The Indian World Cup Moments

The biggest cricketing show on the planet is about to start. The players and viewers have warmed up with two games each amongst them, sorting out their lineups, giving finishing touches to their strategies, using DRS, even getting a taste of the fickle English weather with games getting washed off. Only M/s Duckworth-Lewis didn't make an appearance.

While we wait for the actual tournament to start, its time for a nostalgia trip. So here we go presenting Slipstream Cricket’s favorite memories of the Indian World Cup campaigns starting from 1992 onwards (I have barely any recollection of 1983 & 1987 editions and wasn’t around for the first two). Instead of whole games, I have selected passages of play. So here we go Slipstream Cricket’s favorite Indian World Cup Moments (in no particular order).

1. The Toss (2011) – Kumara Sangakkara forgetting (or pretending to) what he called in the Toss in the 2011 Final!. Referee didn’t/couldn’t hear the call over the crowds and they had to do the toss again leaving a bemused Dhoni! (Somehow, seems very fishy in hindsight).

2. The Winning Moment (2011) – Dhoni smashing Kulasekara for 6 as India lifted the World Cup for a second time ending a 28-year wait. Will we see an encore? Hope so. 

3. The Response (1996) – Venkatesh Prasad to Aamer Sohail. Hit for a boundary, sledged by the batsman and then sends his stumps cart-wheeling the very next ball. The perfect response.

4. The Opening Salvo (2003) – Tendulkar upper-cutting Akhtar for 6 as India set to chase down Pakistan’s 274 run target.

5. The Tumbling Catch (1992) – Ajay Jadeja running in from the boundary to catch Allan Border

The Smash (2003) – Tendulkar smashing Caddick out of the ground.

6. The Banana (2003) – In the same game Ashish Nehra swung the ball like a banana to scythe through the English Line-up and then proceeeded to puke out one.

7. The Earthquake (2007) – Dwayne Leverock diving at 1st Slip to catch out Uthappa.

8. The Fight (1992) – Kiran More vs Javed Miandad. Whatever More’s sledge was, Miandad started jumping up and down in kangaroo land.

9. The Tango (1999) – at Taunton. Ganguly-Dravid scoring 300+ between themselves.

10. The Blazing end (1996) – Ajay Jadeja smashing Waqar Younis’s last 2 overs in Bangalore with a little help from Kumble and Srinath.

11. The Quote (2011) – Everyone except Sreesanth played well – by the one and only Virender Sehwag

12. The Promo Campaign (2015) – Mauka Mauka run by Star Sports as Pakistan still chase that elusive World Cup victory over India! Will they be 7th time lucky. Hope not! Funnily I couldn't recall off-hand anything else from the 2015 World Cup. 

And now that we are sufficiently warmed up, Let the Games begin!

India: 500 Not Out

India play their 500th Test match at Kanpur against the Kiwis. Could have been just another game but cricket (and its fans) love statistics. So becomes one of the most significant games in India's Test history. To celebrate this milestone, its time to pick up an XI of India's most memorable moments in the Test arena.

Disclaimer - The memories are the ones which happened on my watch. So all are post 1989 or as we cricket tragics mark the event, after Sachin Tendulkar's debut.

1. That Partnership at Eden Gardens, 2001

The greatest turnaround in the history of the game at one of its greatest centers against an all-conquering Australian side who were treating the series as the "Final Frontier". They were well on their way to achieve their goal till they were stopped in their tracks by VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid. The 4th day's play was not just match or series turning, it permanently instilled a belief in all Indian fans that miracles do happen.

2. The Chase in Chennai, 2008

By itself it would be remembered as one of our greatest victories. India chased down 387 with Sachin Tendulkar hitting the winning runs after Sehwag had given a turbo-powered start to the chase. But then it wasn't just any other game, being played in the aftermath of the horrific Mumbai attacks. Sometimes sport can provide just that bit of healing touch to a whole nation.

3. Adelaide, 2003

Rahul Dravid hitting the winning runs on the 5th day. An image firmly etched in the memories of the Indian fan. Australia had scored big, but they ran into a pair of familiar foes. The Dravid-VVS combo ensured that both teams are on equal footing after the first innings. And then the much maligned Ajit Agarkar produced his best spell of Test match bowling to knock out the Australians. And he was there at the other end with Dravid to see it through to the end.

4. Edgbaston, 2002

On a green pitch, India chose to bat first and the English team had the absolute privilege of being the only team to witness centuries from Dravid, Tendulkar and Ganguly in the same innings. And they followed it by slumping to an innings defeat against the spin duo of Kumble & Harbhajan on a green top.

5. The Monkeygate Test, Sydney, 2008

A match India lost on the field but where on-field incidents spilled over threatening diplomatic relations. Players were called over for investigations by international judges into racial abuse. There were umpiring controversies galore and accusations of cheating. Questions were raised on the very spirit of the game. The Australians seemed rattled as Anil Kumble declared that "there was only one team playing in the spirit of the game", reminding them of Bodyline time. It was ugly. And after all that the Indians bounced back to win the next one at Perth. Karma. Probably.

6. Sreesanth's six off Andre Nel, Johannesberg, 2006

S. Sreesanth, one of the biggest enigmas of Indian cricket. A freakish talent which went to waste. Amongst his achievements, the one stand-out would be to shut up Andre Nel. And he did it in his own maverick style. Hits a six, runs off to the other end and then starts... dancing!!! Leaving Nel bemused and everyone else rolling in laughter. And he also picked up 8 wickets in the game to win India's first ever Test victory in South Africa.

7. Declared at 194, Multan, 2004

The match had it all. India's first Test victory in Pakistan. Sehwag establishing his legendary status by hitting India's first ever Test triple. And Dravid declaring with Sachin batting at 194. Something which the stat-hungry Indian fan could not get his head around. But all's well that ends well.

8. Kapil Dev's Blitzkrieg off Eddie Hemmings, Lords, 1990
You need 24 runs to avoid the follow-on. And you have a genuine number 11 for company at the other end. So what do you do? If you are Kapil Dev, you take matters into your own hand and just hammer 4 consecutive sixes. And Hirwani at the other end promptly got out the very next ball. Couldn't prevent a defeat but it was heroic. Personally, me missed out following most of Kapil Dev's glorious career and only remember the dragged out ending in pursuit of Hadlee's Test record.

9. Kumble's Perfect 10, Kotla, 1999
On a pitch which had been dug up a few weeks before, Anil Kumble produced one of those freakish spells of bowling, taking out all 10 Pakistani wickets in the 2nd innings and squaring up the series. And wiping off some of the bad memories of the previous game at Chennai.

10. The Chennai heart-break, 1999
One of the heart-breaking results for an Indian fan. Sachin Tendulkar nearly pulled off a 4th innings chase all by himself. But the tail could not finish up the job. India were left 12 short off what would have been a sensational victory against arch-rivals Pakistan.

11. Bludgeoned in Bridgetown, 1997
For an Indian fan, the 90s were really tough to watch, especially when India was playing abroad. We just couldn't get an overseas test victory (not even in Zimbabwe). So when India got a target of 120 against West Indies, it seemed the elusive overseas victory would be finally achieved. But the pace trio of Ambrose, Bishop and Rose had other plans as India were blown away for 81. That overseas victory would have to wait a few more years.

And the 12th Man. The Test that wasn't, Centurion, 2001
Two full-strength national sides taking on each other in a five day clash played under Test match conditions but not being called a Test match. The aftermath of the Mike Denness affair had led to India lodging a protest. ICC did not withdraw the referee. So India and South Africa got a different referee. ICC removed Test status from the game (but it was still a first class game). This could have been Dravid's captaincy debut. And for poor Connor Willaims, this was his only match for India and could have been his debut. He never payed another international. And the Kanpur Test would have been India's 501st.

And the ones which did not make to the list - Irfan Pathan's first over hat-trick against Pakistan, Sehwag's 293 against Sri Lanka, Zaheer Khan's jellybean incident, Kumble bowling with a broken jaw, Dravid's Sabina Park exploits, Harbhajan's 2001 series. And many, many more.

Hopefully many more will come in over the coming years.

The Eden Gardens winning moment

The World Cup Memories - 2011

Remembering the World Cups gone by is a nice way to fill in the waiting time for the World Cup action to commence. Prior to the previous edition of the World Cup, I had jotted down the memories I had of the earlier World Cups (Click for 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2007). And now for the memories of the 2011 edition.

The 2011 World Cup was the first one closely followed via social media as well as conventional media. So it was quite common to have the game live on televsion as well as following ball-by-ball commentary on cricinfo while tracking twitter constantly. It was also the first world cup which was followed comprehensively by this blog. Regular match notes and thoughts were posted. Hence I have quite a big bank of memories from this edition.

First up is obviously the winning moment. Dhoni blasting a six as the whole of India erupted. The Cup had been won back after 28 years. Also lots of memories of the celebrations which followed. The whole team jumping up and down, many in tears, the players doing a victory lap with the support staff walking behind them arm in arm. 

It was also a World Cup of quotes, especially from the Indians. Sehwag started it with wanting to bat for 50 overs, a mission he wasn't able to fulfill, he also declared that everyone except Sreesanth had a good game, Zaheer Khan asserting that as a bowling unit , he was doing well and finally Virat Kohli after the final stating that Tendulkar had carried them for years and now it was the team's turn.

Then there was Entertaining England. Every single game of theirs was a close one. In the group stages they lost to Ireland and Bangladesh while tying with India and beating South Africa and West Indies. There scripts were written elsewhere as they lit up an otherwise drab group stage.

The biggest game wasn't the final, it was the semi-final when India took on Pakistan. Our then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh invited his Pakistani counterpart and they watched the game together. The Sri Lankan President also jumped into cricket diplomacy mode and invited his Kiwi counterpart for the other semi-final. But the long distances curtailed this cricketing diplomacy.

And on the cricketing front, there was Yuvraj Singh's all-round show, Ross Taylor's slog overs blast against Pakistan, Kevin O'Brien's stunning six after six against England (which was later transformed into a a book), Zaheer Khan's knuckle balls which swung many a match India's way, Bangladesh self-imploding while West Indies team bus got stoned being mistaken for the Bangladeshi bus. Australia's winning streak coming to an end and finally South Africa choking again.

And finally the Bleed Blue campaign. We were the World Champions. And it was a sense of collective and pure joy which hasn't been felt since.

Now over to the 2015 edition and lets see what memories it will have in store for us.

The 1st World T20 Final

“In the Air...Sreesanth… Takes It…India WINS” – boomed Ravi Shastri as Misbah-ul-Haq’s attempted scoop shot was caught much short of its intended destination. And with that final act, India became the inaugural World Twenty20 champions.

For the Indian fan, it was a perfect finale to a near-perfect event. A world tournament final victory, coming over your historical arch-rivals was just the balm needed to heal the wounds from the ODI World Cup earlier in the year.

The tournament had been a grand spectacle. Music, player introductions, bowl-outs, fireworks and dancing cheerleaders were some of the innovations which were well received by the audience. For the marketing men, the final was a dream match-up like the perfect icing on the cake. The finalists— India and Pakistan – historical arch-rivals, both seeking redemption for their respective horrendous show in the ODI World Cup. They had played a thrilling tie earlier in the tournament which India won 3-nil in a bowl-out.

India suffered a setback before the start with Virender Sehwag missing the final through injury. In came debutant Yusuf Pathan as his replacement. Dhoni won the toss and chose to bat first. Pathan began his international career in a spectacular fashion launching the very second ball he faced from Asif into the stands but he fell soon after. Gautam Gambhir played a steady hand while wickets fell regularly at the other end.  The most memorable moment of the innings arrived when Gambhir smashed a six straight into the scoreboard. “That’s one way to get the scoreboard moving” was the gem from the commentary box. India ended up with a seemingly below-par total of 157.

Pakistan should have chased this in a canter but the World Cup final has its own pressures. Tight bowling and fielding combined with some reckless shots had handed over the initiative to India. The Indian fans thought the match was in the bag but Misbah had other ideas. There was a flurry of big shots while wickets kept falling at the other end.

Pakistan needed 13 runs off the last over with Misbah on strike and only one wicket remaining. Here Dhoni made the crucial choice. He handed the ball to Joginder Sharma ahead of the much more experienced Harbhajan Singh. Dhoni’s sheer gut feeling seemed to be the only logical explanation for this choice as Joginder bowled a wide and then was hit for a straight six. Everyone’s nerves were all over the place and Misbah seemed to be the only calm one. And then the third ball of the over. Misbah tried the scoop shot, the ball seemed to have been hit perfectly rising in the air as we saw the crowds in the background. With bated breath, we saw the ball begin its descent. Was it going to cross the boundary or was it falling short? The ball came down and landed safely into the hands of the waiting short fine leg fielder. Misbah was down to his haunches and the Indian team was celebrating.

I was watching the game with some hundred others in my college common room, which had never been so crowded before. There had been a hushed silence with everyone doing their best not to jinx the Indian team by any sort of movement. Sressanth caught the ball and the whole room erupted. An instant party followed.

All thoughts of assignments and submissions for the next day had gone for a toss. They would wait. After all we were now the World Champions.

P.S. - This article was written as part of the ongoing #BeACricketWriter Contest being conducted by Harsha Bhogle

Ranji Trophy 12-13: Jharkhand vs Kerala review

Match Summary: Jharkhand (120 & 170) lose to Kerala (325) by innings and 35 runs

Points: Jharkhand 0, Kerala 7

It was the do or die moment, Unfortunately Kerala had Sreesanth coming back from injury for this game. He took 4 wickets in the fist innings to knock out the Jharkhand team for 120. Then Kerala managed a big lead by scoring 325 through 2 top order centuries and not much else with Nadeem taking 4 wickets. Second time around Ishank Jaggi got 90 but the rest of the brittle batting order was exposed again and they could only muster 170 to lose by an innings and 35 runs. Though Sreesanth did not manage a single wicket in the 2nd innings.

The result was a major setback for the quarter-final hopes. Though all is not completely lost yet. Need to win against the table topper Services at the minimum while hoping other results also go in our favour.

All the best against Services.

Season stats

Lead Scorer - Saurabh Tiwary - 568 @51.64

Most Wickets - Shahbaz Nadeem - 33 @24.00

Pataudi Trophy - Test 2 - Day 1 Thoughts

Trent Bridge Play Summary - India win toss, bowl first, after a tight first session have England in deep trouble at 124/8 at tea; Broad & Swann smash their way out of trouble, Anderson takes out Mukund first ball. And test match in balance at end of Day1. Now my views on the day's play.

• Sreesanth - He is something else, gets abused by the crowd, runs into trouble with the opposition, maddens his own captain, irritates the viewers, basically drives everyone nuts. And then when you are almost on the verge of counting him out comes back and takes wickets. And then goes away again. Could be a great bowler - bowls at a decent pace, can move the ball, now only if he keeps his craziness in check. But then he wouldn't be Sreesanth.
• Swann's dismissal - It came out of the blue when Dhoni was running out of ideas to break the 9th wicket partnership. A dismissal caused by the pitch with Praveen Kumar's medium pace rearing up from nowhere, taking Swann's glove and lobbing up to Abhinav Mukund at 3rd slip. The shocked expression on Mukund's face as he caught the ball said it all. Swann's left hand was injured and he did not take the field. But the pitch could be really troublesome for batting.
• Saurav Ganguly's commentary - I simply loved Dada's commentary. Speaking in a soft voice, witty, sharing anecdotes and so far cliche free. Simply loved the way he wondered about how long Ponting was going to play with Greg Chappel around during the end of the day analysis.

Now Day 2 beckons. India survived Day 1 without too much damage (and saved the follow on as well :P). Lets just sit back and wait and watch.

A Fast Bowling Tale

An India Test tour of the West Indies.

And a tall, fast bowler is battering the batsman with pace and bounce and some swing in

Pretty familiar scene except that this time around its the West Indies batsmen who are at the receiving end. The sight must have definetely gladdened the hearts of the former Indian players who had been at the receing end from the West Indian fast bowling greats all these years.

The sight of Ishant Sharma running through the lineup did make for very good watching from an Indian fan's perspective too. A fast pitch is certainly no more a threat to the Indian teams. Our fast bowlers have begun returning in kind, and in fact performed better than the home ones. Examples like Perth (2007) and Durban (2010) immediately come to mind.

The reurgence of Ishant, the likely return of Zaheer, the newly disocevered test bowling of Praveen and well the craziness of Sreesanth and English conditions. Already anticipating a great series in England.

P.S. Ishant's performance brought back thoughts of "that" ball from Sreesanth.

World Cup Thoughts - Feb 19th

And finally thee 10th Cricket World Cup has begun. India beat Bangladesh in the opening encounter by 87 runs. Virender Sehwag had revenge on his mind and did just that. A first ball 4 to start the campaign and silence the crowd. And he also lived up to his promise of batting for long. And in the process achieved that immortal Indian score of 175 (must be a special number for Indian batsmen Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar & now Sehwag have scored this figure now). Virat Kohli also scored a century as India smashed through to 370 in their 50 overs. Bangldesh fought well but the total was always out of reach. Man of the Match Sehwag wasn't done though and provided some more fireworks in the post match interview.

• This was a revenge match
• Bangladesh are not good enough as a test side
• Everybody played well except Sreesanth (that must have hurt)

So Port of Spain 2007 has been avenged. My wishes were fulfilled, not fully but I'll take this.

Now looking further in the tournament. India next play England 8 days from now, where Sehwag can seek revenge for all those years of British rule. For the immediate future New Zealand take on Kenya while Sri Lanka face Canada. Prediction - Both New Zealand & Sri Lanka to easily win. 

My wish for tomorrow, some fireworks from Rizwan Cheema and maybe a calm well composed innings from that fellow with the coolest, calmest, most composed name Seren Waters.

The Battle for No. 2

India finally managed to escape undefeated from South Africa. The 3rd day was a nervy one. India did not try to score the 341 runs (not likely on a 5th day pitch against Steyn, Morkel & Harris) while South Africa could only take out 3 wickets. The end might have been quite anti-climatic given the build up but in the end a 1-1 result was an apt one. There are quite a few people angry at India not trying for the chase but I am sure they would have been the first ones to call our batsmen irresponsible, useless etc if they had perished while going for shots.

The series did provide some great cricket from the masters. Jacques Kallis got his 1st double century, then scored 2 in the 3rd while suffering from a side strain. Sachin Tendulkar's 50th & 51st centuries. Steyn's sustained hostile bowling. VVS Laxman's 96 at Durban. Sreesanth's extra-ordinary deliveries to Kallis, de Villiers & Prince. Dravid's 200th catch. Gambhir's 5th day 50 in Newlands. Quite a memoried packed into a 3 Test series.

India retained their No. 1 ranking by a huge margin. Hopefully there will be less questioning of this status now. However India does have to find a back up for Zaheer. His sheer presence changes the team's bowling outlook. And when he is not there then we see what happened in Centurion.

In the end all I can say is that this wasn't a battle for No.1. After all India had a chance to take it when South Africa were 130/6. And South Africa then blew it by not declaring on the 4th day itself. As both teams opted for safety first in the end, it truly was a Battle for the No. 2 spot.
I can't help but feel that India blew a great chance for victory. Firstly no warm-up match (Contrast this with the Ashes where England played 3 first class matches before the Tests began). Then some muddled selection. Jaidev Unadkat was preferred over Abhimanyu Mithun. Unadkat looks too raw to be playing Test cricket. He hasn't even played a full season of Ranji Trophy as yet. While Mithun must be wondering what wrong he had done in the 3 tests in Sri Lanka to be dropped from the squad.

Now time to switch over to some mindless limited over action to occupy the time till the world cup.

The Ball

India vs South Africa, 2nd test Durban

Now this is one image which I dreamt about seeing but never thought was possible. An Indian bowler making the batsman jump up as the bouncer rose into his head, take the glove and lob off to a catch in the gully. And that the batsman was no less than Jacques Kallis was just the icing on the cake. Way to go Sreesanth.