10 Years of a Very Very Special Test

March 15th 2011 marks the 10th occasion of the greatest Indian Test victory of all time. Some other matches might have been landmarks in their own right, but none of them can compare to the 171 run victory over Australia in the Eden Gardens Test in 2001. Probably one of the greatest come from behind victories in all sport. India overturning  a near certain innings defeat against the seemingly invicble Aussies into a huge victory. Harbhajan's Singh's 13 wickets including the first ever Indian hat-trick, Rahul Dravid's magnificent 180 and over them both VVS Laxman's 281, the first and the most special of the many Very Very Special innings that he has come to conjure over the next decade. But above all that the Laxman-Dravid partnership has ensured that however grim the situation may look like, the Indian fan can still dare to hope. And for that the match will always remain VERY VERY SPECIAL.

Eden & the World Cup - The "Hate" Affair Continues

ICC has deemed Eden Gardens unfit to host the India-England match and there are doubts about the other 3 matches as well. It is a real shame as Eden Gardens is supposed to be the ground with the best cricketing atmosphere in the country. Maybe it is just a jinx but the ground's connection with the World Cup is troubled to say the least.

My memories of the World Cup associated with Eden Gardens are all bad. The opening ceremony of 1996 which was a total fiasco specially the much hyped up laser show (then quite an innovation). It was followed up a month later by one of the most painful games for an Indian cricket fan. The semi-final against Sri Lanka, a game where we were beaten on the field and our image took a beating with all the bottles which came flying in from the stands. A crying Vinod Kambli just made the picture more pathetic.

And now 15 years later the matches are being moved out of Eden. The Eden Gardens - World Cup hate affair just continues.