Viru se takkar ?



28th July 2008, The telegraph, Kolkata. Sunil Gavaskar wrote (I'd been looking for a link for the better part of an evening, in vain, so I took a shot and put it up) :

(Last time India batted out the last two days of a Test match to avoid defeat).....In Adelaide perhaps,when Sehwag played an innings of such responsibility that when one sees the manner of his dismissals in recent games one wonders where and when the change to being casual has come.
of course, he does not want to get out but at the highest level unless there is a discipline in shot selection, the road back to the pavilion...blah blah.
....Viru can demolish and demoralize any attack in the world but only if he stays away from premeditated shots.
Then he will be unstoppable and India will get the start that they need to put pressure on the opposition.

There is nothing profound about Gavaskar's view on that column. Nothing we did not know already. Except the uncanny timing of the comment. On July 31st and August 1, 2008, Viru did just like the little doc ordered. Sambit Bal writes :

Sehwag has scored many gigantic hundreds but this must rank among his best. It came against massive odds, and it came when India needed a saviour after the two Sri Lankan spinners had humiliated their batsmen. Seen in isolation, he destroyed them.

India may yet lose this match. But I'm very very happy for Viru. I believe his is now the highest individual test score by a batsman from any visiting team on Sri Lankan soil. The way Sri Lanka has traditionally maimed big bullies in their own backyard, we needed somebody to show 'em.

SRK chromosomes


My dear Kolkata has let me down this evening. Miserably.

The warning signals were there, even before the coin was thrown. As Jadeja handed it over to Rabi Shastri for the toss, the telecast lost video feed. Shastri had a pathetic time doing his opening line twice. Then it become a regular feature of the telecast. Every time the commentator at the box tried to transfer feed to an away location. With only the exception of their fetching PYT ( keep forgetting her name, old age catches up) and her footage. Maybe because hers were recorded video. But I would have blamed it entirely on SET MAX and Kunal Dasgupta. You didn't need to do shoddy work to make quick bucks, people. As it is, you had the mint at your disposal.

Who could one blame those 22 yards on then? Nobody perhaps will argue the fact that the wicket was not suited for any manner of limited overs cricket. Like Ajay Jadeja remarked, " Slow and Low, now how often have we heard that?" For a fifty over match that pitch would be a dampener. For T20, it was bloody murder. The lessons are evidently never learnt.

What Kolkata really shamed me with, though, was the drama over lights that dragged on and on. Till such time smart people in the commentary box suggested invoking D/L and adjudged the match to be a tie. All these would've been standard fair about two decades back. To follow up the grand opening at B'lore with this poor show? Unpardonable.

Only by SRK's lucky charm and Hussey's cool finish could Dada and his Knights save face today. BTW I could not spot most of Kolkata's page3 crowd (apart from Rituparna) at the box. King Khan should take care to add more local flavor to his cheer brigade. Especially in home matches.

Pic source : Cricinfo

BoyzIIMen
You guys rose and shone, and today made us all old people feel like keep watching you for a decade to come. Thank you !
OK, the animation didn't come close to the way it was visualized, but one had to do something ecstatic.

What, do we need a four this over?
Yesterday was a rare match. All that needs to be said about Sachin's effort was said here. I was however, most impressed by Young Sharma as Sunil Gavaskar kept calling him. He somehow reminded me of the young Inzamam. Not by delivery and shot selection, don't get me wrong there. I feel he still needs to learn there are vast tracts of land in a cricket field called square of the wicket. But his complete lack of expression, his definitive poker face brought back memories of the 1992 world cup semifinals, when Inzy would dispatch a delivery, walk towards his skipper, listen and nod with a completely blank expression and then take guard to send another through the covers.
This lad needs attention, tell you I !
Tomorrow's another day. The Punter and his pack are getting back on their horses.

What was it that helped India beat the world at Twenty-20 and what is different now that the Aussies are toying with us? The point can be argued all night. Easier, a finger can be raised at Sachin Tendulkar. But a keen observer will notice a character on the field who we so often overlook. That's odd, considering his unique appearance and the absurdity of Ramesh Pawar as an international cricketer. Is he a joke of some sort his uncle, the venerable BCCI president has been playing on us all along? Talk about cruel jokes. And him, at the cost of R.P or Rohit Sharma, the two stars of last fortnight ? I better stop watching cricket again. Sorry Mahinder.
By the way, somebody sent this to me last week. Save the atrocity of language I found it funny. Especially the punchline.