A cricket sunday

One did feel a tinge of regret when SA opening pair of Smith and McKenzie broke the 52 year old record of Pankaj Roy and Vinoo Mankad for the first wicket stand, a few days ago.

 But today, March 2, was a good Sunday.

Indian cricket was on song. India defeated Australia in the first game of the best of three finals. Sachin scored a century and carried his bat to the end. Rohit Sharma announced his bat.

And in Malaysia, Indian juniors won the under-19 world cup, defeating South Africa. 

Chak De India.

Professional media makes a lot of difference. Its good to hear someone like Ian Chappel commentating. It is good to see great camera work. It is also good  to see that they did not cover the streaker who darted into the Sydney Cricket Ground, except to mention that he had been tackled, towel-covered, and escorted out to a fine and a life ban on entering the SCG. A professional media company seems to have some sensible rules. A lesser media might have done differently. I am not so sure what they would have done had this happened in an Indian field. I  would not be surprised if the cameras carry it live. And I suspect that the Indian TV News channels would have shown it (perhaps with some haze) on prime time news, again and again…And again….

Or maybe not.

What say you?

Pongal Cricket

Happy Pongal!

After a heavy Pongal lunch, and a good siesta, surfing channels at some twenty minutes past 4 pm, I came upon an old treasure. On ESPN TV.

They were showing highlights of that old test at Old Trafford. India versus England. England had piled up something above 400, thanks to a ton by big boy Botham.

India in reply had lost three quick wickets. And then Kapil Dev and Sandip Patil got together. Kapil played a brilliant quickfire knock, and the pair brought the score to some degree of respectability. Then Kapil was out knicking the ball to the keeper (good catch, that one…off a spinner…very little time to react…)…Madan Lal comes in….Sandip lifts a spinner over long on for a clean six….Clean as a whistle…

And then England takes the new ball.

Sandip Patil on 80, facing Bob Willis.

And then he smashes six fours of one 7 ball over (one no ball), to reach and get past his hundred. What a treat to watch, and re-watch! He smashes one to the off side boundary! Slaps another, a rising chest-high bouncer, back past the bowler to the long off boundary….And it wasnt a slog shot either….Beautifully balanced, elegant shot…hooks one to square leg boundary….smashes one to cover, and one to deep point….Brilliant batting! Batting Power at its best! And then Botham comes and bowls….A rising delivery…Sandip pulls it from outside the off, keeps it down, and smashes it in front of square! Take that! Festival stuff! Happy Pongal! Patil ends the day unbeaten on 129.

That was some session between Patil and England!

Sunny Gavaskar, talking of that match mentioned that when they went to Pakistan next…When the Indian team got off the bus, or whatever, someone asked Patil - “Whats your name? Aapka naam kya hai?”…And a teammate replied “Willis sey poochO! (Ask Willis)”.

Cricket Is…. (1)

Twenty-twenty cricket has arrived with a rain of sixes.

Ravi Shastry called this version “mickey mouse”, compared to the orthodox world of Test Cricket. But then he was quick to admit that it was one helluva entertaining mouse, a “big bandicoot”!

What a lot of change the game has undergone since the times when it was a genteel sport of pucca sahibs!

Sure its a lot of fun now, but cricket of old had its magic too…

So here’s a shot at a “Cricket is…” series, along the lines of “Love is…”

Cricket is Bishen Bedi bowling maiden over after maiden over, sans end….

Cricket is Sunil Gavaskar opening his score with a first ball four off the fast bowler’s loosener.

Cricket is Sunil Gavaskar raising his bat high over his shoulders, ball after ball, to let go the ball ‘just outside the offstump’.

Cricket is Sunil Gavaskar and Eknath Solkar holding the innings together, after half the side has gone for 75 runs…

Cricket is Eknath Solkar crouching at forward short leg….

Cricket is Eknath Solkar suddenly flying into the TV screen from forward short leg, and catching Tony Greig’s defensive shot, straight off the bat…

Cricket is Venkataraghavan taking a real sharp catch, standing at gully.

Cricket is Abid Ali running in diagonally to bowl nice medium pace…

Cricket is Salim Durrani scoring a six…

Cricket is GR Vishwanath, off the front foot,  square cutting a fast bowler for a sizzling four…

Cricket is Sandhu castling Gordon Greenidge with his in swinger in the 1983 World Cup finals…

Cricket is Kapil Dev running back, looking up over his shoulder, and taking Vivian Richard’s catch in the 1983 World Cup finals….

                                                   ……The series goes on……

How about you folks adding more ?