Virat Kohli: A boy among giants?
He averages over 50 runs in ODIs, has 11 ODI centuries (10 of which have come in victories), averages over 65 in ODI wins and is only 23-years-old. Virat Kohli has not even completed four full years in international cricket. Yet, he already has achievements to boast about that some ODI greats haven’t even attained yet. Kohli has as many ODI centuries as Viv Richards, Gordon Greenidge, and Aravinda De Silva managed in their entire careers. In addition to this, he has scored more ODI centuries than Gautam Gambhir, Matthew Hayden, Inzamamul Haq, Kevin Pietersen, Javed Miandad and Dean Jones to name a few. One can’t ...
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Sachin: The unmaking of a god
Tendulkar’s achievements are truly remarkable. Whether you like the guy or not, you have to admit that he has done stuff that most ordinary mortals can only dream of. Yes, I am also hinting that Tendulkar is a god, or at least has god-like status. I am sure many cricketers would willingly give their left arm to be half as good as he is, and it would still be a dramatic improvement for them. The most number of Tests played, the most number of ODI’s played, the most Test runs, the most ODI runs, the most Test hundreds and the ...
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Why Ponting was dropped and Tendulkar wasn’t
The month of February saw two greats being met with two different fates. Both Ponting and Tendulkar have not been pulling their weight in the ODIs recently but while one was dropped from the ODI team and his career in the format all but ended, the other got a life line to go to Bangladesh and participate in the Asia Cup. Australia is a country where tough decisions are taken in a stride and selectors are ruthless and unforgiving. As Steve Waugh and Mark Taylor found out before Ponting, reputation counts for little when a team is being picked. If you ...
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Tendulkar: A retirement or a century?
Every cricket lover will agree that Sachin Tendulkar is indeed a legend. He has been one of the best batsmen, the most prolific run maker and arguably the biggest cricket icon the game has ever known. Let’s recap his achievements. Tendulkar is not only the man with the most runs under his belt (over 15,000 in Tests and over 18,000 in ODIs), he is also the first cricketer to score 200 runs in an ODI. With the increasing trend of T20 cricket, it seems that his record for the most runs in ODIs and Test matches will stay with him forever. But now there’s ...
Read Full PostThe 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 ...
Read Full PostDefining moments of cricket in 2011
From cricketers being put in the slammer for spot-fixing to Shane Warne returning to play cricket – this year has seen it all. Here is my list of the top ten defining moments of cricket in 2011. 10) Ponting hands the reigns to Micheal Clarke It is hard to sympathize with Ponting considering that he is the captain who led his side to the most wins and has lifted the World Cup twice. But the writing was on the wall after the first Ashes defeat for Australia in 24 years, and the first time that a team had lost three matches by ...
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An adventurer does what he must
It’s perhaps most apt to define Virender Sehwag by what he does to you, the watcher. You never feel the tension or the intensity of the match situation when he’s in flow. He reduces you to a giggling school kid, forcing you to throw your head back and laugh at his outrageous shots. The stadium suddenly transforms into a mohalla, the intense international contest seems like street cricket. If you’re curious and sensitive, you marvel at the audacity of his mind that allows him to use those skills and pull off these shots. Without those skills, he’d be Kris Srikkanth or Shahid ...
Read Full PostControversially yours – Shoaib Akhtar turns back the clock!
A new chapter to the history of one of the most controversial cricketers to ever grace the game was added as Shoaib Akhtar’s autobiography was launched in India on Friday. Akhtar is supposedly the fastest bowler that the game has ever seen and is best remembered not only for bowling missiles that had stumps after stumps flying all around the ground but also for his antics off the field which included fights with the PCB, many disciplinary hearing and suspensions. His long run up to the bowling crease was as talked about as his driving around in an expensive sports ...
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World Cup 2011: The Indian cricket team is no threat
Do you still think India are amongst the favourites for winning the Cricket World Cup 2011? While the Indian media presents its team as the world’s best, the truth is that India are not so strong. India lack fighters, and without them no one can emerge on top in such a big tournament. While I must admit that they have some great players and definitely provide entertainment, I cannot say that they are match winners; their players are only outstanding in favourable circumstances. Take Sachin Tendulkar as an example. Tendulkar is a god for all the coming generations of batsmen. I ...
Read Full PostWill ICC investigate the England vs India match?
I was unable to understand why England was unable to secure a victory against India in the recent Group B World Cup match until I heard the breaking news on TV. Shane Warne’s Twitter prediction, although it reached me late, resolved the whole matter. Warne wrote on his Twitter account: warne888 Shane Warne Looking forward to the game between india and England today should be a cracker… My prediction a tie ! Soon after the match ended, Warne tweeted again: warne888 Shane Warne Before u think there was something untoward re prediction of a tie, thought it was going to be a cracker-tie was tongue ...
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