The end of India’s golden era
It is hard to say whether Australia have rediscovered their mojo or whether India are in a free fall. The latter seems more plausible considering that India have lost seven away Test matches on a trot with four against England. Barring the series against West Indies at home, the team that was ranked number one about six months ago has been in a continuous free fall since the start of the ill-fated tour of England last year. The major issue leading to this has been the inability of the heavyweight batting order to pull its weight. The Indian batting line-up comprises of some ...
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David Warner: A true cricketing metamorphosis
David Warner’s scintillating debut against South Africa in a T20 fixture, where he scored 89 off 43 balls, told cricketing fans that maybe they were not going to miss the mighty Mathew Hayden that much after all. The stark contrast in the frames of the two left-handers is more than compensated by their consubstantial batting styles – belligerent and disheartening for the bowler. Many players phase out after such breathtaking debuts and are unable to carry on the high of their initial promise. Warner, however, proved to the world that he was ...
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Wasim and Waqar: the deadly duo
In recent times, cricket has undergone a fast bowling renaissance of sorts. Watching James Pattinson harass a much vaunted Indian batting line-up with speed and bounce in Melbourne and Sydney was a sight to behold. Pattinson is just 21, and he along with fellow Australian Pat Cummins (18) and the South African duo of Vernon Philander (26) and Marchant De Langle (21), represent a growing young breed of top class fast bowling prospects. There is no dearth of fast bowling talent in Pakistan either. Junaid Khan and Wahhab Riaz, two of the more recent entrants into the Pakistani bowling hall ...
Read Full PostWill this be Ponting’s last year?
The vultures are circling and Ponting can hear them clearly. He knows that if he lies down now, they will surely tear his flesh apart. Critics have been calling for his head for some time and he knows he hasn’t been able to shut them up. Potential successors to his spot in the team have been putting up their hands with notable performances and it only seems to be a matter of time before he will be shown the door. Unless, he comes up with a performance that only Ponting is capable of. There used to be a time when ...
Read Full PostShane Warne: Never Test captain, always a legend
A question that will be asked for ages to come, as the greatest leg spinner of all time bows out from cricket, would be: What would the world have seen had Shane Warne been Australia’s Test captain? In a career spanning almost 20 years, Warne has divided opinions globally and more so in his native country where some believe he was the messiah of cricket, making leg spin sexy again, while others thought him to be a constant source of embarrassment to the country due to his bad boy behaviour. He was accused of two of the biggest crimes in the game, ...
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With Moin Akhtar, a piece of my childhood dies
Those who remember the 80s well will also be familiar with the brilliance that existed on Pakistan Television (PTV) at that time. In days of severe censorship and fear of the government, PTV (especially its Karachi centre) always found ways of subverting the system and poking fun at the dictator and his lackeys. There were three names, Anwar Maqsood, Bushra Ansari and Moin Akhtar, who were the mainstay of such satire where things had to be said subtly in order pass through the censor board. In a rather twisted bit of irony, PTV’s golden days of comedy died with Ziaul ...
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