Cricketpedia

India vs Sri Lanka in the World Cup Final.

On a “pulsating day”, where the “atmosphere was electric”, and with “billions of people watching” and “life was at a standstill”, India managed to beat Pakistan to get into the final. The stage is set for potentially the final ODI for the game’s leading run scorer and the most wicket taker.

Waking up at 1 in the morning, with my 7 yr old and 3 yr old in tow, we were up and ready to watch the game at a friend’s place. The news that India was going to bat took away any sleep in our eyes, as I started thinking of the next milestone for Tendulkar to achieve. For the next 8 hours, it was good entertainment, and Indians finished the day winning a match that both the sides didn’t seem to want to win.

Forgetting the spectacle, the game itself was rather low on quality and high moments. Matches like these remind us how difficult it is to perform at the grand stage, make us appreciate the Montanas and Federers. After Umar Gul got carted around the field by Sehwag, Wahab Riaz, who is the latest export from the Pakistani Fast Bowler Company, replaced Razzaq and got Sehwag out in his first over itself. It is a wonder how Pakistan keeps generating these fast bowlers, while India seems to create more and more clones of Mohinder Amarnath. We can take some consolation in that the only thing that happens to our fast bowlers is that they slow down to Venkatesh Prasad’s pace; at least they didn’t end up with Veena Malik or get caught with drugs in Dubai.

From then on, it was one heartattack after the other, as Tendulkar kept giving Pakistani fielders catching practice. The fielders, having had butter croissants just before the match, did their best impressions of Kamran Akmal by dropping everything. At one point, Misbah ran up to Afridi asking him whether he can drop his pants as well. The tension was rising, as was seen clearly on Aamir Khan’s forehead, which was shown a thousand times before the veins inside burst out and caused a delay in the game.

Tendulkar seemed to have a clear game plan. He gave a chance when Gambhir was on the other end, then one more when Kohli was there, and one more when Dhoni was the non-striker. It was as if he was telling the Pakistan team to choose their scenario, as to when they want the middle order collapse to start. Unfortunately, his game plan couldn’t be executed to perfection, since Yuvraj Singh came and went back immediately before Tendulkar could give a catch when he was on. Yuvraj immediately posted on twitter that his first ball duck was for a mysterious loved one, and the twitter world went amok. Was it for the pretty Zinta or for the manly Padukone? Only time will tell.

By this time, Tendulkar was running out of fielders to hit to. He finally decided to take on Afridi, and the young youthful captain held a catch. The country breathed a sigh of relief that God’s 100th century didn’t come in this fashion. Only after God departed did we know how difficult it was to bat on this pitch. Had Dravid been there, we would have known immediately. For the next few hours, no one hit a half century, till Misbah decided to up his average at the end overs.

The indian innings got over, was 260 enough? I had bigger questions to answer – What are indicative rates? Should I buy a house with Hamza? Is she a pure punjabi? How to choose between GujaratiMatrimony and State Farm, when both of them promise to find the love of your life? Anyway, it was time for some samosas, poha and chai.

Pakistani innings started, and the folks watching the game immediately panicked. It was not at the sight of Akmal or Hafeez, it was at the way Vivek Oberoi was shown by the TV cameras time and again. Memories of Kisna came and went as we pondered what to watch if India loses. Manmohan Singh and Ghilani sat glumly, waiting for some one to break the ice and introduce themselves. As time went on, it was clear that Pakistan had a plan to create a rift in the Indian team; make Ashish Nehra look so good that Indians would be scratching their heads about their cricketing wisdom. The commentary team, wearing similar shirts and ties that would distinguish them from the catering service workers, were now furiously searching for adjectives and were trying to will their sides to win. Rameez Raja was close to writing his will, he was so passionate about his country that the only person who was more passionate was Allan Donald in the New Zealand match.

Kamran Akmal got out and came back with Umar Akmal’s T-shirt, and no one could tell the difference. It was almost as believable as Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi’s attempts to merge in with the aam aadmis. Umar Akmal started taking the attack to the Indians and panic was in the air. Indians were already running out of substitutes who could be in the field. Krish Srikanth was ready to come in for Nehra. Raina was also ready to field as a substitute till he realized that he was already a part of the playing XI. Indians were getting ready to lose, but Misbah Ul-Haq had other ideas.

Future generations that pore over history books and scorecards will say that one man top scored for Pakistan in a gripping semi final clash against India. One man was the lone warrior who scored a 50 and held up Pakistani chase right till the end. Misbah was playing for history; Let the world cup wait. His tactics were curiously reminiscent of Jadeja’s numerous innings in the 90s. He reserved everything for the final power play, when he would score 155 runs in the last 5 overs (figure it out, think last ball singles). Misbah had a point to prove and quickly got rid of Umar Akmal. By this time, it was clear that Allah would not be helping in this match, rather Guru Nanak had taken over.

The game ended on a whimper, with India winning by 29 runs. By this time, Rameez Raja was whinging like he got kicked in the nuts. Nehra remarkably was able to get his finger injured after his spell, wisely preventing the headline “Nehra dropped for Ashwin”. Our breakfast was done, and work had started. Non-Indians were sending out mails asking for status and bug updates, but there was steadfast silence from the Indian work force.

Thus finished yet another India-Pakistan “Greatest game in the history of the world cup”. Wahab Riaz went near the podium to pick up his Man of the Match, only to be told that he would get his turn in 2031 when he would play his sixth world cup.

The stage is set. The cameras are set. Ambani and Mallya will be there. Murali and Sachin will be there. Pro-Tamil organizations will have their panties in knots if Manmohan Singh invites Rajapakshe.

India and Sri Lanka are in the finals. Just as I predicted , twice. Let the best team (India) win.

Ricky Ponting announced today that he is stepping down as the Australian captain. He will continue to be available as a batsman in both Tests and ODIs. My quick thoughts on this announcement and Ponting’s legacy as a captain:

- Ponting has the best record as a captain. His record (164 wins in ODIs, 48 Test wins) will probably stand for a long time, until another world beating XI is produced.

- He leaves with his head held high. A final captain’s innings that will be remembered.

- Much of his success in captaincy will be attributed to the star players in his team: McGrath, Warne, Hayden, Langer, Gilchrist and others. He had the best fast bowlers, best spinner, best wicketkeeper-batsman and the best pair of opening batsmen. So, would anyone have done this well given such a stellar team? I tend to agree. What made the difference though, was Ponting’s batting form through his captaincy.

- Ponting’s batting was a big plus; He led by example. He fought lone battles (Ashes centuries) and performed when it mattered (2003 World cup final). I can’t recall many occasions when his captaincy has led to crucial twists in the game; when he has made inspired bowling changes or changed the batting order to fit the bill. In fact, I remember watching Australia and feeling baffled by his field placements and bowling plan. I always felt that Ponting’s tactics were suspect, attributed most of it to Buchanan, who is weird in his own way.

- Punter will be known more for the losses the Australian team went through under his captaincy than the number of wins; mainly because during his tenure, Australia went from invincibles to a rebuilding team. They lost the Ashes, the World Cup, the number one ranking, and haven’t been able to groom players to fill the shoes of the ones that retired. Ponting may very well be known as the captain who lost three Ashes series.

- Clarke as a captain? Sure, he has been groomed to be one right from the start of his career. But from what I’ve seen, I have my doubts. I think Haddin would make a good captain.

- How long with Ponting continue as a player? Throughout the world, it is common for ex-captains to play and do well under the new captains. Think of Tendulkar doing great under Ganguly, Dravid, Kumble and then Dhoni. You also have Jayawardhane under Sangakkara, Gayle under Sammy, even Ganguly under Dravid. The curious thing, though, is that this is not the usual case with Australian players. Their captains, once they are stripped of their captaincy, rarely play and do well with their successors. I have to go back to Kim Hughes playing under Border to remember. So, one season max for Ponting?

- Ponting’s batting may see a partial revival though. He has said that he would like to see a resurgence like Tendulkar. I think his hand-eye coordination is pretty much gone. He may have an odd innings under his belt like the one against India, but I don’t think his technique will improve. He can mentally block bad shots and stay and grind and be a good #4 or #5 in a side that doesn’t depend on him. He is helped by a soft tour next (at Bangladesh) before they go to Sri Lanka and South Africa. Ponting is also helped by the fact that others in the middle order are not doing great as well. Clarke and Hussey have not been in good form (Hussey had a good Ashes series). Usman Khawaja is waiting in the wings, and I hope he gets a permanent place in the playing XI.

- Last word is Zaltzman’s: “A great age in English cricket is over. Ricky Ponting quits as Australian captain.”

What’s the big deal in walking or not walking? Seriously, the media has been jumping up and down, shouting “Tendulkar Jahapanah tussi great ho”, ever since he walked after getting a nick off Ravi Rampaul.  I don’t see what the big deal is.

There are those that claim that Tendulkar walked because he wanted India to win. If he had stayed and scored a century, there was no way India was going to win that match. It takes a team player to do that.  Some folks wrote that Tendulkar walked because he didn’t want to overtake Sehwag’s net aggregate for this world cup. Keeps Sehwag’s confidence high. It was also hinted that he walked so that he would have more time to practice his fielding skills, so that Dhoni would be able to note it as an improvement in the next post-match conference. He could have walked to give the middle order more time in the middle before the crucial knock-out matches, but that didn’t go anywhere, since the middle order and the tail wanted to walk to the wicket and walk back as well.

Anyway, these are not the real reasons. Tendulkar walked because he knew that Karunanidhi was watching, and this good gesture can help him get the ultimate award given to an Indian civilian, The Bharat Ratna KalaimaamaNi. Sachin kept dreaming of kneeling (to be at Karuna’s eye level), getting the kalaimaamaNi award and sharing the stage with Namitha and Kushboo.

Further, the most well-known walker in cricket history will never be Tendulkar, or Gilchrist; He is this guy.

So, how will India take care of Ponting on Thursday? Just the way it has done in the past (no wonder Ponting hates Indians and has nightmares about Indians).

Semis:

Pak/WI plays Ind/Aus
SA/NZ plays SL/Eng

Post your predictions here.
Mine:

Pak vs Ind
SA vs SL

Ind vs SL final. India win

More than in any other cricketing event, this world cup has seen enormous amount of discussion in the social networking media. I have a lot of fun going through facebook and twitter for updates, real time, live, from people I know and whose opinion I care about. Fans who cannot be bothered to write blogs or lengthy comments can now put out one-liners stating what they feel; succint and to the point.

Some of these comments are hilarious. They bring back memories of watching matches in college hostel rooms with 100 others. Here are some of the FB/chat status messages that I really liked, for their spontaneity, thoughtfulness and just fun. I’ve left out the author names since they don’t make much sense outside my friends’ circle anyway.

 

“Not Nehra! oh no! Oh no!” – Just as Nehra was going to bowl the final over.

 

“Behind every successful batsman there is Kamran Akmal !! “

 

“We’re sowing shines of improvement”, says Dhoni.

 

“Harbhajan brings a lot to the table when he’s on fire.” – Shastri makes him sound like a stove.

 

“Until yesterday, if someone had told me Chris Gayle was stoned, I’d have never thought of it this way!” – After the WI bus got hit with stones by angry Bangladeshi fans.

 

“please finish it India, so that we can conserve energy.. go green India..go green…”

 

“Why do sportsmen thank The Almighty, Jesus, Allah, The Good Lord….after their team won a game – a largely inconsequential affair in the larger scheme of things? Let me get this straight – so God had a choice between choosing that Japan does not have a earthquake/Tsunami or Pakistan beats Zimbabwe or Tim Tebow scores a touchdown. And in His wisdom, God chose the last two options. Wow!”

 

“There are few things as consistent as the West Indies batsmen’s ability to self-destruct.”

 

“Fast bowlers always scare opponent batsmen – Only Indian fast bowlers are capable of scaring their fans!”

 

“When I switched on the TV, I was wondering who are these Indian players and why are they wearing a different uniform Canadian cricket team is filled with Balajis, Kumars and Aravinds!!! If they win, they might even yell “Canada Mathaa ki Jay!!!”".

 

I read “Shah Rukh and I are like minded” as “Shah Rukh and I are like miandad”. Too much cricket?

 

“Up next, ad for iyer-vadamaa-aathreyagothram-matrimony.com.”

 

“Dravid plays under more pressure than Sachin. Let me prove it to you. When he comes on to bat at one down, India still has a chance to win. So he is nervous that he may screw it up. Pressure Pressure Pressure. But after Dravid has played his innings, there is no hope. So even if we lose by 150 runs, everyone is saying it could have been worse. Thus there is no pressure on the 2-down batsman.”

 

“Sunil Gavaskar: How Big are you?
Commentator (Irish??): Does not matter. This is a family show
SMG: I mean, how tall are you?”

When i saw this headline in cricinfo, i wondered which team he is playing for only to realize that ‘he’ is actually a ground -  ‘Pallekele set for World Cup debut’

 

“நாக்பூர்மா… அங்க ஒரு 11 பேரும்மா…மூச்சு திணற திணற அவங்களாலே எவ்வளவு அடிக்க முடியுமோ….Saga continues…”  – Read Vadivelu style.

 

“waiting for shastri to say ‘cricket’s the winner’ !!” – After the India-England tie.

 

“a contest that twisted and turned like an insomniac in a mosquito-pit” – gem of a Sidhuism by Andrew Miller

 

 

1. This person from Bradford is the first British-born Asian to play for Yorkshire. He was a last minute inclusion to the English team for the World Cup. He played a crucial role in helping England secure a tie against India today. Who is this player?

2. There were two players felicitated during half-time, by Dravid, Kumble, Venkatesh Prasad and Uthappa. Who?

3. This swashbuckling batsman has an ODI average of 71.21. He has already hit a big score in this World Cup. Who?

4. Find the odd one out: Gujarat, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Rajasthan, Punjab.

5. Who is the first batsman to score 17,777 runs in ODIs? (Clue: He was also the first batsman to score 16,666 runs in ODIs, also 15,555, 14,444 and 13,333 runs in ODIs as well).

1. Christchurch in New Zealand was hit by an earthquake yesterday. Several NZ players are from Christchurch and were scrambling to verify if their near and dear are safe. A captain of a team playing in this World Cup was also born in Christchurch and spent his childhood in New Zealand. Which one? (No, not Vettori, obviously!).

2. Ricky Ponting broke an LCD TV, frustrated about something, bad lunch may be. Which other Australian batsman broke a glass panel in an Ashes match, frustrated after getting out?

3.  Who was the Bangladeshi commentator, who along with Sanjay Manju, sent us looking for the mute button?

4. Should Sehwag have sacrificed his wicket so that God wouldn’t have been run out? (Only answer accepted is “Yes”).

Leave the answers in the comments.

We know that 1983 was a watershed moment in the history of Indian cricket. Winning the world cup did wonders for India. Ramachandra Guha, who I admire as a cricket historian, gives several interesting insights on the World Cup, in his book “A Corner of a Foreign Field”. This book, his tome on Indian cricketing history, regales us with little known facts and angles on  the most famous sport in India.

 

Cricket was already popular across classes, across regions, comparable with only Hindi films. A journalist wrote “Cricket, Lata Mangeshkar and the transistor make India one nation”. Two innovations took this along further. One was satellite television and the second was the growth of One day cricket after the 1983 world cup.

Guha attributes the growing interest in ODI cricket to India successfully hosting the 1987 World Cup, the first time the tournament was held outside England. He calls it a triumph of anti-colonialism. The President of the Indian Cricket Board, N.K.P.Salve, was given just two tickets for the 1983 final at Lord’s. When India made it to the final and he asked MCC for two more passes, and was refused. So he went about organizing a revolt with the associate members of the ICC and was able to get the world cup to India.

India started the 1983 World Cup as 50-1 outsiders and went on to win, beating West Indies at Lord’s. Indira Gandhi, who was India’s Prime Minister at that time, sent out a congratulatory telegram to the cricketers, which said “My slogan is India can do it. Thank you for living up to it”. Apparently, this slogan and cricketers’ photographs were displayed on state-owned petrol stations all over India. I think even if cricketers occasionally seize the moment, politicians never fail to seize the moment and spin it in their favor. May be if India wins this time, Manmohan Singh can probably use it to get a sound bite out of one of the cricketers saying 2G scam never happened and use it in the press.

Guha also notes that when the Indian team went to meet the Prime Minister after winning the world cup, Mrs Gandhi was dressed in cricket colors, a dotted white sari with a matching white blouse! When the boisterous crowd erupted “Kapil Dev Zindabad”, the Indian captain was quick to correct them, asking them to say “Bharat Zindabad”.

I will add more on Guha’s writings on the other World Cups later.

I took part in a physical quiz after a long time. CRY Bay Area organized a cricket quiz today. It was well received, pretty entertaining. Teams of 2. Govind and I went for this quiz. We cracked the prelims and landed in the finals, and were placed third. We also won the prize for the best team name: “Two Spaghettis of Mandira Bedi”

Here are the questions asked in the quiz, from my memory. Feel free to post your answers in the comments. Again, googling for the answers is LAME. I will post the finals questions tomorrow.

Prelims (Written, 30 mins):

1. Charles Bannerman scored 165 in the first test against England in 1876. He was the first centurion. what record did he create in that test, that he holds till now?

2. Leslie Hylton was a fast bowler from Jamaica who played six Tests for West Indies in 1934-35 and 1939 (he took 16 wickets at 26.12). What is he remembered for?

3. Surrey Lions beat Warwickshire Bears in 2003 in a tournament final. It was the first of its kind. What?

4. Who represented England at both cricket and football, an FA Cup Final appearance for Southampton F.C. and equalling the then world record for long jump? He also reputedly turned down the throne of Albania.

5. Who was australia’s captain during bodyline series?

6. Jack Fingleton overheard Pelham Warner talk with Bill Woodfull and exposed it. It came to be known as Adelaide leak. What was the outcome of the leak?

7. Who was a Royal Australian Air Force pilot during World War II and a famous all-rounder?

8. Who was the only nobel laureate to play first class cricket?

9. Who was the first cricketer to get out referred to third umpire?

10. Origin of the quote “bowler’s holding batsman’s willey”.

11. This batsman sledged the bowler, calling him a fat bus conductor. When the bowler dismissed the batsman, he ran past the batsman yelling “Tickets please”. Identify.

12. Whose conversation went like this: “So how’s your wife and my kids.” “Wife is good, but the kids are retarded”.

13. This bowler attempted to sledge the batsman after he had played and missed at several balls in a row. He informed: “It’s red, round and weighs about five ounces, in case you were wondering.” The batsman hammered the next delivery out of the cricket grounds and into a nearby river. Turning to the bowler, he commented: “You know what it looks like, now go and find it.” Who?

14. list counties that play in these stadiums

headingley
sophia gardens
bristol
taunton
edgbagston

15. Identify the most famous twins in Test cricket.

16. Who was the only indian bowler to get bradman out hit wicket?

17. Connect Stuart Broad, Tilak Raj, Dan van Bunge, and Malcolm Nash.

18. What is common to 1948 Australian team, 1888–89 Preston North End side football team, 1982 Australian rugby team and 1924–25 New Zealand rugby team?

19. Connect Mohinder Amarnath, Inzamam Ul-Haq and Rameez Raja.

20. Who scored quickfire 86 in 1979 world cup finals?

21. Connect brian lara, yuvraj singh and ricky ponting.

22. John lever came to india and something happened that tarnished his reputation. what?

23. Where is manuka oval where the visiting team plays “PM’s eleven”?

24. identify: colin croft

25. identify: keerti azad

26. identify: jeff thomson

27. identify: duckworth and lewis

28. identify: ian healy

29. Who was the only indian to be a part of 1983 world cup without playing a match?

30. Which witty correspondent wrote the book ‘can’t bat, can’t bowl, can’t field’ about 1987 england team?

31. Which Australian cricketer/commentator died in 2004?

32. Who was the grandfather of the Chappell brothers, who was a Test cricketer, also won a State tennis title, was prominent at lacrosse and basketball and was a first-rate swimmer. Also represented his county in baseball.

India will win the world cup!

There, I said it.

More prognostications from the descendent of Nostradamus:

1. India will play SL in the final. If they play earlier than the final, the winner will go on to win the tournament.

2. Bangladesh will be the breakout team in this cup. They will go to QF, and possibly SF.

3. Tendulkar will not play more than 2 crucial innings. He will play sheet anchor in one and will lead the chase in the other.

4. The games will not be as high scoring as people think. Some matches will be won by teams defending low totals.

5. The best match winning innings/bowling figures will come from a Pakistani player.

6. There will be a security related issue and at least one match will be affected/moved to a different city.

7. As the tournament goes on, more and more people will watch the matches with their TV muted, unable to bear the commentary any longer.

8. At least one major player will fail miserably in the world cup and then do well in the following IPL, prompting critics to question his commitment to his country.

9. Every ex-player will enjoy his 15 mins in the spotlight and make outrageous comments slamming current players.

10. A side will go deep into the knockout stage purely on it’s better fielding ability.

11. More people will be repulsed by the ads from the sponsors rather than buy their products because of these ads.

12. TV and media newspeople will quote reactions from film personalities on twitter: “Amitabh praised Kohli for that brilliant catch!”

13. The highest scorer in the world cup will not be an opening batsman.

14. Tendulkar will retire from ODIs at the end of the cup. He will reiterate his desire to play in 200 Tests.

15. As TMQ writes, “All predictions wrong or your money back!”