The Twenty22 LineUp

We are already a few days into 2023 and the laws of cricket have been called into question in the Big Bash League. Before the year gets too far ahead, here is looking back at the year gone by. 2022 was a packed year for cricket with many countries clearing their covid backlogs. It was also the year in which we moved away from Covid with players participating actively in games even after testing positive. A far cry from the days when even those who had potentially come in close contact with them had to be put in isolation.

Here is presenting the Slipstream XI for 2022!

1. Cricketing Term of the Year – BazBall

BazBall is the real deal. Winning multiple improbable 4th innings chases, taking out a dead Rawalpindi pitch and bad light out of the equation, England are showing that Test cricket can be played differently! This after a horror start to the year after another pounding in Australia in the Ashes!

2. The Question of the Laws

Ben Stokes took a DRS Review after being given caught behind. Replays showed ball missed bat, hit the stumps but the bails did not fall off. Given not out on review, everyone had a hearty laugh, but it once again brings into question of LBW is a valid form of dismissal at all?

3. Coach of the Year

Given the headline dominating BazBall, Brendon McCullum should have been a cert for this award. But it goes to the other England coach, Matthew Mott, who in 2022, first lead the Australian women to an ODI World Championship and followed it up by leading the England Men to a T20 World Championship!

4. The Perseverance Award

12 Years after his Test debut, Jaydev Unadkat got to play his second Test for India. He may never play again, but what a story it has been, toiling year after year on the domestic circuit, and finally getting his second Test cap, and first wicket

5. The cricketing moment of the Year

There were a few contenders - Virat Kohli hitting that six off Haris Rauf (18.5), Stuart Broad conceding 35 runs in an over to Jasprit Bumrah, surreal scenes in BPL where the fielder’s throw hit both sets of stumps and the second one was runout. But the most talked about incident turned out to be Deepti Sharma running out Charlie Dean at the non-strikers end. The so called guardians of “Spirit of Cricket” were all up in arms on social media, where the debate raged on and on. The players themselves moved on fast with Deam attempting a run-out the very next day. Only issue was the non-striker had her feet firmly plonked behind the line!

6. Rivalry of the Year

Move over the Ashes, India-Pakistan, England-West Indies or even the Naagin rivalry (Sri Lanka – Bangladesh for the uninitiated). There is a new rivalry in town which has in origins in a Mr. Bean’s Pakistani duplicate being sent to an agriculture event in Zimbabwe a few years back! It came to light only in the T20 World Cup clash between Zimbabwe and Pakistan (won by Zimbabwe). Such was the storm on social media that even the Heads of States of both countries got involved!

7. Friendship of the Year

On the other hand, there were the Argentine fans of Bangladesh cricket, who were reciprocating their support after learning that there were more Albiceleste fans in Bangladesh than in Argentina itself. Result – Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s series winning exploits against India were also written in Spanish across the interwebs! That is one interesting way to grow the game.

8. Karma bites back

In the Ranji Trophy pre-quarter finals, Jharkhand batted on and on, scored 880 runs, shot out Nagaland for 289, then batted again and declared at 417 taking a lead of 1008 runs (first 4-digit lead in first class history). However in their very next game, they were at the receiving end. In the Quarter-finals, Bengal batted first scored 773, shot out Jharkhand for 298 and then batted again to pile up 318 runs. Just a small lead of 796 runs!

9. Ypu Gate

A journalist threatening an international cricketer and getting caught by his typos. Well done Wriddhiman Saha for exposing one rotten apple. But one wonders what else goes on behind the scenes. This ypu can’t be the only one who has indulged in such activities!

10. The Debutantes of the Year

ODI (W): Thailand

T20I (M): Cook Islands, Croatia, Fiji, Gambia, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Mali, Slovenia, South Korea, St. Helena

T20I (W): Bahrain, Barbados, Denmark, Gambia, Ghana, Greece, Isle of Man, Malta, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Spain

11. The New Format of the Year

West Indies compressed the game to 60 balls and made random changes along they way and came with The 6ty. It had its own set of bizarre innovations. Lets see which format comes along in 2023! 

That was the Slipstream selection from 2022. Hoping for an action-packed 2023 with its two World Cups and Test Championship Finals. 

Wishing all readers a Very Happy and statistically fun-filled cricketing Year.

Arbit Stats #71: A Series of Numbers

From the University of WhatsApp came this test.

And with it came a helpful hint –."difference between each letter may or may not be the same but there is an underlying pattern i.e. difference between A & B, B & C, C & D to M & N follow a pattern. Some numbers may have to be force fitted" 

It was an interesting exercise, cracked only once the pattern had been guessed. And then reverse fitting the numbers to famous (or not so famous) cricketing instances. The difference between the consecutive numbers are in Fibonacci sequence (each being the sum of the previous two differences). So here are the solutions

A - 181 – Sir Vivian Richards vs Sri Lanka in the 1987 World Cup helping West Indies to 360 to record a 191-run victory. Richards got his 181 off 125 balls while Desmond Haynes scored a more sedate 105 off 124 balls!

 

B - 181 – Matthew Hayden’s 181 helped Australia to 346 which was overhauled by the Kiwis. After suffering a whitewash in the series Australia went to go on to win the 2007 World Cup with another undefeated run! 

C - 182 – Mohammed Azharuddin top-scored in Eden Gardens in 1993 to set the tone for 3-0 whitewash against England and rescue his captaincy. 

D - 183 – India’s team total in the 1983 World Cup final. And they won comfortably by 43 runs. New Zealand got the same score in the 2015 final and were thrashed! 

E - 185 – Shane Watson's blitzkrieg helped overhaul Bangladesh’s 229 in just 26 overs! Wonder where Watson would have ended up if he had played the full 50 overs. 

F - 188 – Gary Kirsten vs UAE in the 1996 World Cup. A match also remembered for the UAE skipper Sultan Zarawani coming out to face Alan Donald without a helmet and promptly getting knocked in the head. 

G - 193 - Netherlands stunning run-chase vs Ireland in 2014 T20WC. They needed to chase a target of 190 in under 14 overs which is exactly what they did to go through to the next round. A chase which was replicated a few weeks later in the IPL by Mumbai Indians against Rajasthan Royals (the famous Dravid cap throwing incident) 

H - 201 - Jason Gillespie came in as a nightwatchman and got a double century against Bangladesh. Got the Man of the Match & Series Awards for his efforts. And never played another Test for Australia! 

I - 214 – the 3rd highest score on Test debut – by Lawrence Rowe for West Indies vs New Zealand & Matthew Sinclair for New Zealand vs West Indies. Behind Tip Foster’s 287 & Jacques Rudolph’ 232 

J - 235 - Virat Kohli vs England

K - 269 - Kohli is 269th Indian test player and hence the tattoo. 

L - 324 - Waheed Mirza’s score in the 561 run opening partnership with Mansoor Akhtar for Karachi Whites against Quetta breaking the record of 555 made by Holmes & Sutcliffe 45 years previously. No one else needed to bat for Karachi as they recorded an innings & 294 run victory 

M - 413 – Opening partnership of Vinoo Mankad & Pankaj Roy against New Zealand. A record which stood for over half a century. 

N - 557 – Clarrie Grimmett Test runs aggregate. His record for fastest to 200 wickets was finally broken by Yasir Shah after Ashwin nearly threatened to break it. 

This was one wicked quiz. Cricket’s obsession with statistics makes it truly a mathematician’s delight.

The Test

The Test is a 8-part documentary chronicling the journey of the Australian Men’s cricket team over a period of 18 months from the lows of the ball-tampering scandal in 2018 to the high of retaining the Ashes away from home in late-2019. For a cricket tragic like yours truly, all the events depicted are familiar. Yet, that doesn’t take away any of the excitement of re-living the events. 

These were extra-ordinary times for Australian cricket. Over the years Australian teams had been pushing the lines of the sportsman spirit – something which Steve Waugh famously called “mental disintegration”. But in Newlands, they were caught literally with their hands in their pants! The repercussion of being branded cheats in public were huge. Long bans for Smith, Warner & Bancroft and resignation of head coach Lehmann. Cricket Australia needed a thorough overhaul of the system. 

It is at this point which “The Test” begins. No doubt a good PR exercise in collaboration with Amazon to redeem the image of Australian cricket. On the cricketing front, Justin Langer took over as coach, with Tim Paine as the captain. After a while Paine, who was surplus to the limited overs set-up handed over the ODI & T20I reins to Aaron Finch. Retired legends like Ponting, Steve Waugh, Gilchrist, Haddin came into consulting roles. 

Initially the team struggles in filing the voids caused by the bans of their best players. But over time, new players put up their hands and take the place. The path is difficult, and they take baby steps. They celebrate their little successes – a hard-earned draw, a home Test victory, a Home Test series victory, an away ODI series victory in India, a semi-final finish in the World Cup and finally retaining the Ashes away from home! And it’s not just the on-field performances, there is also a change in the approach to the game. As Harsha Bhogle said, you can’t keep any Australian team down for too long! 

And there is the parallel track of Steve Smith – relieved from captaincy and banned for a year, makes a comeback, faces the boos of the crowds, but with his on-field exploits manages to turn the jeers into cheers. In between also gets knocked out while batting! Quite a phoenix like rise from the ashes for him. 

Then there is the story of the rise of Tim Paine. From being seen as a stand-in captain to becoming an Ashes winning captain, earning the respect of a nation in a job considered as the second-most important in Australia after the Prime Minister. 

Throughout the series, there is a recurring narrative of being together and helping each other out. Someone even remarks that this was a happy & united team despite continuously losing! “Elite Mateship” is a term which they come up with. However, Adam Zampa & Marcus Stoinis take it to a different level altogether! 

They take potshots at Virat Kohli for his on-field gestures & in your face aggression in Australia. But for some reason they miss the footage of him asking Indian fans not to boo Smith during the World Cup. Sometimes when you get too worked up into building a narrative that you forget the balance in it. However, Eoin Morgan’s interview is shown where he responds in negative when asked whether he would ask the fans to stop booing Warner & Smith! 

Massive defeats are easier to live with than the ones that slipped away. England running 481 in an ODI and beating Australia by 200+ runs margin was easier to accept. While Ben Stokes’ heist at Edgbaston was a bitter pill to swallow! 

There were a couple of lines which stood out for me. And this is something which we can incorporate in our everyday life (and work). 

1. Nathan Lyon talking about how celebrating every win is important. Because you never know if that would be your last win. 
2. Ricky Ponting berating David Warner, asking him what he had won that he was afraid of losing. 

So that was “The Test”. A must-watch for every cricket tragic! 

World Cup 2019: The Slog Overs

Finally, the long winding league phase comes to an end. And surprise, surprise we have our 4 semi-finalists revealed to us – India, Australia, England and New Zealand! A list which had been predicted within the first fortnight itself! But that is not to say that the dead rubbers were meaningless. The very last game changed the order of the semi-finals leading to change in many travel plans!

Sporting outcomes depend on very fine margins. If that shot from Carlos Brathwaite had reached its intended destination, New Zealand would have been out of the World Cup and Pakistan would have qualified! In the end New Zealand’s campaign faltered badly but they had enough initial momentum to nudge ahead of Pakistan. 

Pakistan’s campaign showcased their one quality – unpredictability. Or, in simple terms basically being Pakistan throughout! Everyday their supporters found new similarities with the 1992 campaign. They even supported other teams including India and New Zealand, while their own kept stumbling through. Finally ran into an impossible task with the Net Run Rates where their heavy defeats and narrow wins came back to haunt them. And then, finally the 1992 comparisons stopped!

But this is cricket fandom. So we move on to the next set of analogies. In the 2008 U19 World Cup, India beat New Zealand by 3 wickets in the semi-finals. The captains on the day – Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson. The same duo who will step on the field for the toss on July 9th.

South Africa, for the first time ended a World Cup campaign on a winning note, beating Australia and changing the semi-final lineups also. They have had two ties as well, and some rain involved. Maybe this is the luck they needed to turn around their future campaigns.

England’s stumble against Sri Lanka was the result which made the league phase interesting. But Sri Lanka couldn’t use that platform while England returned to their merry ways. Meanwhile, England reached semi-finals in 1992!

West Indies started with a win, ended with a win and had nothing else to show in between! Except that the signs of revival are very much there. Sheldon Cottrell has developed his own fan following with the Salute though!

Shakib-al Hassan had a sensational tournament. And in my opinion should be the Player of the World Cup. Bangladesh certainly are no pushovers. It has taken them (a lot of) time but they have arrived on the big stage. And it is the inspiration for all other newcomers and Associates.

Afghanistan were the fan favorite. Everyone would have liked to see them win a game or two. However, no one wanted to see them beat their own team though. However, the Afghan fairytale has hit a rough patch. Player indiscipline, administrative problems and fan trouble. Hope these are sorted out soon.

Australia are becoming the imposing machine again, but the ruthlessness is yet to fully come back. Wouldn’t have expected Australians of Waugh-Ponting-Clarke era to lose the last game!

And finally, India. After the weirdo game against England, easily dispatched Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Rohit Sharma has got 5 centuries in this edition with potentially two more innings to go. And yet still generates lot of social media hate, especially from the so-called fans who still do not realize that the red-ball and white-ball are two different ballgames entirely! Well, can’t do much about it.

We bid farewell to Chris Gayle, Shoaib Malik, Imran Tahir, JP Duminy and Ian Gould– in different forms. However, Ian Gould is the only one who has actually done his last game. Others might still be seen in different T20 leagues or even internationals!

So India vs New Zealand & England vs Australia. Let the Endgame commence!

The Final Frontier

7th January, 2019: Sydney –a rained out day and not a ball bowled. Yet, it would go down as a red letter day in the annals of Indian cricket. India had finally conquered Australia, the first ever Asian team to do so. It has taken 71 years of toil but we finally did it. 

Yes, this was the weakest Australian team that I can recall. But it still had a world-class bowling attack which needed a special blunting down by Pujara. And for their batting lineup, missing Warner & Smith, while not a single one of them would walk in to any of the other Test teams, they were a collective pest, scoring 20s & 30s, stitching together little partnerships down to the No. 11. Yet, we did beat them in their own backyard. Something none of the Indian (or Pakstani or Sri Lankan or Bangladeshi) teams had ever done. 

Our fast bowlers outgunned their counterparts, our batsmen were better at survival and blunting attacks and our wicket-keeper gave it back as good as he got on the sledging front. A 2-1 victory doesn’t really reflect the gulf between the two teams, thanks to the washed out last day in Sydney. 

While I do not believe in Ravi Shastri’s hyperbole about this being bigger than 1983 or 201, it certainly is special. After all every India fan carries mental scars of multiple maulings received in Australia over the years. Personally, I recall horror details from the many tours of Australia. 

• 1991-92 – when we were thrashed 4-Nil with a Ravi Shastri double century, which included walloping of the debutante Shane Warne, in Sydney nearly winning us the game. Then there was Sachin Tendulkar’s coming of the age kind 100 at Perth. But we were smashed in every other game. 
• 1999-2000 – A 3-nil thrashing, which was the actual prediction of the Mr. Niranjan Shah, the then BCCI secretary. The highlight of the series was a VVS Laxman 167. It didn’t affect the result in one bit but it was the first sign of the torment that VVS would unleash on the Aussies. This became part of the 16-game winning streak for Australia, which ended in Eden Gardens at the bats of Laxman and Dravid. The tide had started to turn. 
• 2003-04 - we won in Adelaide, squandered a start in Melbourne and just could not close it out in Sydney. A 1-1 draw was certainly not a fair reflection of the series. But we had tasted a Test victory in Australia and it only served to whet the appetite further. Now we wanted a series victory. 
• 2007-08 – Lost 2-1 after not being able to hold on for a few more minutes in the bad tempered, “monkeygate” scandalized Sydney Test, but outgunned Australia in Perth. The series may have been lost, but we took solace in Captain Kumble’s famous declaration – “Only one team was playing cricket” and we could keep replaying videos of Ishant Sharma making Ponting hop around. 
• 2011-12 – 4-nil smashing as this proved to be one tour too many for the golden generation of Indian batting. Dravid & Laxman retired and we wondered if we could ever win another Test in the country, let alone a series. There was a little matter of a certain Virat Kohli getting a maiden Test hundred. 
• 2014-15 – A 2-nil loss with two draws. Another era ended for Indian Team as Dhoni retired from Tests and Kohli took over and hammered centuries at will. There was a different approach which shunned safety first for a crack at chasing a 4th innings target of 360 odd on the final day. We still lost. (nothing new about that) 

With this perspective, a series victory in Australia is special. How many days we have woken up on cold wintry mornings to check the score, only to see a position of relative strength at stumps on the previous day having been brutally taken away. A collapse triggered at the hands of a McDermott, Reid, McGrath, Lee, Gillespie, Johnson, Starc or a quickfire knock from the likes of Boon, Slater, Ponting, Hayden, Clarke, Gilchrist or being blocked out of the game by a Geoff Marsh, Steve Waugh, Mark Taylor, Healy. Many times our tail was simple blasted out while their tail wagged all day (this still happens!) and sometimes we ran into the likes of Steve Bucknor! And having to listen to the gloating & condescending Aussie commentary as well. 

Life certainly hasn't been easy Down Under. And that’s why this win is such a momentous one. 

Australia isn’t really the Final Frontier. South Africa awaits (I know, we have two more frontiers popping up – Ireland and Afghanistan). But winning a Test series in Australia certainly does feel like having conquered the Final Frontier!

Cricket in "The Big Bang Theory"

I am a big fan of the Sitcom "The Big Bang Theory". However, found a very weird line in one of the recent episodes. 

Our favorite desi astrophysicist, Dr. Rajesh Koothrapalli, takes his friend Howard Wolowitz to a sports bar, where a cricket match is being telecast live. And while explaining the game to a bored Howard, comes up with this line."That's Ravichandran Ashwin, he is amazing. He makes Bhuvaneswar Kumar seem like Hardik Pandya!" A confused Howard replies with "thats too many syllables", while a confused me pauses the episode, rewinds and is clearly bamboozled by what the meaning of that line could be. A couple of attempts makes it clear that the statement has no meaning in the cricketing sense. 

However, the show goes on. And on the scene arrives Ruchi, who is equally cricket-crazy. And they get into a discussion on India's chances in World Cup (which one?) which solely rests on Kohli's form. (Now that is completely true). 

Ruchi meanwhile wants the bowler to break the batsmen's (who isn't mentioned) leg. I assume the over must have changed in the interim otherwise hollering Ashwin to bowl yorkers? And the duo discuss being present at the ground to witness Shoaib Akhtar's two consecutive yorkers in Eden Gardens to Dravid & Tendulkar (last few details assumed by me).

So three random names, Kohli's form being key to India's World Cup chances, yorkers, and their deadly use by Shoaib Akhtar in Eden Gardens (Video). Thats a whole lot of cricket in the Big Bang!

The Twenty16 Lineup

We are just a couple of days into 2017. And the cricketing action is already in full gear with South Africa-Sri Lanks Test matches, Big Bash League and Ranji Trophy semi-finals and that most intriguing off-field battle between Supreme Court and BCCI underway But before we move too far ahead, Slipstream Cricket continues its annual tradition of picking the year's cricketing moments to remember.

1. 6, 6, 6, 6 – Carlos Brathwaite – Remember the name

Cometh the hour, cometh the man. And Carlos Brathwaite certainly came big time. With 19 needed off the last over in the World T20 finals, Brathwaite hammers 4 consecutive sixes to win the game with 2 balls to spare. "Remember the name", boomed Ian Bishop from the commentary box.Ben Stokes certainly wouldn't be forgetting this one. 

2. Speech of the Year - Darren Sammy

The West Indies men and women had just won the T20 World Cups. Just weeks after their Under-19 team had also become World Champions. The skipper, Darren Sammy, chose this moment to bare his heart out to the world. It was quite a damning indictment of the West Indies Cricket Board. And this was the last time Sammy has played for the West Indies.

3. Going Out on a High - Brendon McCullum

The much loved Kiwi skipper decided to hang up his boots and give his back a rest from the wear and tear of international cricket. And did he bow out in style by smashing the record for the fastest century in Test cricket. It wasn't enough to prevent a defeat to the Aussies, but it was a fitting farewell to the man who really launched the IPL with his blazing bat.

4. Celebrations of the Year - Misbah-ul-Haq

He is now well past 40.Yet when he gets a century he celebrates by doing push-ups on the ground. We all know the end is nigh, but will Misbah to go on and on. After all he is the senior statesman the world cricket needs.

5. And they all fall down 

Win toss, bat first, score over 400 and still contrive to lose, by an innings. Happened only twice in over 2200 Tests till November 2016. In December, happened thrice, England twice and Pakistan once. The 3rd innings collapse became the new statement.

6. The Run Machine - Virat Kohli

Regardless of the format, Tests, ODI, T20I, IPL, the Virat Kohli run machine just kept chugging on. All tricky chases turned formulaic. India's batting revolved around one single man. And he kept delivering, time and again. The only batsman to have an average of 50+ in all three formats of the international game.

7. The Year of Comebacks

2016 started with Ashish Nehra opening the bowling for India after 4 years, somewhere in the middle Gautam Gambhir opened the batting after 3 years and capping off the year of comebacks, Parthiv Patel was keeping wickets for India in Tests after 8 years. And all of them doing a decent job. At this rate we might get to see Munaf Patel and RP Singh leading the Indian attack soon. 

8. The run-outs

The batsmen trying to sneak a run. The fielding team taking the ball and breaking the stumps just before he makes it to the ground. No better sight in cricket. And this year we had two memorable efforts - Dhoni preventing a last gasp Bangladeshi win and Temba Bavuma acrobatically running out David Warner.

9. Doing it all by yourself - Shania Lee-Swart

You see weird scorecards and then you see one person making 160 runs in a team total of 169. 

Isn't cricket supposed to be a team sport?

10. Contest of the Year

Unfortunately for the fans this wasn't played out on the field. The BCCI's attempts at revamping itself haven't satisfied the Supreme Court. The Board gave an inch when it was asked a mile. The shadow boxing continued all year long. Finally the Lodha committee had the last laugh, with the new year beginning with the suspension of current administration. Lets see how 2017 pans out in this legal battle.

11. 1009 Not Out

How does someone score 1009 runs in a single innings. Albeit it was school cricket, played in a smallish ground against a junior popgun attack, but Pranav Dhanawade managed to break the 1000 run barrier in a single innings. His later goings on haven't been exactly cricket though!

12. And for the 12th Man

Dwayne John Bravo took his DJ initals very seriously. And came up with the Champion song, where he put in his own name along with the likes of Nelson Mandela!!! Well it is his song. It did become the de facto celebration of the cricketing world.

That was cricketing year 2016. Now lets see what 2017 has in store for us!!!

Wishing all readers a very Happy New Year 2017 !!!

Arbit Stats #56: Virat Kohli

Test Match #2207: West Indies vs India, Antigua

This is India's 248th Test abroad. And Virat Kohli becomes the 1st Indian captain to score a double century away. Previous record being held by Mohammaed Azharuddin's 192 in New Zealand. (Full List)

Interestingly this is also his highest score in any format of senior cricket.

The 2016 T20 World Cup

Its less than a week since the final of the T20 World Cup and we have the IPL knocking on our TV screens. While we await the festivities to begin, there is just enough to time to recollect the lasting images from the World Cup.

1. Rally Around the West Indies

West Indies Won. And provided their own highlights reel for the tournament - Darren Sammy tearing into the Board during the final presentation, Samuels talking with his bat and mouth, Brathwaite hammering Stokes for 4 sixes and finally the Champion song. It was West Indies all over.  And they also won the Women's World Cup

2. Afghanistan

They are the fairy-tale story which keeps giving happiness to all cricket fans. They cruised into the main rounds easily knocking out Zimbabwe. Then proceeded to give a scare to everyone of their Super Stage opponents. They also collected a victory over eventual champions West Indies. Such was their exuberance that even Gayle joined in their victory celebrations. 

3. England failing to collect a famous defeat

England had a great World Cup, Just when they had one hand on the Cup, they were knocked off by the Brathwaite assault. A great turn-around for a team which failed to reach the ODI World Cup quarter-finals. And this time they didn't collect their now customary famous defeat as has become their habit in World events. Though they did come close against Afghanistan.

4. Virat Kohli & Joe Root

The men of the moment. Showing that even with classic cricketing shots you can still go at a strike rate of 150+. A batting delight for both the lovers of T20 madness and the purists. And as a bonus add their golden arms.

5. Sehwag & Shoaib

During their playing careers, Virender Sehwag & Shoaib Akhtar faced off against each other many a time. Encounters which provided many lasting images for the fans. And now they have formed an interesting partnership behind the microphones. The duo lighted up an increasingly dull commentary box. For the first time in many years, I actually preferred listening to Hindi commentary over English, especially when this duo was doing the commentary.

6. Upset of the tournament - Oman beating Ireland

Says a lot about (a) the progress made by the Irish in the cricketing circles and (b) the fickle nature of the T20 format with reducing gaps between the teams.  T20 is a more encompassing format and probably would spread the game further across the world while simultaneously killing Test cricket in many of the established arenas.

7. The Associate Dilemma

To simply put it, the ICC do not know what to do with the Associates. They want cricket to spread to generate more revenue sources. Currently the Associates are just a cost centre for them. And they certainly do not want them to cause any big upset (a la 2007 ODI World Cup) which destroys revenue from existing cash cows like India. So we have a token Associate participation now. 6 teams from the rest of the world qualify to play another Qualifiers. Dave Richardson has come up with a proposal to expand the Qualifier base, but at the same time has reduced the frequency of the World Cups.

8. Teams not turning up

• South Africa continued their tradition of flattering to deceive. This time around it was their bowling doing the choking act. 
• Sri Lanka were defending champions, yet hardly created a ripple. The retirement of Sanga & Mahela and Malinga's absence has really created a big void which can't just be filled up. 
• While New Zealand played attractive cricket, their campaign had a familiar ring to it - Innovative and ending in the semi-finals. 
• While Bangladesh have made large strides, they still need some tuning up at the World arena.

9. 11-Nil

The hype is still the same. The build-up is the same. And even the result is the same, And the Indian fans are not complaining.

10. Mitchell Johnson does not learn

Some habits die hard. Mitchell Johnson is now retired, but his sledging continues to hurt his own team . Wound up Kohli with his tweets prior to India-Australia game. [Not dissimilar to this]

11. The Champion Song

Cricket now has its own patented celebration, thanks to our own DJ - DJ Bravo.

Now the World Cup can rest while the IPL madness takes over.

India at the 2016 T20 World Cup

Ladies first

This was a golden opportunity squandered by the Indian team to hog some of the limelight at the biggest stage. A good performance at home would certainly have provided a big boost to women's game in India. But being eliminated in the group stages with just one win from 4 games didn't help the sport's cause. 

The team had a good run-up to the tournament. A maiden series win in Australia was followed up with a series victory at home against Sri Lanka. So a semi-final appearance was the bare minimum expectation. However, at the crunch time they came up just short. 

A big victory against Bangladesh was followed by 3 close losses against Pakistan, England and the West Indies. They might have been done in by the rain against Pakistan but they missed multiple run-out chances which might have kept the D/L score in their favor. A dropped chance at the most crucial moment (2 wickets left with 2 runs required) saw England scraping through while against West Indies, the team fell short by 3 runs. All three losses were narrow but the India team finished up second in all three. 

It was similar to the 2013 ODI World Cup held in India, when they lost out in the first round itself. Probably the pressure of playing in the limelight overcame the likes of Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami & Harmanpreet Kaur. Or probably it was just plain bad luck. The Indian ladies team has slipped back. Not long ago they were just outside the Big 3 of Women's cricket (Australia, England & New Zealand). Now, West Indies women (who seem to be going the other direction than the men) have overtaken them in the hierarchy. While the South Africans too are coming close as are the Pakistanis. Their current performance also does not give them a direct entry into the 2017 ODI World Cup (which might be a good thing in the long run, if the team has to go through the qualifiers)

It was a heartening sight though to see the men & women team taking the same ground and cheering on each other. Although they play the same sport, there can't be a bigger gulf in perception across genders in any other sport. 

Now for the men 

Virat Kohli carried them single-handedly into the semi-finals. He had able support from the bowlers (in helpful conditions) and Dhoni but the rest of the line-up never came to play. And at Wankhede, the first batting pitch they encountered the bowling just disintegrated with the honorable exception of Nehraji.

Kohli was a class apart. One can safely say he is the best chaser of all time. During run chases the man provides Dravid's solidity, Sachin's run hunger and  Ganguly's aggression, all in one. And he has VVS’s love for Australian attacks, a love also extended to Pakistani and Sri Lankan ones. 

Then Nehraji - He is picked for the biggest stage on the world cricket after years in wilderness and comes up trumps. A economy rate under 6 across a T20 World Cup, those are unbelievable figures especially for a fast bowler who bowled either in powerplays or at death. Now the question? Will he be mothballed again like after the 2011 World Cup or will he have a longer ride in the near future. 

Dhoni’s sprint to prevent the last ball bye against Bangladesh would be replayed over and over again. And still you would not believe that it happened. However Captain Cool was feeling the pressure of the World Cup. He miscalculated his winning six hit against Pakistan. Add his new form in the press conferences. Something loved by cricket fans but being hated by the journalists. 

In Jasprit Bumrah, we have finally got a bowler who can bowl yorkers at will. Now it remains to be seen if he remains a one-season wonder? (like many an Indian fast bowler over the previous years). 

Yuvraj Singh had a strange world cup. His best contribution came as collapse-breaker, trying to get the innings back on the feet after Dhawan, Rohit & Raina had derailed it. And yet most of the time it seemed he was just playing on past reputation. 

As for the others, they all had a World Cup to forget. As a team, the performance wasn't quite up to the mark. The worst part is the team being repeatedly found wanting on spinning tracks. How can Kiwi spinners outperform Indians? However in tight situations the men did come out trumps. 

Catches win Matches. An old cricketing maxim which didn't quite hold true in this World Cup. Sometimes they don’t. e.g. Watson taking Yuvraj’s catch actually benefited India more than Australia. And in the semi-finals against West Indies, if those two catches had not been taken, the no-balls would not have been reviewed and no subsequent free-hits awarded either. 

So what are the lasting images from the 2016 World Cup for Indian fans - the sight of Virat Kohli on his knees after the Australia chase overcome by his own stupendous effort, Dhoni winning the race to the stumps against Bangladesh or simply the the two teams cheering each other .

The Hyped Up One-Sided Rivalry

11-Nil: That's the current scoreline in the most hyped up, yet surprisingly most one-sided rivalry on the biggest stages of world cricket. Since 1992, India & Pakistan have played each other 11 times in World Cups (ODI & T20), and each and every time India has come out trumps. The venues change, the conditions change, the protagonists change, yet the final result has always been the same.

Sydney, Bangalore, Manchester, Centurion, Durban, Johannesburg, Mohali, Colombo, Mirpur, Adelaide, Kolkata. It the World Cup. India and Pakistan come to play. India wins. As simple as that. 6-0 in ODIs and 5-0 including one win via bowl out in T20 World Cups.

Yet, when one compares the overall head-to-head record it reads, 72-51 in Pakistan's favor in ODIs while the T20 record is 6-1 in India's. Given this context, 11-0 is has now become too big a margin to be just a statistical anomaly?

India vs Pakistan provides the marquee clash of any cricket tournament. After all, the countries have a shared bitter history, the Partition still rankles many, while multiple wars have been fought. The cricketing rivalry is sometimes used as a metaphor for the larger issues (which it should not be). And hence the hype. Although from a purely cricketing perspective, Australia has already replaced Pakistan as our arch-rivals. Yet, when the sub-continental neighbors clash, it doesn't get any bigger . 

While the scoreline might not suggest this, the games have always lived up to the hyped up expectations and left lots of indelible memories for the fans on both sides. The Javed Miandad kangaroo jumps, the Prasad-Sohail face-off, the Sachin-Sehwag Centurion assault, Manchester played in the Kargil backdrop, the bowl-out, the Misbah scoop, Joginder Sharma's last over, the Virat Kohli gems, the mauka ad. Wonderful memories, if you are an India fan, nightmares for the Pakistanis. And yesterday's game at Eden Gardens was no different.

Here are the power-plays from the Kolkata game.

• Based on pure talent, Pakistan have always had the better bowling attack, India the better batting line-up. No better example than this picture from the pre-game ceremony at Kolkata.

That is over 2200 international wickets on the left and 65,000 international runs on the right side of the picture.

• It might only have been a group match, but the game needed its own opening ceremony. Only thing missing was the Wagah Border gate closing ceremony. Even if it came at the cost of cutting overs. 
• There is Virat Kohli and there are other batsmen. In limited overs cricket, there is simply no peer in completing the assigned job. Pitch conditions, bowlers, the struggles of his fellow batsmen simply do not matter to him.
• Dhoni's miscalculation. And I am not talking about his handling of the bowlers (Ashwin not completing his quota). He likes to complete a win with a six. He hit one seemingly thinking that the job was done, yet one run still had to be scored. Probably the pressures of the big game telling on Captain Cool as well.
• There was a prequel to the game with the ladies playing in Kotla. The match was evenly poised but the rain Gods did a South Africa on the Indians. Result - suddenly Pakistani women team getting more attention and respect in Pakistan.

In the end Cricket and India won :D

Arbit Stats #49: Twin Doubles

ODI #3723: Australia vs India, Perth, January 12, 2016

207: Partnership between Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli for the 2nd wicket for India.

242: Partnership between Steve Smith & George Bailey for the 3rd wicket for Australia.

Smith-Bailey upstaged the efforts of Sharma-Kohli. In the process this was the first ever ODI to feature two double century partnerships.

Also Rohit Sharma's 171 was the highest score by a visiting batsman against Australia in Australia beating Vivian Richards's 156 in 1979.

Galle 2015 - The Soon to be Unremembered Classic

Test Match #2176, Sri Lanka vs India, Galle

It had all the ingredients for a Test Match Classic – A match about which reams of newsprint should have been written and thousands of blogs published. One to been remembered for ages. Yet somehow it wasn’t.

Day 1&2: The home side began by winning the toss and getting knocked over for a paltry score on the very first day. The tourists take a huge lead of 192 runs built on the back of a huge third wicket stand which itself surpasses the home side’s tally. And then quickly remove both the home team’s openers for ducks by the close of the second day’s play. They are in the driver’s seat with not many thinking of the match going beyond the third day.

Day 3: The nightwatchman is dismissed off the very first ball. Little partnerships happen but the big wickets keep coming. At lunch with half the side back in pavilion, the home team trails by nearly hundred runs and an early finish to the day is on the cards. But their wicket-keeper has other ideas and produces one of those fearless, nothing-to-lose counter-attacks. The deficit is chipped away rapidly and then the lead starts building up. A small one at first, it soon enters the irritating category and then progresses into the “we have a match on our hands” zone. The home side eventually get dismissed after setting a 176 run target. The visitors lose one of their openers but watch out the rest of the day’s play. They are still very much in driver’s seat. 

Day 4: Its the Independence Day for the tourists. But the runs are very hard to come by as the batsmen are shackled up by the home spinners. The same spinners who had no effect in the first innings. The wickets have start tumbling. One after the other, the visiting batsmen are snared. And the home side manages to secure a big come-from-behind victory. Meanwhile the visitors are left stunned, trying to figure out how this dramatic turnaround came into being.

As if the dramatic action on the field wasn't enough, there were lots of other stories

• The series is the last for one of the home side legends. The home supporters are taking every opportunity to bid a grand farewell to their hero. 
• The tourists have a new captain who has been talking a lot about playing aggressively and getting the results after having spent quite some time getting hammered all around the globe.
• The tourists get a big first innings lead based on one big partnership featuring a man playing with a hairline fracture in his hand. Add the chance that he might not even have played this game if his regular opening partner had not been injured.
• The home side’s wrecker-in-chief in the second innings is an ageing, rotund spinner who himself is coming back from injury. He picks up seven in the second innings after none in the first. Quite a turnaround in fortunes.
• In between one of the visiting players sets a new world record for the most catches by a non-wicket-keeper in a Test match.
• And finally, it was one of the Big Three playing against a (relatively) tiny cricketing nation. The richest team in the world taking on a team whose players sometimes are not paid (One of their ex-captains on being fined by ICC said, first I need to be paid to be fined).

An exciting match, a dramatic turnaround, a potential David vs Goliath battle, a retiring legend, records getting broken, players battling through injury, umpiring errors – in short all the ingredients to be count as an all-time classic.

Except it was another India vs Sri Lanka match – already forgotten.

A lesson for the cricket administrators here - contests need a context. And rivalries are developed with time not frequency

World Cup 2015: Short Notes - 22nd Feb

The second mauka. have to say its been a pretty good promotional campaign by Star Sports.

• After today's performance one wonders, is this the same Indian team which had gone winless for nearly three months in Australia?
• South Africa have been handed their biggest ever thrashing in World Cup games and suddenly not looking so invincible after all.
• India out-batted, out-bowled and even out-fielded South Africa. Something has suddenly changed and for the good.
• There was a deja vu feeling about today's game. Like last Sunday, India played a team in green, won the toss, batted first, lost Rohit Sharma early, Dhawan-Kohli got a big partnership, the No. 4 batsman scored a faster than run a ball 70 odd, India failed to capitalize at death and crawled to a 300 odd total and then eased on to a big victory. Only today's victory margin was mch bigger than last Sunday's.
• India's area of concern - the collapse at death and failure to caitalize on the first 40 overs.
• India's population has its benefits. We manage to reach out to every corner of the world and fill their stadiums.
• Afghanistan and Sri Lanka played the first really close game of the tournament. Sri Lanka did get a mighty scare while Afghanistan just ran out of steam in the end with both bat and ball. 
• Play of the day - Jayawardene's bat breaking in two.
• Tomorrow - The battle of Britain. England should win but...

World Cup 2015: Short Notes - 15th Feb

Today was the big one. The clash of the neighboring continental giants and fierce rivals. After a spirited show, Zimbabwe came up short against their more fancied rivals. 

• Zimbabwe have already surpassed expectations. And are now looking a strong contender for a knock-out berth.
• South Africa stuttered initially but their depth in batting rescued them from a precarious situation into an unbeatable one.
• David Miller & Jean Paul Duminy are now the proud owners of the record for the highest 5th wicket partnership in ODI history. A record which went by almost unnoticed because all eyes were on the other game going on in Adelaide.

Which brings me to the real game of the day.

• It was supposed to be the biggest game of the World Cup, yet inspite of the few nervous moments, India walked away with their biggest ever World Cup victory against Pakistan. 
• 6-Nil. इस बार भी नहीं आया मौका।
• India still not managing to make full utilization of the end overs. This was something of a bugbear for India last time around as well.
• DRS controversy made another appearance. Again its not the system, its the people handling it and their awareness/ignorance of the rules regarding its usage which is creating all the trouble.
• Sohail Khan appealed for LBW on his very first delivery to Shikhar Dhawan. The umpire signalled not out and Sohail immediately called for DRS while Misbah rushed to recall the DRS review. Fortunately the umpire listened to Misbah as the replay showed the ball hitting Dhawan bang in the middle of his bat. 
• Yasir Shah can easily pass off as Lionel Messi.
• This Indian habit off slowing down when approaching a century (e.g. Kohli today) could land us in major trouble in the future. 
• Sir Jadeja's legend got enhanced further when he strolled for run and Pakistan had ample time to run him out, not once but twice and both times they missed.
• Misbah left last man standing. A scene oft-repeated in the past few years, specially against India.
• A for Akmal, B for Ball, C for Catch, D for Drop, An Akmal putting down a catch, another recurring theme for Pakistan
• And finally a joke to sum up Pakistan's misery

What does Feb 16 have in store for us?

• The crucial West Indies - Ireland encounter
• IPL Player Auctions

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.

Adelaide 2014: The AfterThoughts

Australia vs India, Adelaide 2014

It was a Test like no other. Matches have been held in the shadow of death before. One of Australia's greatest batting talents Archie Jackson died of ill-health while an Ashes tour was on in Australia. The Chennai Test of 2008 was played in the immediate aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks. And one of the greatest series of all times, the 2005 Ashes was played with the backdrop of the London bombings. 

However this match was different. An international player dying during the course of play in a first class match was an unprecedented event. The entire cricket community was in a state of shock. Something as innocuous as a cricket delivery had taken away a cricketer's life. Phil Hughes's sudden death and the subsequent outpouring of grief had rightly lead to the rescheduling of the India-Australia matches.

The rejigged Test series was cricket's way of saying "The Show Must Go On". There were lots of tributes paid to Phil Hughes during the game. 63 not out and 408 became the new landmarks in the scorebooks.

And above all this was Michael Clarke. The man had been in a row with the selectors  over his fitness when the incident happened. He was immediately on the scene, all animosity forgotten. As a leader of men, Clarke's stature has grown tremendously over the last few days. He took the field inspite of fitness issues and scored a century. However in the process, he picked more injuries. And there is a chance that he might never play again. Yet, I doubt that Clarke would have missed this game for the sake of prolonging his career.

The bouncer has always been a thrilling sight to watch. Now it had blood on its name. So I was wondering who would be the first bowler to bowl a bouncer in this game. And how would the crowds react. The answer came soon enough. Varun Aaron bowled it in the very initial stages. What was heartening was the crowd's reaction. There was applause for the bowler. A sign that people wanted things to become as normal as possible.

However Day 3 proved that things can never be the same again. Mitchell Johnson hit Virat Kohli bang on the helmet.  The entire Australian team, the non-striker and even the umpires ran in to check on Kohli. Thankfully no harm had been done. Yet Johnson was looking more terrified than anybody else. In earlier times, the bowler would have followed it up with a stare and/or some choice words with the close-in fielders also adding their two bits. Things have changed.

Yet nothing symbolized how much nature wants to back into balance than the verbal altercations between Aaron, Warner et al on 4th day. For some odd reason it was actually good to see that things were moving towards normalcy. Not that sledging and rude gestures are any good, but somehow it certainly helped in the healing process.

And finally a few words on India's performance. India's bowling is in a terrible condition. The bowlers are fast but too wayward while the spin department is itself in a spin. There is no way we can win Test matches with this attack on any half decent pitch. India's batting has no sting in the tail. The top order can bat firmly but is more likely to collapse under pressure.

However what was refreshing to watch was India's approach towards the 4th innings chase. With such a target, 80 percent of the times we would have collapsed quite early in the day and showed no fight. Other times we might have batted out a draw with the opposition under no threat. However Kohli and company actually went for the target. And for this very reason the defeat did not hurt as much. Yes we suffered a spectacular collapse losing 8 wickets in under a session. Yet the approach was there to win it.

Probably it was the stop-gap captaincy of Kohli which made India go for the target with Kohli himself leading the way with twin hundreds. However his captaincy shouldn't be judged on one off instance. After all as a stop-gap arrangement till Dhoni returned, Kohli could easily take more risks than the incumbent.

So in the end a grieving Australian camp turned up and outplayed the Indians. The first Test match is out of the way. And hopefully normal service will resume from Brisbane onward.

P.S. A word on Sean Abbott. It must have taken tremendous mental strength to come back and play in the very next match. That too in the very same ground. After all that he had to go through, he came up and got his career-best bowling figures. Hats off to the young man.

Arbit Stats 38: Virat Kohli

India vs Australia - Adelaide, 2014

Virat Kohli scored 115 in the first innings and followed it up with 141 in the second. In the absence of MS Dhoni, Kohli was leading India for the first time in Tests.

In the process, he has created a record for the most runs (256) scored in a Test match by a player on his captaincy debut.

#ThankYouSachin - One Last Time

Continuing from yesterday

Nov 15 - Day 2

The Dream - Well, let me be honest, I had a fitful sleep. And a part of it had a dream sequence in which SRT reverse sweeps Tino Best over Chanderpaul's head (who is at first slip) for 6. Rest of the dream has slipped away from the waking up memory. Dream might be explained but certainly no cricketing logic can explain the shot. Just remembered his "personalised digigraph" (nice work by BCCI) told me to chase my dreams as they do come true. Now I am wondering...

Woken Up - see a overnight message about the possibility of a ticket. But too late by then.

9:30 A.M: The Delight - Gotten ready in time. Have a ten minute window for watching the game on TV. And what do I say. Loud cheers for Pujara for taking a single and giving strike to Sachin. Sachin takes a single to retain strike. Next over from Shillingford - a square drive boundary. YES. Next ball, goes for a sweep... Has he missed it?... Its going fine and going for a four. Consecutive boundaries... and I now head for work. Not that much work is going to be done while he keeps batting.

In transit: He has crossed 50. Tino Best is sledging him. Seriously Tino, you got to be out of your mind. Meanwhile office is reached in record times for a working day. But as I enter and settle down. I get the news. Its OVER.

10:39 A.M. - Sachin Tendulkar caught Darren Sammy bowled Narsingh Deonaraine 74. (Probably the last batting entry ever). All participants are now to be lodged in quizzards memories like Eric Hollies. Also a certain Cheteshwar Pujara who in all likelihood was his last batting partner.

Mind is numbed. Nothing feels right. Reality has to be accepted. But...

Virat Kohli walks in as SRT walks out. The baton has passed on.

Surreal scenes - Pujara & umpire get booed because he is given not out. Indians - the masters of "jugaad" already thinking of ways to get Him to bat in the second innings.

Kolhi goes out after a fifty [Aside - Why does his century hunger from ODIs disappear in Tests]. Rohit Sharma in, Pujara gets a 100.

End of Day's Play - It has started to sink in. Meanwhile Rohit Sharma is putting his hand firmly on the baton taken up by Virat Kohli. West Indies are imploding. Maybe giving more party time... But for the Indian fan... Its time to move on.

Records Alert - Darren Sammy has got 5 catches in the innings, equal most by any non-keeper. Shillingford gets his 5th consecutive 5-for in an innings - most by any spinner. Speaks volumes about rest of West Indies bowling attack.

No... not posting this today... Will post together after Day 3.

Nov 16, Day 3 - Likely end of end.

One advantage of growing up. You tend to move on fast. A good nights's sleep and such sundry memories go to rest in peace.

Meanwhile West Indies have started collapsing. Again I reiterate, these players pretending to play for West Indies are just T20 mercenaries. West Indies should retire from Test cricket and have Ireland take their place in the Test community.

Samuels, Gayle, Deonaraine out. Now Chanderpaul goes too. The end is near...Ramdin resists but at the other end Ojha and Ashwin make short work of Sammy and Shillingford before Shami gets Gabriel out. And  then it is all over.

And then this wonderful speech. "My Life Between 22 Yards for 24 Years". The innings, the match, the staged series are all forgotten. That is how you bid farewell. Meanwhile, a few silent tears rolled along.

There will be countless presentation ceremonies, multiple farewell gifts and momentos, millions of pictures getting clicked. People trying to get in the same frame as SRT to be able to post the picture on social networks. There will be countless others who will say I WAS THERE when it all ended....

I Wasn't There at the Stadium. But does it matter...

All I can say is THANK YOU SACHIN for all the wonderful memories. Your place in the lineup might be soon taken up by someone else who might even create his own records. But... he will be a hero for a new generation. I may admire his exploits, but there won't be any romance associated with them. After all the peril of having grown up is you tend to move on fast.

THANK YOU SACHIN

India-Australia Batathon - Short Notes & Arbit Stats-26

The 7-match ODI bat-a-thon between India & Australia has come to an end. Here are a few short notes:

• It was a bat-a-thon not a cricketing contest. A cricketing contest involves a fair contest between bat and ball. Here it was between bat and bat. An occasional 300+ chase gives a thrill but a regular everyday dose will not sustain anyone's interests.
• A seven match series played over 3 weeks with a couple of games getting rained off was certainly not something to excite the interest especially given the focus of the two camps. The Aussies are focussed on the home Ashes (otherwise why would they call off Johnson a day before the decider) and India have their focus on giving a fitting farewell to the cricketing God. For the first time ever there was more coverage of a Ranji game than an international series.
• There is no safe total in ODI cricket in sub-continental conditions. T20 experience has ensured that with wickets in hand teams can chase down anything. A required rate of 10 for the last 20 overs is a stiff but not impossible task now. 350+ targets were gunned down without even breaking into a sweat.
• George Bailey has earned the respect. He should be drafted into the Test team for the Ashes.
• Rohit Sharma, Dhawan, Kohli & Dhoni's exploits hid the abject failures of Raina & Yuvraj. If they can't get going on these tracks then what hope can we have for the next World Cup. Dear Selectors - its time to bring in the likes of Pujara, Rahane & Rayudu into the playing eleven.
• Bowlers across the teams - You have my deepest sympathies. No point blaming you guys for the misdeeds of the powers that be. The contest has become so lopsided that only an extra-ordinarily good bowler can survive against ordinary batsman.

Totally  Arbit Stat - Glenn Maxwell scored the fastest 50 by an Australian, James Faulkner got the fastest century by an Australian, Vinay Kumar had the worst performance ever by an Indian bowler. All in the same game. Yet it was Australia who ended on the losing side.

Record Alert - Rohit Sharma & George Bailey - now are the respective record holders for the highest & second highest individual runs in a bilateral series. A true bat-a-thon this series was

Post-Script - Some of the behavior on display from the players can only be described as "not cricket". The abuses, getting into verbal battles, mocking another's injury, the send-off - this is not what as a fan I like to see on-field. Its just a game after all. Whatever people might suggest otherwise. There is something called sportsman spirit. Just try to remember the following.