A Rip Snorter of a Test Series

Still recovering from  one of the most absorbing test series played  between  the present day no 1 test side India & an Aussie side going through a  transitional phase in international cricket. It is such a pity that amidst the IPL & the Champions League we have time for a short 2  test series  between India and Australia. The first test at Mohali was one of the most thrilling test matches  to be played on Indian soil with the momentum swinging almost every session for 5 days. It was test match cricket at its absolute best no wonder they say test cricket is the real cricket. The teams were evenly matched at the end of the first innings with  both the teams scoring over 400 runs and the Aussies gaining a slender lead of 23 runs .

By the start of the Aussie second innings it  once again proved the long theory that test matches in India progress very rapidly in the last 2 days  with a wearing pitch the wickets were falling like nine pins and  the test which looked like meandering towards a draw was brought to life once again as the Aussies were dismissed for a low total in the second innings and the result seemed to be a distinct possibility at the end of day 4 with India  being set a target of 216 were at 55 for 4 with Sachin and the night watchman Zaheer khan at the crease on the last day .Sachin was dismissed for 38 and  with India  collapsing to 122/8 it seemed to be all over but V V S Laxman and Ishant Sharma strung up a heroic partnership of 80 runs for the 9^th wicket  and out of nowhere India pulled of its narrowest ever test victories winning by a solitary wicket .V V S  once again being the reckor in chief against his favorite opponents  scoring a quite astonishing 73 runs of a mere 79 deliveries.

The Aussie team was stung quite badly by the heartbreaking loss but vowed to bounce back at Bengalaru in the second test. Once again both the teams scored over 400 runs in the first innings this time India took a lead of 17 runs helped by Sachin (214) his sixth double ton in test matches and ably supported by Murali  Vijay who scored his maiden test ton (139). The Aussies once again faltered in the second innings being shot out for 224 runs. The Indian chase was not a thrilling  one this time  with India cruising towards a victory target of 207 runs with 7 wickets in hand and it was befitting that the maestro scored the winning runs the second test will also be remembered for debutant Cheteshwar Pujara who coming at no 3 in the last innings smashed 72 runs .

It was just the perfect test series coming at a time when  cricket is just about recovering from the infamous spot fixing scandal  it has  once again worked as a soothing effect of re establishing the lost  faith of the  viewers back in the  sport. Indeed cricket was in need of such contests where the entire focus is on the field rather than on   off the field activities .

Some Records Seem Too Far Fetched

Cricket besides being a wonderful team sport is also one of innumerable records and statistics. Virtually in every series played now a days thare are new batting, bowling and fielding records created and broken a galore.For a batsmen the run aggregate,the batting average and the highest individual score are records which are cherished fondly.although these statistics might not be a true reflection of a batsmen’s true class but they are used as a yardstick while comparing a batsmen with his fellow contemporaries and his peers from the eariler generations .Similarly a bowling average and the sheer volume of wickets taken by a particular bowler might not do justice with his talent but they do represent a fair analysis of his overall standing in the game.it is often said that some records will be broken sooner and others later but there have been a set of staggering records both in batting and bowling department which might be too far fetched for the future generations of players to emulate and eventually better.


Starting off I would like to bet (though betting would not be my cup of tea especially looking at the current sequence of events) that the record held by Sir Donald Bradman of the test batting average of 99.94 is of such staggering enormity that it will never be broken by anybody on this planet. Such is the record held by Sir Don that the next best batting average holder Graeme Pollock stands in the early sixties rather pale in comparison with the Don. There are a host of wonderful batsmen who have their batting averages languishing in the mid and high fifties (Sobers, Hammond,Tendulkar,Ponting,Kallis and some others) . There is another unique feat achieved by Graham Gooch (england) of scoring the most runs(456) in a test match , he scored a triple century (333) and an unbeaten century(123) against india in the lords test of 1990 series.Even this record seems dificult to be surpassed by any modern batsmen because of the simple fact that after scoring a triple century, which in itself is a rare feat the batsman will simply not have ample time to score a century in the second essay of a test match.

The unique records held by Virender Sehwag of scoring 2 triple centuries, one each at home and away is also unique in the sense that he himself has broken his own record of the fastest triple century when he scored 319 against the Proteas in Chennai surpassing his ruthless 309 against arch rivals Pakistan at Multan. Till date no batsman has ever managed to hit 6 sixes in an over in test cricket but this could change with the emergence of T 20 cricket. The unique quadruple ton (400*) scored by Brian Lara also seems to remain unmatched by the future generation as none of the batsmen can muster up the necessary patience and the application levels required to break this feat. The dubious record held by Muddassar Nazar (PAK)of scoring the slowest test century taking up an excruciatingly long period of a tad over 11 hours will also stay intact for some years to come.

In the bowling department there are 2 records which will never ever be broken for sure.Firstly the record held by Jim Laker (ENG) of 19 scalps in a single test match . he achieved this feat in the Ashes test against the Aussies at oval in 1956. Secondly the record achieved recently by spin king Muttiah Muralitharan of a whopping 800 wickets in test cricket is of such a mind boggling nature that given its sheer volume it will stand the test of time forever. There are also some batting records held by the maestro Sachin Tendulkar of most runs in test cricket, god knows where he will end up when he decides to hang up his boots from test cricket. His record of most test centuries also seems too distant from the next best Ricky Ponting that it will also not be broken.

need to revamp ODI'S

Revamping ODI’S - Is It The Way Forward ?


Now a days the debate is heating up with regards to the urge to revamp one day cricket. With the advent of t 20 cricket and its ever growing popularity the cricketing pundits are calling for major alterations in rules of one day cricket. There is a growing concern that the ODI’S have become more or less monotonous with periods of lull especially from overs 16 to 40. The point is well taken but the suggestion of a split innings of 25 overs each would be too radical and would be breaking the overall rhythm of an ODI innings.

Sachin Tendulkar , who has been a major advocator of the split innings argues that the element of luck involved in winning the toss would be negated to a larger extent. The maestro further adds that in the present scenario the outcome of nearly 75 % of matches can be known after the toss. With due respect to the maestro this would be a very general statement which might hold true in sub continental conditions but not anywhere else in the world. The advocators of a split innings format often insist that both the teams would get an opportunity to bat under lights during a day night affair thereby negating any undue advantage garnered by the team winning the toss. Although I am willing to buy this argument but with a split innings format of 25 overs each the ODI’S would be converted virtually into a slug fest of 2 T 20 matches rolled into a single one day affair with very little difference between a T 20 match and an ODI.

I would like to think of a situation where in the role of a captain should be looked at seriously and there should be a provisioning where in a particular move or a tactic made by the fielding captain should be penalized or rewarded depending on the result of the move. Over the years the captains have become very monotonous in their way of functioning or field placing, the captains should be encouraged to chalk out some innovative strategy of field placing and induce the batsmen into committing a mistake. The art of proactive captaincy and the ability of forcing the batsmen to make a mistake has become virtually nonexistent. Overall I think that the one day cricket should not be tinkered with much barring a few areas keeping in mind that all the 3 forms of cricket must retain a distinct flavor and each game requires a distinct set of players having different set of skills.