Today somehow it has become more asian and lost some of its lustre.
****************
How things change in less than four years. Cricket India is truly in the saddle. SA just beat the bejesus out of Australia. Ricky Pointing has a slipping grip over his captain ship and Australia has no formidable player to replace him. Hayden just retired so did Gilchrist, Warne,McGrath in last few years.
For someone who saw the Rise and Rise of Australian cricket, this is a bitter-sweet moment. I was a great fan of their professionalism. They probably gave the world some of the best cricketing moments we ever saw. Australians brought the glamor, the life, the pace to modern day cricket (Kerry Packer and Co, a salute to you). They truly were the pioneers of the game in a lot many sense.
But as with life, it is true for cricket. No great force can sustain for ever. It happened to the mighty Windies, it has happened to Australia. For me the writing on the wall is clear - "It's official. The Australian party is over".
But for all the great entertainment provided by the Aussies (and I am sure they will continue to do so in future as they re-invent themselves) this a royal salute to a great cricketing nation. You guys, gave us Cricket like we always wanted. Fun, Fast and Hard Core.
Monday, June 2, 2008
IPL : 3 Cheers
Debabrata Das is from Siliguri, West Bengal. If there was no IPL, we would probably have never known this guy existed. He played for Kolkata Knight Riders. By end of IPL's first season, this young man of 21 yrs from a small town in India had already made enough money to support his family for next few years.
My first cheer is for all the Debabratas and Asnodkar's and Trivedis of India who became "visible" because of this great tamasha of cricket. Rural, non-upwardly mobile class of Indians who reside in small remote towns are now seeking the same space in Indian mainstream today that was the reserve of a handful of well connected city elites. And IPL probably was successful in providing a semi matured forum for their talents.
The cash rich IPL has probably broken that first barrier. The barrier of small town-big town wall.
Dhoni, the cool captain of Indian national team had already in some way, made a dent in that wall sometime back; but with IPL that wall was official brought down.
My second cheer is for Decentralization of Power of Cricket's governing body. ICC, the once all powerful body would remotely control and wrest all powers of cricket till very recently. But post-liberalization, India became the natural cradle of world cricket owing to its large following and the center of gravity of Cricket itself shifted gradually towards the Indian sub continent. IPL was only the natural consequence to those chain of events. The club culture that was never a forte of cricket, finally found it's genesis in India. In India, that was willing to experiment, was bold enough to call out, and smart enough to sense the opportunity. An India that was for once "Ready".
My third cheer goes for the Indian crowd. Notwithstanding what Yuvi had to say for Mumbai crowd, they showed that they understood what was on the table. What was being offered to them. Mumbai was supporting Mumbai. Mohali was supporting Mohali and Chennai was supporting Chennai. Simple. So Yuvi should stop whining already. When India plays Australia, the next time in Mumbai, crowd will be backing him totally. BUT... for now let IPL be what it is. And the Indian crowd showed their maturity all over the country. They were cheering Jayasuriya when he was making a mincemeat of Ishant Sharma's bowling. They were supporting Akhtar full throttle when he got Sehwag out. Yuvi, the cricketer could not read, what Indian crowds had already learnt. Loyalties can shift and they will with IPL. So just shut the f up Yuvi.
Now for some reality check.
It is obvious that IPL was no philanthropic movement started by a big hearted BCCI. It was all about money. Sharad Pawar, Rajiv Shukla, Lalit Modi, I.S Bindra had a windfall. Let there be no doubt about it. But during the course did it help other aspects? The jury is still out, but.. yes, it helped build good stadiums, it helped poor local lads of states to rub shoulders with the greatest cricketing heroes, it helped generate a lot of buzz and employment in all franchises as more hands were required to manage. Basically the decentralization of power led to cricket's democracy becoming healthier.
If only more sports such as hockey and soccer could generate and roll such money in economy, we would be better off. We need our own NBAs and NFLs and MLBs. The combined economic clout of NBA/NFL/MLB is probably more than some countries GDP. The biggest challenge in India is to generate interest in these sports (hockey and soccer). And thats only possible if India succeeds on world stage. Not qualifying for hockey Olympics won't help.
I keenly followed IPL and so here's that inevitable list that every sports follower HAS to come up.
According to me..
The Team of the tournament : Undoubtedly Rajasthan Royals. The team that was treated as mere pushovers before the season started, proved us all that you don't need the hyper marketing of SRK or million dollar babies in your team to win. Common sense and simple cricketing sense is good enough.
The Captain of the tournament : Without doubt Dhoni. The image of Chennai team forming a huddle after the loss to Royals in a close finish is enduring. No blames pinned, no excuse furnished. That showed character. And strength.
The worst captain : Again without doubt Sachin Tendulkar. If your team is loosing three games by one run on last ball, you have issues. Your captainship has issues. You choke once- you are unlucky. You choke twice, thats pure shit.
The cry-baby of the tournament : Probably a tie between Yuvi and Ganguli. Or wait. Let's give that to Sreesanth. Sreesanth was on display after the slap-gate with Bhajji. The public sobbing of Sreesanth was lame to say the least.
Sour Loosers : SRK and Zinta. Suddenly invisible post knock out.
Find(s) of the tournament : Raina, YK Pathan, Shane Watson, Shaun Marsh, Asnodkar, Manpreet Goni, Jadeja.
My first cheer is for all the Debabratas and Asnodkar's and Trivedis of India who became "visible" because of this great tamasha of cricket. Rural, non-upwardly mobile class of Indians who reside in small remote towns are now seeking the same space in Indian mainstream today that was the reserve of a handful of well connected city elites. And IPL probably was successful in providing a semi matured forum for their talents.
The cash rich IPL has probably broken that first barrier. The barrier of small town-big town wall.
Dhoni, the cool captain of Indian national team had already in some way, made a dent in that wall sometime back; but with IPL that wall was official brought down.
My second cheer is for Decentralization of Power of Cricket's governing body. ICC, the once all powerful body would remotely control and wrest all powers of cricket till very recently. But post-liberalization, India became the natural cradle of world cricket owing to its large following and the center of gravity of Cricket itself shifted gradually towards the Indian sub continent. IPL was only the natural consequence to those chain of events. The club culture that was never a forte of cricket, finally found it's genesis in India. In India, that was willing to experiment, was bold enough to call out, and smart enough to sense the opportunity. An India that was for once "Ready".
My third cheer goes for the Indian crowd. Notwithstanding what Yuvi had to say for Mumbai crowd, they showed that they understood what was on the table. What was being offered to them. Mumbai was supporting Mumbai. Mohali was supporting Mohali and Chennai was supporting Chennai. Simple. So Yuvi should stop whining already. When India plays Australia, the next time in Mumbai, crowd will be backing him totally. BUT... for now let IPL be what it is. And the Indian crowd showed their maturity all over the country. They were cheering Jayasuriya when he was making a mincemeat of Ishant Sharma's bowling. They were supporting Akhtar full throttle when he got Sehwag out. Yuvi, the cricketer could not read, what Indian crowds had already learnt. Loyalties can shift and they will with IPL. So just shut the f up Yuvi.
Now for some reality check.
It is obvious that IPL was no philanthropic movement started by a big hearted BCCI. It was all about money. Sharad Pawar, Rajiv Shukla, Lalit Modi, I.S Bindra had a windfall. Let there be no doubt about it. But during the course did it help other aspects? The jury is still out, but.. yes, it helped build good stadiums, it helped poor local lads of states to rub shoulders with the greatest cricketing heroes, it helped generate a lot of buzz and employment in all franchises as more hands were required to manage. Basically the decentralization of power led to cricket's democracy becoming healthier.
If only more sports such as hockey and soccer could generate and roll such money in economy, we would be better off. We need our own NBAs and NFLs and MLBs. The combined economic clout of NBA/NFL/MLB is probably more than some countries GDP. The biggest challenge in India is to generate interest in these sports (hockey and soccer). And thats only possible if India succeeds on world stage. Not qualifying for hockey Olympics won't help.
I keenly followed IPL and so here's that inevitable list that every sports follower HAS to come up.
According to me..
The Team of the tournament : Undoubtedly Rajasthan Royals. The team that was treated as mere pushovers before the season started, proved us all that you don't need the hyper marketing of SRK or million dollar babies in your team to win. Common sense and simple cricketing sense is good enough.
The Captain of the tournament : Without doubt Dhoni. The image of Chennai team forming a huddle after the loss to Royals in a close finish is enduring. No blames pinned, no excuse furnished. That showed character. And strength.
The worst captain : Again without doubt Sachin Tendulkar. If your team is loosing three games by one run on last ball, you have issues. Your captainship has issues. You choke once- you are unlucky. You choke twice, thats pure shit.
The cry-baby of the tournament : Probably a tie between Yuvi and Ganguli. Or wait. Let's give that to Sreesanth. Sreesanth was on display after the slap-gate with Bhajji. The public sobbing of Sreesanth was lame to say the least.
Sour Loosers : SRK and Zinta. Suddenly invisible post knock out.
Find(s) of the tournament : Raina, YK Pathan, Shane Watson, Shaun Marsh, Asnodkar, Manpreet Goni, Jadeja.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Greatest Cricketing Moments
The success of IPL has clearly whetted my appetite for more cricket. At the cost of my wife's anger, i still keep logging into any website that can give me a small peak into IPL. Highlights, interviews etc.
Youtube has become my favourite buddy lately.
Over the weekend I started thinking what were those great cricketing moments I ever witnessed in my lifetime. And i came up with the list closest to my memory.Some of those have blurred over the past, yet somehow i think i recollect enough of them to put it out.
7. Javed Miandand last ball six of Sharma : Sharjah-1986. This moment probably ranks only a close second to Pakistan's World Cup Win of 1992, for any hard core Pakistani cricket fan. This was Pakistan's greatest six ever.
It turned Javed Miandad into a God in Pakistan and by same count, demoted Chetan Sharma to a villain who's reputation got a permanent taint in India. Sharma was permanently married to that last ball.
Never has one cricketing shot had such a reverse impact on two nations. Till that point, India and Pakistan were evenly matched. In fact India had a slight lead on a head-to-head record with Pakistan in one day-ers.
But that day in Sharjah, Javed Miandad changed Indo-Pak cricket forever. India could never really get over that shock. For almost a decade after that, the results of India Pak games became a mere formality, with Pakistan winning 8 out of 10 games and improving the head to head record, many times over.
6. Sunil Gavaskar breaking Don's record : For those who have seen Gavaskar at his peak, he was the ultimate legend. But not for my generation. I started "digging" cricket when Gavaskar's career was on a wane. He was never my favourite. But that winter morning in 1983, when Sunil Manohar Gavaskar walked in the stadium in Delhi, I along with the entire nation prayed. We prayed, that Gavasker would tame the might of Windies pace and break a 4 decade old record.
And he did. He equaled Sir Donald Bradman's record, making his 29th century. Although he broke it in far more matches than the Don; who really was counting? A nation starved of sporting heroes finally had an Indian name against the title - "Highest Test centuries".
5. Shastri wins Audi : For most of the cricketing world, India's 1983 Prudential WC win was always a "fluke". But one lanky Indian had some ideas about changing that notion. His name was Ravi Shastri - a slow left hand finger spinner who was permanently "benched" during the 1983 WC tournament. In fact the only games India lost in 1983 in England, had Shastri in playing 11. So this guy din't have much reputation to guard to start with.
But something changed in the 1985 Benson Hedges WC in Australia. Shastri was sent as an opener instead of his usual tail ender position. And Shastri was not going to leave this chance.
Shastri was from Mumbai, same city as Indian captain Gavaskar. It was rumoured that Sunny was backing his prodigy, even though Shastri was not really up to it. It turned out later, Gavaskar got it right. Shastri with calm and patient knocks would stick around the wicket as long as possible and build up a steady ground for long hauls. Those days a 200+ score was defendable. And Shastri did just that. He would stay around the wicket long enough to see India go through that psychological gate of 200.
India won the finals beating arch rivals Pakistan and Ravi Shastri was awarded the Champions of the Champions award. Apart from a lot of cash he got Audi, making it a household name and a dream car for every male in country.
4. Ajay Jadeja destroying Waqar's career : I really doubt there has been any one-day player in India whose cricketing acumen was as sharp as Ajay Jadeja's. He got dragged into the unfortunate match fixing scandal (and i think unfairly so) and a great prospect ended. Till that time though Jadeja had single handedly won more games for India, than any other. Lot of people do not realise the amount of work he had to do due to his odd rank in the batting order when Indian front order had screwed up (9 out of 10 times)
Jadeja's slaughter of Waqar Yonis at the knock off game in Bangalore in '96 WC, still remains one of my fav cricketing moments of all time. Although Sidhu was awarded the man of the match for that game, for me it was Jadeja's day.
His cameo towards the end was what ultimately became the difference between the two sides. India went from 230 odd to 280 in last 3 overs, thanks to the brutal Jadeja attack.
He single handedly broke the myth of "soft" Indians unable to take on the aggressive Pakistanis forever. Waqar's career took a downhill from that game onwards and after that loss, the Pakistani team was looking for excuses on how to not land in Pakistan.
One of the most absorbing games of cricket I have ever seen. My heart still pounds at the image of that game. The tense atmosphere, the on field controversies (Prasad-Sohail), Imran Khan's flip-flopping commentary and the pouring of entire city of Nagpur on the street's, after India's win are images as fresh in my mind as anything else. That day, India did not win world cup, yet that game had an out pouring of emotions, i have never witnessed.
3. Sachin hits Shoibh Akhtar for a six over 3rd man The rivalry was built up before the game even started. The match, India vs Pak, 2003 WC, was not only between two arch rivals, but two very fascinating cricketers. One, India's favourite son, Sachin Tendulkar, and other, a person with a reputation to destroy the opposition by his sheer speed. A very animated individual, Akhtar, could invite intense emotions both on and off the field.
It was billed as match between Sachin and Akhtar. Akhtar had got the better of Sachin in a couple of earlier meetings. People had started doubting Sachin. Was he afraid of Akhtar, was he loosing his reflexes? Inquiring minds asked.
The atmosphere was charged like hell. The entire Pakistani team in their florescent greens had blood on their tongues. Their pace attack was the envy of other teams. Akhtar, Waqar,Akram - you cannot have a better threesome in one team.
The Rawalpindi express comes roaring in. The entire crowd behind him. Sachin watches off the first 2 balls carefully. He is seeking a revenge. We know. Sachin knows. But will that moment ever come? Not till the 4th ball of the over is bowled. Sachin flashes his bat to a wide ball outside the off stump. For a fraction of a second, the entire nation's heart is in their collective mouths. Where did the ball go?
Luckily for India that day, it went past atleast 15 rows behind the 3rd man boundary.
The battle had ended in one over. Rather in one shot. "..A shot that had ended a decade of Indian inferiority against Pakistan.." said Ramchandra Guha, the famous historian. The "Express" finally knows, why Sachin is what he is. No one dares to "bill" another of these battles anymore. The genius prevails over the challenger. The express comes to a screeching halt. To rub salt to his wounds, Shoibh Akhtar is taken off the attack immediately. The ultimate insult to a paceman's ego.
Sachin wins an individual battle and the day for India.
2. India wins 20-20 WC : Pakistan need 13 runs of last over. Misbah-ul-haq, an unfancied young cricketer has brought Pakistan in sight of an improbable victory. The dashing Indian captain, Dhoni who's heralding a young and restless Indian squad, has a hard choice to make. Whom should he give the last over? Will it be one of his regular bowlers or the Haryanvi Jat, Joginder Sharma, who's balling is at best ordinary.
The chutzpah of Dhoni, he gives the ball to Joginder Sharma. Joginder Sharma's last name is same as the guy who let India down 2 decades ago against the same team. A sense of Deja vu prevails across the watchers. Will it be another Sharma, putting India's face to shame. The similarity is uncanny.
Dhoni follows his instinct. Backs up Sharma to do the job for India.
First ball, its a wide. Pressure is palpable. Second ball, a swing of the bat, but a lucky miss for India. No run scored. Still 5 balls and 12 runs needed. Sharma bowls a loose full toss. Misbah crashes it past long off boundary for a huge six. Pakistan is now precariously close to win. Dhoni walks up to his man, and calms his nerves. Dhoni's neck is on the line. If Sharma gives another six, its all over for both Dhoni and Sharma. The Indian crowd can be that unforgiving.
But destiny was not going to let India down again. India had never lost to Pakistan in a cricket world cup. India manage to retain that ONCE again. The entire nation erupts at stroke of midnight as Sreesanth takes his career's most important catch. Misbah mistimes a shot he will live to regret for ever. India win by just 5 runs. Unbelievable scenes across the globe. For me this was clearly the cricketing moment of the decade.
1. India Win Cricket World Cup'83 Anyone who has seen Kapil Dev grinning ear to ear, holding proudly the Silver cup in hand after drubbing the Mighty West Indies at the Lords balcony, cannot but call this the greatest cricketing moment India ever produced.
It was a wet day in end of June in 1983 and my first day at school after it reopened post summer vacation. I came back and joined the audience at home, trying to watch the game on a black and white TV. Thanks to the screwed up Government run Doordarshan, we were seeing the game only in installments. To add to it, the Maharashtra State Board of Electricity (MSEB) chose the exact same day to trip something and create a blackout. On no other day did the sale of transister batteries go so high as people got desperate to keep pace with Score of the match.
India had made a modest total of 183. Most had resigned to idea of Windies easily overhauling it. But there was hope and prayer. We had seen miracle happen earlier. And the emotional and religious Indians were praying every minute even when putting up a facade of being "cool" even if "we loose".
Vivian Richards, the most feared batsman in the world was crusising along easily, playing the "easy" Indian balling like he would play school kids. His confidence, his body language, his arrogance was mesmerising. But David was ready for Goliath that day. A lapse of concentration by Richards took him to loop the ball in air. Kapil Dev, the Palmolive da jat, ran almost 40 yards towards the boundary line in backward direction and took a catch that was going to change India's cricketing fortune for ever. One of the greatest catches ever witnessed.
By scalping Vivian Richards India tasted blood. This was going to be their biggest day. Their only chance to be visible. Their only ever hope of making it in the big league.
As Mohinder-deceptively-slow-Amarnath got the last wicket, that of Michael Holding, a momentous day was permanemtly etched in million memories. Thousands of bell bottom pants and big side locks and bushy hair styled desi Indians invaded the Lords pitch even as Michael Holding lay low on the ground trying hard not to sob.
The Devils had given Indian cricket fans the greatest gift they could ever imagine. A lump went to the throat of my mother as she saw Kapil Dev holding that trophy. Truely the greatest cricketing moment.
Youtube has become my favourite buddy lately.
Over the weekend I started thinking what were those great cricketing moments I ever witnessed in my lifetime. And i came up with the list closest to my memory.Some of those have blurred over the past, yet somehow i think i recollect enough of them to put it out.
7. Javed Miandand last ball six of Sharma : Sharjah-1986. This moment probably ranks only a close second to Pakistan's World Cup Win of 1992, for any hard core Pakistani cricket fan. This was Pakistan's greatest six ever.
It turned Javed Miandad into a God in Pakistan and by same count, demoted Chetan Sharma to a villain who's reputation got a permanent taint in India. Sharma was permanently married to that last ball.
Never has one cricketing shot had such a reverse impact on two nations. Till that point, India and Pakistan were evenly matched. In fact India had a slight lead on a head-to-head record with Pakistan in one day-ers.
But that day in Sharjah, Javed Miandad changed Indo-Pak cricket forever. India could never really get over that shock. For almost a decade after that, the results of India Pak games became a mere formality, with Pakistan winning 8 out of 10 games and improving the head to head record, many times over.
6. Sunil Gavaskar breaking Don's record : For those who have seen Gavaskar at his peak, he was the ultimate legend. But not for my generation. I started "digging" cricket when Gavaskar's career was on a wane. He was never my favourite. But that winter morning in 1983, when Sunil Manohar Gavaskar walked in the stadium in Delhi, I along with the entire nation prayed. We prayed, that Gavasker would tame the might of Windies pace and break a 4 decade old record.
And he did. He equaled Sir Donald Bradman's record, making his 29th century. Although he broke it in far more matches than the Don; who really was counting? A nation starved of sporting heroes finally had an Indian name against the title - "Highest Test centuries".
5. Shastri wins Audi : For most of the cricketing world, India's 1983 Prudential WC win was always a "fluke". But one lanky Indian had some ideas about changing that notion. His name was Ravi Shastri - a slow left hand finger spinner who was permanently "benched" during the 1983 WC tournament. In fact the only games India lost in 1983 in England, had Shastri in playing 11. So this guy din't have much reputation to guard to start with.
But something changed in the 1985 Benson Hedges WC in Australia. Shastri was sent as an opener instead of his usual tail ender position. And Shastri was not going to leave this chance.
Shastri was from Mumbai, same city as Indian captain Gavaskar. It was rumoured that Sunny was backing his prodigy, even though Shastri was not really up to it. It turned out later, Gavaskar got it right. Shastri with calm and patient knocks would stick around the wicket as long as possible and build up a steady ground for long hauls. Those days a 200+ score was defendable. And Shastri did just that. He would stay around the wicket long enough to see India go through that psychological gate of 200.
India won the finals beating arch rivals Pakistan and Ravi Shastri was awarded the Champions of the Champions award. Apart from a lot of cash he got Audi, making it a household name and a dream car for every male in country.
4. Ajay Jadeja destroying Waqar's career : I really doubt there has been any one-day player in India whose cricketing acumen was as sharp as Ajay Jadeja's. He got dragged into the unfortunate match fixing scandal (and i think unfairly so) and a great prospect ended. Till that time though Jadeja had single handedly won more games for India, than any other. Lot of people do not realise the amount of work he had to do due to his odd rank in the batting order when Indian front order had screwed up (9 out of 10 times)
Jadeja's slaughter of Waqar Yonis at the knock off game in Bangalore in '96 WC, still remains one of my fav cricketing moments of all time. Although Sidhu was awarded the man of the match for that game, for me it was Jadeja's day.
His cameo towards the end was what ultimately became the difference between the two sides. India went from 230 odd to 280 in last 3 overs, thanks to the brutal Jadeja attack.
He single handedly broke the myth of "soft" Indians unable to take on the aggressive Pakistanis forever. Waqar's career took a downhill from that game onwards and after that loss, the Pakistani team was looking for excuses on how to not land in Pakistan.
One of the most absorbing games of cricket I have ever seen. My heart still pounds at the image of that game. The tense atmosphere, the on field controversies (Prasad-Sohail), Imran Khan's flip-flopping commentary and the pouring of entire city of Nagpur on the street's, after India's win are images as fresh in my mind as anything else. That day, India did not win world cup, yet that game had an out pouring of emotions, i have never witnessed.
3. Sachin hits Shoibh Akhtar for a six over 3rd man The rivalry was built up before the game even started. The match, India vs Pak, 2003 WC, was not only between two arch rivals, but two very fascinating cricketers. One, India's favourite son, Sachin Tendulkar, and other, a person with a reputation to destroy the opposition by his sheer speed. A very animated individual, Akhtar, could invite intense emotions both on and off the field.
It was billed as match between Sachin and Akhtar. Akhtar had got the better of Sachin in a couple of earlier meetings. People had started doubting Sachin. Was he afraid of Akhtar, was he loosing his reflexes? Inquiring minds asked.
The atmosphere was charged like hell. The entire Pakistani team in their florescent greens had blood on their tongues. Their pace attack was the envy of other teams. Akhtar, Waqar,Akram - you cannot have a better threesome in one team.
The Rawalpindi express comes roaring in. The entire crowd behind him. Sachin watches off the first 2 balls carefully. He is seeking a revenge. We know. Sachin knows. But will that moment ever come? Not till the 4th ball of the over is bowled. Sachin flashes his bat to a wide ball outside the off stump. For a fraction of a second, the entire nation's heart is in their collective mouths. Where did the ball go?
Luckily for India that day, it went past atleast 15 rows behind the 3rd man boundary.
The battle had ended in one over. Rather in one shot. "..A shot that had ended a decade of Indian inferiority against Pakistan.." said Ramchandra Guha, the famous historian. The "Express" finally knows, why Sachin is what he is. No one dares to "bill" another of these battles anymore. The genius prevails over the challenger. The express comes to a screeching halt. To rub salt to his wounds, Shoibh Akhtar is taken off the attack immediately. The ultimate insult to a paceman's ego.
Sachin wins an individual battle and the day for India.
2. India wins 20-20 WC : Pakistan need 13 runs of last over. Misbah-ul-haq, an unfancied young cricketer has brought Pakistan in sight of an improbable victory. The dashing Indian captain, Dhoni who's heralding a young and restless Indian squad, has a hard choice to make. Whom should he give the last over? Will it be one of his regular bowlers or the Haryanvi Jat, Joginder Sharma, who's balling is at best ordinary.
The chutzpah of Dhoni, he gives the ball to Joginder Sharma. Joginder Sharma's last name is same as the guy who let India down 2 decades ago against the same team. A sense of Deja vu prevails across the watchers. Will it be another Sharma, putting India's face to shame. The similarity is uncanny.
Dhoni follows his instinct. Backs up Sharma to do the job for India.
First ball, its a wide. Pressure is palpable. Second ball, a swing of the bat, but a lucky miss for India. No run scored. Still 5 balls and 12 runs needed. Sharma bowls a loose full toss. Misbah crashes it past long off boundary for a huge six. Pakistan is now precariously close to win. Dhoni walks up to his man, and calms his nerves. Dhoni's neck is on the line. If Sharma gives another six, its all over for both Dhoni and Sharma. The Indian crowd can be that unforgiving.
But destiny was not going to let India down again. India had never lost to Pakistan in a cricket world cup. India manage to retain that ONCE again. The entire nation erupts at stroke of midnight as Sreesanth takes his career's most important catch. Misbah mistimes a shot he will live to regret for ever. India win by just 5 runs. Unbelievable scenes across the globe. For me this was clearly the cricketing moment of the decade.
1. India Win Cricket World Cup'83 Anyone who has seen Kapil Dev grinning ear to ear, holding proudly the Silver cup in hand after drubbing the Mighty West Indies at the Lords balcony, cannot but call this the greatest cricketing moment India ever produced.
It was a wet day in end of June in 1983 and my first day at school after it reopened post summer vacation. I came back and joined the audience at home, trying to watch the game on a black and white TV. Thanks to the screwed up Government run Doordarshan, we were seeing the game only in installments. To add to it, the Maharashtra State Board of Electricity (MSEB) chose the exact same day to trip something and create a blackout. On no other day did the sale of transister batteries go so high as people got desperate to keep pace with Score of the match.
India had made a modest total of 183. Most had resigned to idea of Windies easily overhauling it. But there was hope and prayer. We had seen miracle happen earlier. And the emotional and religious Indians were praying every minute even when putting up a facade of being "cool" even if "we loose".
Vivian Richards, the most feared batsman in the world was crusising along easily, playing the "easy" Indian balling like he would play school kids. His confidence, his body language, his arrogance was mesmerising. But David was ready for Goliath that day. A lapse of concentration by Richards took him to loop the ball in air. Kapil Dev, the Palmolive da jat, ran almost 40 yards towards the boundary line in backward direction and took a catch that was going to change India's cricketing fortune for ever. One of the greatest catches ever witnessed.
By scalping Vivian Richards India tasted blood. This was going to be their biggest day. Their only chance to be visible. Their only ever hope of making it in the big league.
As Mohinder-deceptively-slow-Amarnath got the last wicket, that of Michael Holding, a momentous day was permanemtly etched in million memories. Thousands of bell bottom pants and big side locks and bushy hair styled desi Indians invaded the Lords pitch even as Michael Holding lay low on the ground trying hard not to sob.
The Devils had given Indian cricket fans the greatest gift they could ever imagine. A lump went to the throat of my mother as she saw Kapil Dev holding that trophy. Truely the greatest cricketing moment.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Well said, Ian Botham!
I wasn't really surprised when i read in passing that a stink was raised over cheerleaders at the ongoing IPL tamasha. I thought it was the usual suspects. The Shiv Senas and the much reviled Hindu moral police. But no. I was actually surprised that the hue was raised by our very own Congress party's minister in Maharashtra. And my shock knew no bounds when a Leftist minister Subash Chakravorty of West Bengal continued with this cry.
I was like boy, have the tables turned of what? Role reversal anyone? Is it a plan to have Shiv Sena out of business by hijacking issues close to "their" hearts :). Since when did the "open-minded" Leftists and Congressmen start moral policing? I thought they were the "cool" dudes of India's politics.
Anyways, jokes aside, all this cheerleading BS needs to be seen in a perspective. While politicians may be having their own agenda at opposing it, Ian Botham (the ultimate cricket Casanova) has made some valid points at an article in cricinfo.
In our pursuit of blindly copying USA, we tend to go overboard. Ian Botham has rightly asked for balance between entertainment and the game itself.
While NFL has achieved humongous success in USA, we still talk of the "game" itself. Of course it is glamorized by cheer leaders and rock stars during Super Bowl interval. But thats not all that is to it. And the IPL organizers would do good to note that. In copying NFL or USA in general, they should also see how regulations and checks and balances have been put in place.
By the time IPL's first tournament ends, it may have changed cricket for ever. It is too soon to say what's going to happen. On the face, it seems to have captured the imagination of people in general. The fast food version of the game is here to stay. It would be interesting to see if England, SA and Aussies have their own clubs and there is some merging after say 5 years down the line. Only time will tell.
In any case IPL has got it's timing right. Kerry Packer almost got it right 3 decades back. But the (cricketing) world was not yet ready for it. The infrastructure, the media, the speed was not quite up there. It seems like all forces have to come together to have a fully baked dish ready.
And IPL has seized that moment. It is fair to say, IPL's rebel ICL was a damp squid. It was a non starter and the likes of Brian Lara and Inzy would be kicking their own sad asses to have gone that way. It's a shame that Zee, the org that originally came up with idea, has not much to show for it's success. In today's world, it is success if it is visible, if it is tangible. Zee, just couldn't grab enough eyeballs.
Botham makes another very important point. That of T20 being all about batsman-ship. This is sad. Every one likes to see sixes and fours galore. But in my humble opinion, one of the greatest sites of crickets is when an Akhtar or a Brett Lee comes at full MoFo pace and cartels a batman's furniture. Or when a Shane Warne or Murli make a hapless victim of a dancing batman. Cricket's center of gravity is moving away from bowlers. It may sound sexy in short term, but long term we may end up belittling the game itself. We need bouncy, green pitches so that the games can be fair play grounds for bowlers and batsman alike. Of my list of all time greats, I have more bowlers than batsmen. So may be it is my personal bias here.
IPL has now started with all the reality show like drama (Sounds oxymoron isn't it) with the slap-gate and Bhajji ban in offing. Hope this does not turn into one of those Saas Bahu sagas. It would then be named KKPL.
I was like boy, have the tables turned of what? Role reversal anyone? Is it a plan to have Shiv Sena out of business by hijacking issues close to "their" hearts :). Since when did the "open-minded" Leftists and Congressmen start moral policing? I thought they were the "cool" dudes of India's politics.
Anyways, jokes aside, all this cheerleading BS needs to be seen in a perspective. While politicians may be having their own agenda at opposing it, Ian Botham (the ultimate cricket Casanova) has made some valid points at an article in cricinfo.
In our pursuit of blindly copying USA, we tend to go overboard. Ian Botham has rightly asked for balance between entertainment and the game itself.
While NFL has achieved humongous success in USA, we still talk of the "game" itself. Of course it is glamorized by cheer leaders and rock stars during Super Bowl interval. But thats not all that is to it. And the IPL organizers would do good to note that. In copying NFL or USA in general, they should also see how regulations and checks and balances have been put in place.
By the time IPL's first tournament ends, it may have changed cricket for ever. It is too soon to say what's going to happen. On the face, it seems to have captured the imagination of people in general. The fast food version of the game is here to stay. It would be interesting to see if England, SA and Aussies have their own clubs and there is some merging after say 5 years down the line. Only time will tell.
In any case IPL has got it's timing right. Kerry Packer almost got it right 3 decades back. But the (cricketing) world was not yet ready for it. The infrastructure, the media, the speed was not quite up there. It seems like all forces have to come together to have a fully baked dish ready.
And IPL has seized that moment. It is fair to say, IPL's rebel ICL was a damp squid. It was a non starter and the likes of Brian Lara and Inzy would be kicking their own sad asses to have gone that way. It's a shame that Zee, the org that originally came up with idea, has not much to show for it's success. In today's world, it is success if it is visible, if it is tangible. Zee, just couldn't grab enough eyeballs.
Botham makes another very important point. That of T20 being all about batsman-ship. This is sad. Every one likes to see sixes and fours galore. But in my humble opinion, one of the greatest sites of crickets is when an Akhtar or a Brett Lee comes at full MoFo pace and cartels a batman's furniture. Or when a Shane Warne or Murli make a hapless victim of a dancing batman. Cricket's center of gravity is moving away from bowlers. It may sound sexy in short term, but long term we may end up belittling the game itself. We need bouncy, green pitches so that the games can be fair play grounds for bowlers and batsman alike. Of my list of all time greats, I have more bowlers than batsmen. So may be it is my personal bias here.
IPL has now started with all the reality show like drama (Sounds oxymoron isn't it) with the slap-gate and Bhajji ban in offing. Hope this does not turn into one of those Saas Bahu sagas. It would then be named KKPL.
Friday, March 28, 2008
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