Cricket: The Game

A wonderful cricketing season is now over where we saw Australia start the slide after a peak of decade in test cricket and emergence of England and India as the top test teams, where we saw NZ reach nadir until they finally maanged to beat Pakistan in the ODI - Pakistan, who have looked very Pakistani, if I can say so, in the last year that they played - miraculously brilliant and plain horrid in equal parts.

What a busy the season it was, but I want to comment now how delightful the game is, and how it continues to give us the joy and keep the child in us alive.

Hearing different commentrators, journos and critics talk of technicalities of the game, in terms of pitch, angle of bat, footwork, run-up etc always enlightens a layman like me. But the one word that I am confused hearing and reading often about the game is that it is a team-game.

Is it really a team game?
To me, it always is a battle between two individuals.
Two individuals out there in the sun, fighting it out against each other and more importantly against the demons in their own mind.

The first one is the one who takes the ball in his hands, checks it out for its shape and shine, shines the side as required as he walks to his run up already thinking in his mind the various ways / ploys that he should use to bowl the ball at the other individual, reaches the end of his run up, decides in his mind on the line, length and speed he will use for this ball and starts his run up to get into the rythm required before he lands his foot exactly where required simultaneously turning his arm over, keeping his eyes on the spot where he wants the ball to land and releasing the ball using arm, elbow, wrist and fingers depending upon the type of the bowler he is, but always using his mind irrespective of the bowler he is and then bowls the ball with all his skill, may it be pace or spin or swing or action or sometimes sounds...the ball races to the other end...

The other end, where the other guy is patiently waiting, waiting with a bat firmly in his hand, waiting as he sees the bowler start his run up to the point that he bowls the ball. This batsman, all along has also calculated different ways, speeds and heights the ball will come to him and he has played different strokes to each of them in his mind. He is the one who requires more skill because he has to react. The bowler controls his action and it is upto him to complete it the way he can. But the batsman is not so lucky and he has to react to bowler's action. In a fraction. Fraction of second when the ball hits the ground before jumping on to him and in that fraction he needs to implement one of the plans that he had played in his mind while being patient. While his mind was playing the game, his hands were busy gripping the bat exactly as necessary, his eyes were focussing on the ball in bowler's hand and his feet were readying for the stance. And when the ball hits the ball, he has to think of where on the bat is the ball touching and what angle/force of the shot he should play.

And as he reacts, there is this sudden realization to both batsman and bowler that there are 11 others waiting in the same ground, wearing the same whites, playing in the same match. This contest then is extrapolated to the fielders and the rest of the team.

But essentially, it is a contest between the batsman and the bowler. Two individuals. Every individual playing his game against the other one. It is a one-to-one match, just like in boxing or chess.

And we are mere mortals who soak in the joy given by these immensely talented and gifted individuals, each playing against his own demons and for his own reasons.

Take a bow, gentlemen.

A post on Sachin Tendulkar

After a majestic and a maiden ODI double ton of Sachin, my friend Abhijit asked me to write a post on Sachin and told me that it should be my best post!

I gave it a thought and shrugged thinking all that needs to be said about the great man has already been said, all the possible adjectives have been consumed and he has been called "The God"a zillion times already. What else can I write about HIM?

Then I thought about the innings that he played on 24th Feb 2010. It was as fluent as any of his great innings with the shots flying everywhere. There was nothing different about this inning.

But then here was a man as old as me but playing on the field for over last 20 years, having endured physical and mental duress, slumps in form, surgeries on body parts, faced criticism and yet never quit. There were many others who were supposed to be as special as him if not better who quit the game long time back in their careers but this man has kept his flame for the game going. With such a determination and focus to play cricket, and the hunger for runs like a black hole in the universe, he has ensured that his body is keeping up with his mental strength.

This man has been out in the most ridiculous ways to most average bowlers in his lowest form and has answered his critics who have asked whether his time is up time and again with his bat. This man is a legend. They dont make them like him anymore. He has inspired many and united the Indians and even adversaries together. He has achieved what national leaders could not. He has scaled peaks after peaks. He has provided joy to millions the world over. And yet he remains humblest .

To me, his desire and love for cricket, his never-say-die spirit and his humility make this short man stand tallest in the world of cricket!

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar - Take a bow and Thank You!

Twitter

I am more active here now: http://twitter.com/BadaBheem

Test Cricket

Ah! Does it get any better than this?

A nail-biting draw achieved by England in SA when the cricket lovers world over held their breath...Onions surviving the last over especially the caught behind appeal on the penultimate delivery...

Australia snatching a brilliant victory from the jaws of defeat against the irrepressible Pakistan... Hussey and Hauritz scripting an unlikely victory...Hauritz doing a Kumble, but for a winning cause by bowling with a bandaged finger...

Simply Superb!It just doesnt get better than this...

Give me this any day over the T20 or ODI World Cup!

India No 1 Test Side?

Updates at the bottom of the post

Yes, ICC will say tomorrow.

For me, I am not really convinced they are.

I think all the top 6 teams in international cricket are more or less of the same calibre and Aussies and SA are a notch higher simply because they have been more consistent than the other teams including India.

Here is the supporting to my argument:

1) If we were really no 1, the other batsmen after Sehwag would have tried to continue the momentum that Veeru had given and decimated the Lankans. Instead, we had the typical conservative India trying to bat with a run-rate of 2-3 with the exception being only MSD who played big hits probably because he was batting with the last man and had no other options but to hit big in order to complete his century (I am not saying he was being selfish, but it did serve both purposes)

2) Second is a more stronger argument, and that is the way Indians bowled on the day 4 of the test (today) and managed only 6 wickets with the strong Sangakkara providing a stubborn and spirited resistance(Superb!). Only 6 wickets? The number one team in the world would have definitely finished the Lankan innings today. Attack would and should have been the only thing in MSD's mind while pressing for the win. Instead we saw a mixed field settings and a patchy performance in bowling. I am not impressed.

This cannot be number 1 team in the world.

Sorry.

Update: India swiftly finished it on Day 5 in true style of a Number 1 side. That's more like it. Zak was super as he is when on a song. One hopes that they continue on the same lines and show some consistency for me to start believing that they are indeed number 1.

Virendra Sehwag

Virendra Sehwag always bats like a king...today he was an emperor! He demolished SL attack at will for the whole day to budgeon 284 NO!

With Veeru, cricket is never boring...he is always in some kind of hurry . Plays for the joy of it, nothing less and nothing more. Reminds me of Lance Klusner who played for the joy, victory or defeat can go for a walk, who cares.

Veeru keeps it simple, in his own words "I play ball by ball, throw me a bad ball, I will hit"... and we like it, oh yes we do! One cant feel sorry for the bowlers who just wait for the storm called Sehwag to pass, unable to do anything to control it. He has no qualms about the requirements, no strategic thinking, no thinking caps, no pressure of any expectations, and absolutely no nervous nineties or one hundred nineties or two hundred nineties !!!!!!!!

Yes, he is the same man who was woefully out of form a couple of years ago and who looks funny at times for lack of technique. For all the intelligence of BCCI selection committees, sense prevailed and they kept picking him despite some outcry and has he rewarded them?

Sehwag's interview which I read on cricinfo through Prem Panicker's blog was a sheer delight to read. WIll post a link over here whenever I get time.

What a man! Take a bow, Veeru! Thank you for providing us with the joy of watching cricket and for enthusing life in test cricket for when you bat, the result is bound to be there.

Image courtesy: Cricinfo

SL in India

2 tests down and 1 more to go... here are my thoughts...
Gautam Gambhir is slated to become one of the best Indian batsmen
Sehwag is a treasure to have in the team as he can set up the most improbable of victories and fail without caring a damn
Sachin still has a lot of cricket left in him
India in Tests needs Rahul Wall Dravid, VVS Laxman
Bhajji needs to be chucked out of the team NOW
Spinners Pragyan and Amit need to be given the confidence, freedom and motivation to bowl only to take wickets
Dhoni is doing well...
How the same Mendis who mesmerized Indians on SL soil can fail in India?
I think the Brabourne match is going to be tough without Gauti in Indian team....
The same old conclusion is that India always do well in Indian pitches and Indians look better cricketers when they play in India...

On the other side,

Excellent cricket happening between NZ and Pak - Superb bowling and fighting cricket
Dream Debut for the West Indian Barath who gave Aussies a wonderful Challenge