Sachin = 'Pure", "Essence", 'Sign of Truth"....and rightfully so.

Just drove 3100 miles on a road trip to Austin - Texas and back, to see that India has lost the third one dayer to South Africa. No worries, India is still secure as the 2nd ranked One-Day team.

Still speechless at Sachin Tendulkar's recent exploit at Gwalior. 

Every day Sachin Tendulkar delivers a new enticement, a fresh challenge to me and millions of other bloggers, reporters, journalists, writers, biographers and anyone who thinks he can be captured and put into mere words. 

I can almost see him smile to himself with a sense of pity and consolation at all of us who try to arrest him with mere pen, paper and camera.

It is getting ridiculous

Speechless after the little master slammed a double century in the ODI at Gwalior...


Just when one thinks he has done enough and no human can possibly scale higher, he finds a way to do something even more stupendous...


How the hell are others ever going to catch up to him !? Tendulkar is a cruel idol. :)

Awesome write up on the cliche ridden 'art' of cricket commenting these days.

http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/449322.html

Perhaps some silence and real wisdom behind the mic could help us in front of the TV.

All izz welllll ... by just 16 minutes !!

Had South Africa managed to plug for 16 more minutes at Kolkata, they would have officially become the best Test team in the world.  Unofficially they already are.


Their last 3 wickets managed to stick around for a valiant 4 hours and 120 runs against a hungry Harbhajan on the 5th evening at Eden Gardens, which is a monumental achievement...but at the same time the 16 minutes that they could not hold on to is a heartbreaking anticlimax to such a fine rearguard. This was one of the rare Test matches that played on minutes v/s wickets, instead of runs v/s wickets.


Hashim Amla in a ridiculous one man show nearly saw South Africa safely out of this match, and almost launched South Africa on to the top of the ICC table. But for all his 22 hours and 23 minutes at the crease in this series, he was left with a sad ending begging for just 16 more minutes of a fight from his team mates.


In only the second instance of 4 Indians going 3 figures in the same innings, (and the first against a team of repute), the mercurial Indian team and the spectators too, literally speaking, roared back in the series, pushing SA to one of their highest first innings deficit since their return to cricket, wresting back the top position that they just conceded to SA a few days ago, saving face, and managing to sustain through the fickle Kolkata weather in a do or die match. They did not let themselves to the proverbial 'izzat ka falooda'.


A thing for the bucket list is to witness a cricket match in which each Indian batsman plays to his true potential. Nothing looks more emphatic than an entire Indian batting line-up on song. One talented batsman after the other coming up on the stage to perform his magic trick, each in his own unique style and stance, is one of the pure sights of cricket. It does not happen as frequently as one would wish, but when it does, it intoxicates you like nothing else.


At Kolkata all the recognized Indian batsmen - bar the unfortunate Gambhir - responded to India's deficit in the series and brought up their hundreds in their typical methods. Sehwag compiled his ton with the usual calm of a remorseless mercenary, murdering the ball and ripping the hearts out of the bowlers. Tendulkar constructed his century with the usual smooth kinematics, judicious responsibility and the stamp of the imperative…just the way he is supposed to. Laxman's fruit-n-nut ice cream innings was not flawless but there was no question about its sweet fluency or flavor. It was a visual treat compiled with the typical ease and calm expected of him. Dhoni did his 3-figures on a fire and ice theme, something that he has begun to personify of late. It was a perfect episode...4 of 5 guys expected to make a ton with their team in dire need of a win,  actually did. 


SA played a perfect test in Nagpur. India showed its version of a perfect Test at Kolkata. Result, both teams are back to square one in the ranking deadlock. 


Cricket is a great leveller. An awesome performance from the worlds best bowler landed a lethal blow to the hosts in the first Test at Nagpur. Dale Steyn's 10 for 108 was one of the best shows put up by a touring paceman in India. He left the Nagpur Test just 3 wickets away from trouncing Dennis Lillee and Waqar Younis in the race to the fastest 200-wickets. Looking at his form in Nagpur, it was speculated that a mere session in Kolkata 7 days later would have been sufficient for him to claim this glory. Come Kolkata the same Steyn was literally taken apart by the famed Indian batting lineup leaving him begging at a paltry 1 for 115, and with practically no chance of South Africa bowling twice in the match ! This isn’t the first time the mercurial Indian batting has inflicted embarassment upon a bowler of repute. Shoaib Akhtar, Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Muruli (many times), Kaneria, Saqlain, Vettori, all have ended up frustrated and battered by this Indian line up in recent memory.


Hashim Amla. What a man. 3 innings 3 centuries, almost 500 runs, almost helped his team win a series in India. This underrated player eclipsed many a stalwart playing in this series,  with this massive statistic. (More on him coming up in future posts). For the time being let us just say that South Africa can rest assured that they have in him the right man to slip into the big shoes of Kallis, in the decade to come. 


Since their revival in International cricket, South Africa have conceded a lead in the first innings on 36 occassions. Of these 36, they have managed to win a match in just 4, losing 18. 


If one were to go by that, there was a 1 in 9 chance of South Africa winning in Kolkata, 1 in 4 of a draw and 1 in 2 of their loss. The strongest possibility prevailed, as expected.

I am enraged and ashamed.

May the victims of the terrorist act at the German Bakery in Pune rest in peace.


The cowards who did this will eventually meet their fate....either at the hands of the law or in the highest court of God. 


There is no bravery in killing innocent people. The only message that comes out of such acts is that brainwashed, misguided and pathetic people with no life can go to any length to fill their inner hollowness.

Trailer of trailing

The Nagpur Test was an eye opener as to how fickle India's #1 ICC ranking was, considering that it was a contest between two teams that were almost equal from the ICC's evaluation. One can feebly warrant an off-Test in India's defense, but to be honest the difference in energy and determination between the two teams was quite supportive of the result.

India, for just the third time in the past 20 years lost by an innings; All three beatings have come at the hands of South Africa; Two of those three came off of Dale Steyn's exploits with the ball.

India's Test record against South Africa is much worse than against Australia in the past couple of decades of Test cricket.

The 23 matches between India and South Africa, the Proteas have triumphed in 11, India in 4 and 8 drawn. 5 of South Africa's 11 wins have been on Indian soil.

Australia has played India 29 times in the same time frame, winning 12 ,losing 10 and drawing 7. 4 of Australia's 12 wins have come on Indian grounds.

For all practical purposes the contest between India and Australia has been reckoned as the premier rivalry in the past decade of Test cricket. India, to its credit, has landed punch for punch on Australia. However South Africa have, in the same period, stealthily proven to be India's most inextricable rivals. If India has dreams of staying in the top cream, they will have to recognize South Africa as prime rivals and treat them on similar lines as Australia. A team can gather points by beating lower placed teams and inch up the table, but at some point of time it has face up and establish itself consistently against the top teams too.

Laxman's inclusion in India's deflated middle order for the Test at Kolkata is being looked upon as the solution to salvation. But I do not see how one man can help reverse this --> put aside the two Indian centuries, the remaining 10 top order wickets jointly mustered 200 runs in the entire Test…at home. There were 13 single digit scores spread out among the 22 Indian batsmen, including 5 ducks.

Yet, the bigger problem at Nagpur was the Indian bowlings' complete turnaround from a great start to going completely fang-less after meeting staunch resistance, and the Indian openers' inability to operate per their reputation or ability, albeit against some first class bowling.

Kolkata is a do or die Test, and hopefully the Indians treat it so.

India has played 34 Test series in the decade since 2001.
Of those 34, it has trailed in a series on 9 occasions.
Of those 9, only ONCE has it managed to turn around the series after trailing (the famed series against Australia in 2000-2001).
On 2 occasions of the 9 it managed to neutralize the series after trailing in it.
In the remaining 6 instances of 9 where it trailed in the series, it succumbed.

Man of the match...match of the man

‘Man of the match’, as the name suggests, is the recognition of the best individual effort in a match.

Cricket is a funny game. In one of its sweet hypocrisies it felicitates an 'individual' for all its clichéd claims of being a 'team' sport. 

A man-of-the-match for all practical purposes is an individual who, more than any of the remaining 21 players, changed (or threatened to change, as in some cases) the course of the match. The awardee is a no-brainer on most occasions. Occasionally there is a cliffhanger of a match with multiple heroes and the award becomes a bit  unfair to a few other equally deserving performers, but it is all good as long as it isn't unreasonable.

And then there is the odd instance where the award evokes a chuckle. A decision that appears like it was taken by  a bunch of 6 year olds. It gives us scope to ponder over the vagaries in the adjudication.

Case in point, the recently concluded  first Test Match between India and South Africa at Nagpur .

Hashim Amla was awarded the man-of-the-match for his resilient double century in South Africa's only batted innings. Without doubt it was an innings of character. An innings that helped South Africa amass over 550 runs in their first act on a foreign soil. The heroic aspect of this innings was that it was staged from a team score of 2 down for 6. But for all its substance, was Amla's batting a match changing event ? Was it a singularly superior achievement from among the 22 players who participated in the match ? Weren't there 3 other centurions in the same match ?

In the same match, I witnessed an extraordinary performance from another gentleman. An individual performance that was more match-sealing, more consequential, more dismantling than anything from the 21 others participating in the match.

Dale Steyn, on 8th February, put India out of the match and out of contention for the series in a short matter of 16 overs; something that can not be said too often of a guest bowler playing against India in India.

In what would perhaps be the sharpest and most consequential  7-for and a 10-for by a foreigner since a long time, Steyn delivered a resounding slap in the hosts face.  It wasn't just individual brilliance that lasted a session or a day, it was one of those rare performances which rode beyond the current match well into the next one. In one quick draw of the gun Steyn took out all chances of India wining the series, and those of South Africa losing it. He put South Africa in a bonus position where they - for all their abundant talent and capability - have nothing to lose in the series any more. 


Considering the importance of this series with the lucrative #1 ranking hanging at stake for both teams, Steyn's match winning performance at Nagpur is as substantial as it gets. 


I can not think of a more appropriate candidate for the man-of-the-match award at Nagpur, than Dale Steyn.

India, if it is to retain its top honour in the ICC table, is now left with the task of stopping the South African momentum and reversing it. And they have just one Test to do it in.

Woh bhooli dastaan, lo phir yaad aa gayi...(a.k.a deja vu)

The Indians are at it again. A hype, a build up, an expectation confronts and they lose virility.


Looking at the fragility of India's #1 position in the ICC table, it was of utmost necessity that the Indian team not submit to the South Africans. They were expected to show some desire, some adhesion, some commitment to retaining their current position at the top of the table.


As has become a regular source of disappointment, the Indian batting line up went dud in its first appearance at the crease in the series. Not having Dravid and Laxman in the lineup did not help matters either. Failing to get into a dominant (or equal) position in the first innings of a short series basically equals to forfeiting advantage for the remainder of the series. India will thus remain on the defensive for the remainder of the series.


Dale Steyn led South Africa's invasion just like he did on the previous tour. South Africa have, on the third day of the first Test itself, registered an advantage that will echo right down to the last day of this series. Steyn's burst is enough to put India on the back foot not just for this match but for the entire series now on. 


The first Test is a done deal for the Indians as far as I can see, unless the little Master and captain Dhoni conjure an escape act on day-4 and 5, reminiscent of the famous one from Dravid-Laxman against Australia from 2001. (But such heroic comebacks are once in a lifetime and for all reasonable arguments, the first Test is now South Africa's.) 


India will go into the second Test with no margin for error, simultaneously leaving the South African's in the easy seat in a nothing to lose situation.  


South Africa may be playing the perfect Test match here. Steyn's 7-for and Amla's dogged double have given the guests the early impetus for the whole series per Se, which must be just what Graeme Smith wished for. Remains to be seen how India saves the series now, from the sanguine South Africans.

Its not about winning...but it is.

So we finally have it. A face to face between two teams that are practically #1 in the ICC Test rankings.

In fact, perhaps for the first time since these rankings became a bona-fide source of information, we have not one but three teams practically tied as the 'best in business'. Their rankings may differ by virtue of a few points here and there but call a cold-fish, unbiased cricket viewer from Mars and he'd voice that very little separates the top three ranked Test teams in cricket currently.

An overview of the three teams vis-a-vis their last home and away engagements against each other looks like a synopsis of the next Mission Impossible movie where there is no clear hero and everyone seems to be tangled in some sort of double crossing and oneupmanship over the other.

Australia were brought to their knees by Dhoni's men the last time they toured India. And previous to that, thanks to Steve Bucknor's Sydney-gate and the Indian suicide against Michael Clarke the bowler at a crucial juncture at Sydney, the Australians managed to win their home series. Australia may not appear to have a sturdy Test record against India, but that has always been the case. Having said that, Australia is back to its winning ways in the past year or so of Test cricket. It may not resemble the invincible Australian team of the early 2000's but is still the Test team to beat, without doubt.

South Africa drew it last visit India thanks to a fierce bowling effort at Ahmedabad from Steyn. They also beat India 2-1 in India's last tour to South Africa. Technically speaking they have been the superior team in head-to-heads against India in the recent time window. However the difference between the India of 2 years ago and now is a man called Gautam Gambhir at the top, who along with the irrepressible Virender Sehwag has managed to turn the Indian opening into a monstrous preposition for the opponents. The two openers from Delhi are currently the biggest headache for opening bowlers and since the past couple of years they have been bracing to partner in a long term script that is not dissimilar to the Hayden-Langer or Greenidge-Haynes one.

South Africa after a decade and a half of despair against Australia finally managed to break the shackles. Recent tugs of war between Australia and South Africa have revealed opponents of equal strength and will. South Africa insulted Australia 2-1 on their home soil, and Australia returned the favor by doing the exact same to the South Africans right after.

All in all, it seems that South Africa may have the tallest flag among these three nations, but very marginally so.

The disappointment for viewers is that the contest to follow in the next few days is short lived considering the consummate quality of the opponents involved. One would surely have hoped to see these two teams lock in a healthy 5 Test bout instead of a skinny 2 Tests series. The vagaries of ICC, BCCI and CSA.

India hasn't lost a single Test with M S Dhoni on the wheel, and he has appeared practically impossible to crack at home as a captain. Smith on the other hand has had a turbulent last 10 tests as captain, winning 4 losing 4 and drawing 2, but that takes away nothing from this doughty leader who comes out with a well charted plan for everything.

The contests of the series are already being plotted. The best openers in the world against the best pace-man in the world. A strong middle order full of adventure and sensibility against the Indian spinners on Indian grounds. The contest between the two sages of cricket - Kallis and Tendulkar, one keen to escort his team to the paramount Test ranking and the other keen to retain his. And finally the contest of wits and gamble between the dashing Mr. Smith and the unflappable and savvy M. S. Dhoni.

Unexpected heroics discounted, if the glorious players from both sides manage to stay and play even within the realms of  usual expectations, then this promises to be a good Test series. The only damp squib even before a ball has been bowled is that a paltry 2 Tests does not justify or conciliate a contest between the top rivals of Test cricket today.