Heartfelt congratulations to team India for winning the Under 19 Cricket World Cup today by beating Australia by 6 wickets at Townville. Unfortunately, this series hasn’t received due hype from the media as well as the Indian cricket fans. But that isn’t going to change the fact that the future of Indian cricket is in safe hands.
Indian skipper Unmukt Chand led from the front by scoring an unbeaten 111 while opening the innings. His fifth wicket partnership of 130 unbeaten runs with wicketkeeper Samit Patel made it possible. The full scorecard of the match is available here - http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc-under19-world-cup-2012/engine/current/match/554564.html
This is India’s third Under 19 World Cup victory and
During the stage of my late childhood when I was trying to learn and understand that game of cricket, successful Indian players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Javagal Srinath and Mohammad Azaharuddin were at the peak of their careers. Due to this, no matter how many great or greater players emerged after them, players in the above mentioned elite list will always hold a special place in my memory.
So whenever a player from that list announces retirement, it certainly comes as a blow. The same happened when VVS Laxman announced his retirement yesterday, although this was on the cards after India’s tour to England and Australia. But those two unsuccessful tours can in no way be
As expected, the forthcoming Pakistan tour of India (in 2012) has received flak from a large number of Indians due the Pakistan’s hand in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and their non-cooperation in solving terror issues. The opposition to the series might appear logical to many but not at all to me. I fail to understand why do we always target cricket when it comes to an association between the two nations?
A good number of Pakistani nationals like Atif Aslam, Adnan Sami, Ali Zafar, Shaukat Amanat Ali, Veena Malik, etc are working full time in Bollywood. Some of them have also settled in Mumbai. Why not a single opposition to them? We are perfectly fine with their artists settling in our country but we can't tolerate their
So, the whole of India, including me, is going gaga over India’s remarkable victory against Pakistan in the ongoing Asia Cup. It also looks like Virat Kohli will be the next big thing after Sachin Tendulkar for Indian cricket after he amassed an earth-shattering 183 in the match.
However, India is still isn’t certain of meeting Pakistan in the finals. For that to happen, Sri Lanka must beat Bangladesh in the next match.
As I look at the situation, the terrible thought of history repeats is coming to my mind due to some striking similarities. By history, I mean just the last one-day series in Australia. Just consider both situations as follows: -
* India played exceedingly well in their last league match in the tri
There have been very few occasions in my life where I have pinched myself in disbelief! One such occasion was few minutes back when Sachin Tendulkar finally (I feel like repeating the word 5 times) scored his 100th international century against Bangladesh in Mirpur in the ongoing Asia Cup 2012. Finally!!!
The feat for which the whole of cricketing world and not just India was waiting since almost a year has just happened! During all these months, every time Sachin went into bat, almost every cricket fan from around the world expected to see his 100th century. However, it just refused to come. There is a saying in Hindi – Intezar Ka Phal Meetha Hota Hai. Well, this was proved today in Mirpur.
All Good Things Come To An End – I have been hearing this proverb ever since my childhood. However, it is just since yesterday that I am truly able to feel the bitter feeling behind it. It’s the retirement of Rahul Dravid, one of the best cricketers ever produced by India that has enabled me to understand the true meaning of the above proverb.
Dravid’s greatness is such that by merely saying, “He was a great cricketer,” isn’t an enough tribute to him. Frankly speaking, it is not possible to explain in a few pages the career of a cricketer who took the very heavy load of expectations and responsibilities on his shoulders. Those like me who have followed his career throughout would understand this and agree with
India’s performance in Australia in the ongoing Agneepath series has indeed been hugely disappointing. However, I am pained to see the way Indian cricket fans and so-called cricket experts are reacting.
Just over nine months back on the night of April 2, the whole of India literally worshipped Team India after they lifted the World Cup 2011. Just two bad series (in England and Australia) and the same people are reacting as if Team India is worse than minnows. What right do you have to call yourself an Indian supporter if you can’t support your team when it requires the most? After all, support is needed the most when a person or a thing is struggling. The difference between
Just when I was thinking Virendra Sehwag is getting into a poor run of form, the Nawab Of Najafgar surprises me and the country in a humongous and a delightful manner by smashing 291 runs against the West Indies in the fourth one-day international at Inodore on December 8, 2011.
Hearty Congratulations to Viru for being just the second batsman in the world to cross the 200 mark in ODIs and, more importantly, for scoring the highest score ever in ODIs.
In the modern era of cricket, numerous batsmen have reached huge scores of 170 plus in limited overs cricket. So, I just thought of rating the top 10 high scores in ODIs. The rankings are not based on the highest number of runs but by taking into account the bowling attack
It is indeed disappointing to see Team India losing the first two matches in the ongoing test series against England. Given the form of the team in recent times, this came as a real surprise. But what surprised me more is the reaction of these so-called cricket fans and ex-cricketers who have suddenly forgotten the team’s great achievements in recent times and are going all out cursing them.
It is very difficult to understand that those who speak like gyaanis of cricket can’t understand a simple thing that defeat is also a part of the game. The Australians ruled the first two forms of the game for over a decade but had to return without reaching the semi-finals in the 2011 World Cup. But look how sportingly the people
Here’s wishing a Very Very Happy Birthday to the Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar.
Over the years, Sachin’s huge number of fans, including me, have expressed their respect and gratitude towards him in every special manner. Hence, I was feeling like being run out of words. So, I decided to pen a poem for the God of cricket.
In the poem I have expressed how fortunate we are to grow up along with Sachin’s career. Here it goes:
Your anti-India statements have triggered uproar in India against you. Although I am also angry with you, I also found your comments funny. Funny because it came from someone like you who has never been a wholehearted human being. Your antics on the field are a proof of it.
You have immense batting talent. Your world record of fastest century in one-day internationals is a proof of it. However, you got badly carried away by the success and started believing you can hit every ball for a six. This started your downfall as you started gaining more interest in hitting sixes, in your personal strike rate rather than your team’s victory. If you were really a wholehearted person, you would
All of us who are born after 1983 or were too young to remember anything of that period, have only heard stories from our elders about India’s remarkable World Cup victory in that year or at the most, have seen footages of the final between India and West Indies.
Although by listening to the stories and watching the highlights years back, we were able to imagine the triumphant feeling that the country must have experienced back then but we were devoid of the actual feeling of the live moment when the country achieves the feat of lifting the World Cup.
Come April 2, 2011 and we were able to have a firsthand experience of what it actually means to rule the world when Mahendra Singh Dhoni hit Nuvan Kulsekara for a six over
Experts often use the phrase ‘Win the toss, win the match’ by taking the nature of the pitch and other conditions into account as it is believed that the team that wins the toss will most probably win the match. This phrase can be used for Team India for their all important final match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 at the Wankhede Stadium against Sri Lanka on Saturday April 2, 2011.
If India wins the toss and decides to bat first and puts up a challenging score, they have a great chance of grabbing the World Cup. This is simply because Sri Lanka has struggled to chase challenging totals in recent times. This can be attributed to the fact that they have a long tail. Sri Lanka’s number 7 batsman Angelo Matthews,
In the 1999 World Cup when Herschelle Gibbs dropped Australian captain Steve Waugh, it was believed that he actually dropped the World Cup from South Africa’s hands. And now in the 2011 World Cup semi-final Pakistani batsman Mohammad Hafeez achieved a similar feat when he sent Pakistan’s World Cup hopes for a six.
Batsmen do play silly shots even at the international level and get out at crucial times but the shot played by Hafeez is just unexplainable. How can you justify a pre-determined sweep against a fast bowler, in the 16th over, when you are going great guns at 43 and, most importantly, when the fine leg fielder is on the boundary?
Just before the ball he got out, India’s hopes were looking bleak as Pakistan
As soon as India came closer to Australia’s target of 261 in the second quarterfinal, the excitement levels of the whole of India went out of control as it meant that India will play Pakistan in the semi-final of the World Cup 2011. Unfortunately, this gave rise to all kinds of discussions, debates and incidents that had nothing to do with cricket.
Forward SMS’es bashing Pakistani terrorists, people and even cricketers started doing the rounds. People started predicting which Indian or Pakistani cricketer will have a verbal spat with his counterpart. Hindi news channels started sensationalizing the match in such a manner as if the two nations are actually going to have a war on the border. The Kashmir issue also
