Wabi-Sabi and 2 Sporting Legends

I recently came across Wabi-Sabi, which is a quintessential Japanese aesthetic or frame of thought. It is based on accepting and embracing transience and imperfection. Among many other things, it is the beauty of things imperfect, impermanent and incomplete. I couldn’t help but relating this to a couple of recent sporting stories. One that had The perfect ending, and the other which left people wanting.

November, 2013. The West Indies cricket team visited the Indian shores for a concocted test series that originated out of the blue, cutting short a mouthwatering showdown between India and South Africa. The reason being that Sachin was on 198 tests, had announced his retirement, and it was supposedly fitting that he get his farewell in his home ground, Mumbai. And quite conveniently, 2 test matches were scheduled enabling the Little Master to finish on exactly 200 tests.  

So, when it was all said and done (which didn’t take much time, thanks to West Indies’ abysmal capitulation), we had the customary lap of honour, trophies and mementoes from all possible organizations,  a truly emotional farewell speech, and a “why was this series played” trophy presentation ceremony. Sachin Tendulkar had called it a day with 200 tests and 100 international centuries to his name. Perfect numbers. The chase for which had a billion of us on the edge of the seat for a year or 2. The ending was perfect and beautiful, but not quite.

July, 2014. Wimbledon Finals. Novak Djokovic vs Roger Federer. It wasn’t quite the dream Fed-Nadal finals, as unknown Aussie teenager, Nick Kyrgios, played the game of his life to knockout Nadal in the Round of 16. But it was a dream that Federer and millions of his fans had chased together since the magical Wimbledon win of 2012. An 18^th Grand Slam and 8^th Wimbledon. It was just the Djoker lying in between the elusive landmark.

This Wimbledon, Federer was at his vintage best. The artist was painting the greens of the center court with the most delicate of strokes and elegance, as his foes felt the privilege of losing to him, one after the other. Federer had reached the finals with effeminate ease. But, that was to be it. In spite of a valiant effort, the artist couldn’t quite give the finishing touches to his canvas. The Djoker was at his gritty best, RFed was at his beautiful best. But that day, Endurance overcame skills; Doggedness overcame artistry; Djokovic overcame Federer. The number stays at 17 and 7. The picture of Roger Federer looking on as the events of the day unfolded with a solitary tear rolling down his cheek has to be among the most sadly beautiful moments in sporting history.

Federer knows who Sachin is. 

Now, both these sporting icons are legends of the game. Arguably the best ever to have graced their respective sports. One, whose story has come to an end, the other, who is probably past his best days in the sun. The twilights of both their careers have been a story of a chase. One chased the perfect numbers of 100 and 200, while the other is chasing one more Wimbledon, One more Grand Slam, after having reached close more times than one can count. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he never reaches that elusive, make-believe brass ring.

Yes, I say make-believe because Federer winning that 18^th Grand Slam, or rather not winning it will not make him any lesser a player than he already is. The chase for it and falling short is indeed sad, but if we look back, those are moments that will live with us forever.  

Similarly, Sachin not scoring that 100^th ton, or not finishing on 200 tests wouldn’t have made him any less a player than he already was. His 100^th ton was an abominable innings in a match against Bangladesh which we lost, and the 200^th test was against a weak team in a series that no one will remember with any fondness. The numbers are a testimony to his greatness, legacy and longevity. But the moments, not quite so. Personally, I would’ve preferred for him to finish on 99 international centuries or 198 tests, than be a part of a meaningless chase along with a billion of us.   

A sport is about moments, not chasing milestones and numbers. Don Bradman immortalized 99.94. Federer might end up immortalizing 17 (or 18, one more Grand Slam, please?), Michael Schumacher immortalized 7. None of these numbers are perfect. But they’re beautiful because they are flawed, imperfect and inadequate. The Japanese have got it right. Wabi Sabi should be the essence of life.               

Bat n Pad - The Online Cricket Store

Cricket. As clichéd as it may sound, It is a religion in India. Whatever be the format, there is an audience for it. Ok, to be truthful, probably Test Cricket is not the preferred format in India, but you do get what I mean. There will be scandals, losses and talks of the Sport being on the decline. But truth be said, Cricket will easily survive and is here to stay.

Being such a huge relevance in the country, It comes as quite a surprise that there is no single store or business, which has its focus solely on cricket. Yes, we do have many multi sports stores which sell cricket merchandise. This is where the idea of Bat n Pad was conceived.

We aim to target a specific audience for our goods but welcome all those love what we have to offer and wish to associate themselves to our brand. Bat n Pad is only limited to clothing retail presently but product diversification is on the cards. We aspire to cater to all your cricketing needs.

We will be launching our operations very shortly. The sales and operations in Chennai will begin first. We will be shipping to places all over India within 30 days. To stay in touch with us, to know more about us check out our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/BatNPad). And when you do it, you may as well like it.

Sports Fiction - The Redemption That wasn't

 Year 2008 – India vs Australia, 5^th ODI, Mumbai. Series Decider

*This match is going down to the wire. 9 required now of the last over. Sachin Tendulkar has played a lone hand for India, yet again. Can he finish things off? It will be Shiv though facing up to Brett Lee, Here we go* rung Ravi Shastri’s voice

Shiv was sweating and nervous. The manic crowd atmosphere wasn't of much help either. *Sachin, Sachin clap clap clap* echoed around the stadium. The pressure was on him to take an all important single and give Sachin, his God the strike. To make matters worse, it was his debut. He was 27 years old. A late debut for an Indian Cricketer, but he had finally made it to the big league. He had given a decent bowling performance picking up 2 wickets for 45 runs. But this was much more than he had bargained for. He had hoped the batsmen would finish the job, but no. Shiv checked on his gloves, adjusted his helmet, took a deep breath, tried to calm his anxiety and took guard.

Brett Lee was charging in. Shiv had seen this on TV before. He was used to sitting with his friends and watching in awe as Lee charged in towards the batsmen. But now, he was facing THE Brett Lee himself. No, there was no way he could do this. He backed off from the delivery at the last instance. *Sachin, Sachin* had now changed to *Booooooooo*. Shiv wasn’t sure what was going on. Sachin walked up to him, kept a hand on his shoulder and said “Don’t worry man, You will be alright. Just put bat on ball, and run. Go for it, Let’s do it for our team”. Shiv nodded meekly.

Sachin walked back to the non-striker’s end. It was only then something struck Shiv. Sachin had just told him it will be alright. SACHIN had told him. Everything had to be alright then. With a new found confidence, Shiv took guard. A charging Brett Lee now looked like a Mozart's piece in motion. It could do no harm. With each of Lee’s steps, Shiv’s confidence bolstered. Lee unleashed one of his lethal bouncers. Shiv closed his eyes, semi-ducked and semi-swayed away from the incoming ball, lifted his bat above his head, shouted “jai mata di” and wafted his bat in the air. And ran. In spite of all his theatrics, the ball had dropped just behind the stumps. He ran, Sachin ran, Lee ran, Wade dropped his keeping gloves and ran, David Warner, from point, ran.

*A Nasty bouncer from Lee, Shiv gets his bat on ball. The ball drops just behind the stumps. This could be a tight run*    

Shiv saw nothing but the non-striker’s end. He had never run this fast. For that instant, he looked like an Indian Olympic hopeful. As soon as he neared the crease, he put in an almighty dive and made it. He felt relieved, kind of elated. Sachin was going to be on strike now. 8 required of 5. Easy that. But the relief was only for a wee bit. The crowd was hushed. There were a few celebratory calls, but they sounded foreign. He checked the stumps at his end, the bails were intact. "Oh Damn, don’t tell me what I think has happened",

*That is a massive blow*

Shiv got up and turned back ever so slowly.

*Shiv, on debut, might have just cost India the match here*

The Australians were mobbing Wade and ruffling his hair.

*Sachin is gone for 97. India in deep trouble. The Australians will think this is in their hatchet. But as they always say, It aint’ over till the fat lady sings*

Yes, That man with Jersey No.10 was walking back to the pavilion. The crowd was stunned. Sachin Tendulkar was run out trying to attempt a non-existent single. Shiv, on debut, had run the Little Master out.  In Mumbai. Sachin’s home ground. He hung his head in shame. Shame was too soft a word. He was standing there at the non-striker’s end feeling like digging a ditch right beside the pitch and burying his face in it. The fat lady had sung for him. 

Year 2018- India vs Australia, Bengaluru. T20 World Cup Final

*The crowd is electric here as the match has come down to the wire. 10 required of the last over for India to lift the T20 trophy. Shiv in his final match, will it be a fairytale ending for him?*

Shiv was standing in the non-striker’s end. This was his final match. He had called it quits. He had quite an accomplished career. His batting had improved drastically since his horrific debut match and had a decent bowling record to go with it. He was India’s long impending answer to the “Who after Kapil Dev” question.

In spite of having a career which included a T20 WC win in 2016, overseas test series victories in South Africa and Australia, and 10 test match tons, It was his debut which flashed in his mind as the match approached the last over. It was 10 required of the last over again. He was donning the role of a senior batsman now. No, he was most certainly not thinking of himself as Sachin Tendulkar. That would have been criminal. Nor was the person batting along with him exactly a debutant. He had 10 matches behind him. But, somehow he felt this was similar. He felt a sense of deja vu.

India had lost that match by 7 runs due to his ineptness, and hence had lost a home ODI series. The situation was quite similar today. India needed 9 runs to get of the last over with just 2 wickets remaining. Shiv was on 32 and couldn't take a single of the last ball of the penultimate over.  Prashant was going to be on strike. He had to ensure that Prashant didn't make the same mistake. The single had to be taken first ball. Period.

The stakes were much higher here. It was the finals of a world tournament. Shiv wanted to make his exit in the grandest style possible. He wanted to hit the winning shot. He was probably being selfish, but for all that he had done for Indian Cricket he felt this was pardonable. On second thoughts, he wasn't really being selfish. Shiv facing 5 balls would win the match for India. Where is the selfish here? But this was about redemption. His debut performance had always been hurting him. He could change everything with this match, or so he felt. His mind was clouded with all these random thoughts.

The stadium was buzzing. The final was in Bengaluru. Not in his hometown. Phew! At least one thing that is not similar. He looked back at who was being given the ball. James Pattinson it was. AH! There goes another similarity. A fast bowler. Why can’t it be Glen Maxwell? Shiv met Prashant in a mid-pitch conference. “I am not gonna tell anything different. Just take a single. First 5 rounds is on me tonight”. Prashant just smiled and nodded. Shiv was confident that Prashant will do a much better job of this than he had done in THAT fateful match. He smiled to himself and went back to the non-striker’s end. Edgy, smiling and somewhat confident.

*So, here we go. Pattinson Charging in. It’s the rookie Prashant on strike. Can he sneak in a single from somewhere*

As Ravi Shastri’s voice was rumbling the television sets at home, the Bengaluru crowd was buzzing with excitement and nervousness.  Shastri with his clichés was right for once. Pattinson was actually charging in. Prashant looked confident, but his heart must have been thumping.

It was a bouncer. Another similarity. Prashant brought out his best hook shot. But it was only as good as getting a top-edge. Shiv bellowed “Ruuuunnnnnnnnnnn”. Prashant ran. Shiv ran. The ball flew. Wade ran. Starc ran from Deep Fine Leg and Steve Smith ran from Mid-Wicket.

*The ball has taken the top edge and this has gone really high. Three people converging. Who is going to take it?*

Shiv knew there would be no problem completing the run, but he wanted Prashant to stay with him till the end. Playing 5 balls with just 1 wicket remaining was going to be risky. Keeping one eye on the ball, Shiv ambled on to the striker’s end.

*Would you believe it? The ball has bisected the three fielders perfectly. Superb placement by Prashant. More importantly, that brings Shiv on strike. India would now feel they have one hand on the trophy already*

Yes. Prashant was safe. Somehow, none of the 3 fielder had managed to grab the ball. The run was completed quite safely in the end. 5 balls, 9 runs, 2 wickets, Shiv on strike. Shastri had got it right again; India now had one hand on the trophy. Or at least that’s what Shiv felt.

….

…..

…….

*Shiv finishes off in style. India retains the T-20 trophy. After a humdinger of a contest, India have got the better of Australia. And it is that man Shiv again. Doing it for his team in his final match*

Shiv had done it. If there was ever a fairy-tale ending, this was it. He had slogged the 4^th ball of the final over, through the mid-wicket region for 4. The match was in the kitty. The trophy was India’s. India was now the No.1 team in the world in all 3 formats. Personally, Shiv had just accomplished a perfect retirement. His career was pretty short by Indian standards. Little less than 10 years. But he had a cricketing resume that anyone would have been proud of. Hitting the winning runs in the finals of a global tournament in his retirement match was now going to be the highlight.

Shiv was letting the moment sink into him .His team-mates had mobbed him and the celebrations were on. Shiv was struck between being emotional and elated. It was a wonderful place to be in. “Not just the first five rounds, the entire party will be on me today”, Shiv thought to himself.

…….

…..

….

"Man, why do I think so much. Shut down your freaking mind. Yes, this match is ours. Just finish it off dammit”, Shiv muttered to himself.

The Australians were taking a bit too much time to get their field right. This was the only trophy that had never adorned their extensive cabinet. They couldn't let this one slip.

Shiv took a few deep breaths. He had done this before. He had won matches for India on his own. But somehow this felt different. One, he had never done it in this kind of a tournament. Secondly, he had put himself in an undue pressure of this being his final match and all the redemption thoughts. 

*The Australians have finally managed to get their fields right. Here we go, Pattinson to Shiv. Where is Shiv gonna make this one land?”, Shastri was in his element that night. This kind of a situation was made for him*

Shiv dug his bat on the pitch. His mind was still cluttered, but he knew what he had to do here.  The fine leg was up, and he was going to scoop this. Regardless of where the ball was pitched, the ball was going up, over and between the keeper and short fine leg.

Pattinson looked menacing as he began his run-up . Prashant was in all readiness to take a cheeky single or convert the single to two. But Shiv had made up his mind; he was not going to run. The ball was going to the boundary. Pattinson in his delivery stride, Shiv made his initial movement and crouched a little. 

The ball was delivered.  145kmph. By the looks of it, It was going to be on a good length, just around the line of off-stump. Shiv made his moves, the bat now resembled a ramp and he was just waiting for the right moment to direct the ball to the boundary. The ball kissed the bat, as Shiv tried to hoick it over the keeper’s head.

*What has Shiv done here? This is disaster for India. The middle stump has gone for a walk*

The ball did not hit the meat of the bat. It did not get the elevation that it needed to. It just followed the path it was destined for and hit the middle stump at the top. The bails flew and the stump cartwheeled.

*Shiv let the pressure get to him. You got to question the shot selection here. India are now 9 down. With 9 required of 4 and the main batsman back in the hut, this should now be Australia’s game to lose*

Shiv had screwed it up again. This was everything that he feared. He had messed it up for India yet again, albeit in a completely different way. He stared away at the cartwheeling stump and sensed an elated Pattinson pass him to celebrate with the keeper. The crowd was hushed. The Indian dugout had their heads in their hands, visibly stunned. Shiv began the longest 70m walk he had ever taken/will ever take in his life. Fairy-tale endings are not as frequent as they should be. Shiv finished his career just the way he started it. Redemption was not his solace.

*But as they say, It isn't over till the fat lady sings*

Yes, few things don’t change. India had lost the match by 7 runs.  Australia had lifted the 2018 T20 World Cup.

Preview : South Africa's Tour of Australia

Australia vs South Africa. The last time we saw these 2 teams meet in a criminally short test series, we saw a scoreline of 21-9, we saw one of the finest counter-attacking innings in Test Cricket from Micael Clarke, we saw Hashim Amla at his graceful best and we saw the arrival of Patrick Cummins and Vernon Philander (Cummins working out Jacques Kallis and Philander’s exceptional control of the cricket ball are among the finest endorsements of Test Cricket).

Exactly a year after that series, South Africa will begin their first campaign as No.1 ranked test side in Brisbane. South Africa need to draw or win the series to retain the rankings, whereas Australia needs to win by any margin to reclaim their No.1 rankings, hence making them the 4th team to reach the throne in 2 years. All signs point to this being one helluva contest between two cricketing giants, one that just reached the pinnacle, and the other that fell down a few years back, but has done commendably well to climb its way back up, in spite of the numerous disappointments in between. A treat for the neutrals.

There are lots of key battles one needs to watch out for in this series, which will go a long way in deciding the contests. This should be a good time to have a look at those.

1) The battle of the pace attacks: South Africa has Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander and the uncapped Rory Kleinveldt. Australia has Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus, Mitchell Starc, James Pattinson and Josh Hazlewood (Injuries to Cummins and Ryan Harris has made their decision easier). On paper, the saffers should run away with this contest. But on current form, the Aussie pace attack are among the best in the world and playing at home could be a plus for them as well. Though It can be argued that the SA pacers will have the easier task against the brittle Aussie batsmen, one It really isn't safe to bet against their Aussie counterparts.

2) Jacques Kallis vs Shane Watson: Both these players will double up as the fourth pacer and No.3/4 batsman for their respective teams. Both these players are in the form of their lives. And both these players need to perform to give their team a better chance of winning. Watson more so. We all know that Watson will never be as good a player as Kallis is, but will be the better player this series? Whoever it is, I dare say their team will sneak the trophy. With Watson out of the first test due to yet another injury, Kallis seems to be having the upper-hand already.

3) Australian Batsmen vs Their Form: The aussies have a brilliant bowling attack but their batsmen are a bit vulnerable.  And when we put these batsmen against the likes of Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis and AB DeVilliers, it’s a no contest. If this was a traditional WWE Survivor Series wrestling match between SA and Australia, SA will win the bout without a single of them being eliminated.

We have Warner and Cowan as openers, one who despite a decent record, is suspect to quality bowling, and the other who just can't seem to convert his starts. They are Australia's version of the Sehwag-.Akash Chopra alliance. The middle order consists of Watson (Quiney), Ponting, Clarke, Hussey and Wade. Looks good on paper, but only Watson and Clarke are safe bets. Quiney though in great first class form, will face a huge challenge against Steyn n Co, Ponting is in the twilight of his career, Hussey hasn't looked himself in recent tests and Wade doesn't yet look test match material. I predict a tough series for the Aussie batsmen against the SA bowling attack. The tail would need to wag almost every time to help them to a reasonable score.

4) AB DeVillers the Batsman vs AB DeVillers the Keeper: Following Mark Boucher’s freak injury and forced retirement, AB Devillers donned the gloves in the England Series, though they had Thami Tsolekile as the backup. This was done to maintain the balance and extend an already intimidating batting line-up  He did a reasonable job behind the stumps, but it seemed to have affected his batting. He was not at his fluent best during the English summer. He scored just 161 runs in the 3 tests, with no centuries or half centuries. A big failure for a player of his calibre  So, It will be interesting to see if DeVilliers can get that monkey of his back and get back to his belligerent best. If not, South Africa would need to find a young keeper who can bat, for their test side at the earliest. Quinton de Kock anyone?

Smith and Clarke, in happier days.

5) Graeme Smith vs Michael Clarke: The Captains. One leading his side since 2003, for 93 tests. The Other took over from Ponting in 2011, has lead his side for 15 tests. Smith is known to be a defensive captain, however since the arrival of Philander and Tahir, that seems to have changed. His bold declaration in the first test in England lays testimonial to that. Clarke has always been the aggressor. He makes bold, calculated moves, which in his short stint have clicked more often than not. His decision to declare the innings in the first test against West Indies, in spite of being in deficit comes to mind. Both are also crucial batsmen to their teams. Will be good to see who gets one up at the end of the series.

So, we surely do have a cracker of a series at our hands. I’ll like to put my hand up and predict a 2-0 series win for South Africa. It will be a close contest, but I believe the Aussie batsmen might just spoil the party for their team. Let’s see if there is a surprise or two in store for the viewers.  

Move over T20's, November is Test Match time !

After a T20 overdose over the past t2o months, which saw us sitting through 58 T20’s over 42 days, its finally some serious cricket time. Its Test Match time baby. There are plenty of test matches on the horizon. So many that, there wont be a single day from November 9^th to December 9^th when there will not be a test match played. I for one don’t mind this overdose.

So, we have 4 test series lined up for us this November. It starts off with Australia vs South Africa on November 9^th which will be a tussle for the No.1 spot. Will be interesting to see if the newly crowned Test champions do better than their predecessors against a gritty Aussie unit at home. Will the young Aussie quicks make their mark against the might of Kallis, Amla, Smith and DeVilliers. Can the Aussie batsmen handle the Saffer pace Attack. And, also Will this series be the end for Ponting? 

Next up is Bangladesh vs West Indies, starting from November 13^th. Not necessarily a contest many people will be looking forward to. The T20 champs will be in the house for the first time since their victory. Can they come off their gangnaming and switch to Test Cricket Mode? Whereas Bangladesh, Can they finally convert potential to Victory? Seriously, No more minnow talk please.

And then, is the 2^nd big series. India vs England. A battle of two “Lions at home, Lambs overseas” teams. A battle of two former No. 1 teams. And also, a revenge series. Indians will not be pleased with anything less than 4-0, England will be pleased with even a 1-1. KP “Reintegrated” back into the English team, Yuvi might make a comeback to the Indian team and of course, Could this be Sachin’s retirement series? All these questions might put you into a “spin”, so tune in on 15^th November to find out the answers.

And finally, Its Sri Lanka vs New Zealand, starting from 17^th of November. The losing T20 WC finalists will be looking for some kind of redemption. New Zealand will be looking to win a test series against a team not named Zimbabwe or Bangladesh, for the first time since 2005. This is the only series for which the result looks a foregone conclusion, Sorry New Zealand.

So, November looks all set for some really good cricketing action, with quite possibly two legends hanging their boots (My Prediction). Next up, I’ll be giving my preview on The SA-Aus and Ind-Eng series. Ciao till then J

Happy Birthday Kallis

Jacques Kallis is 37 years and 1 day old today. He is most certainly in the twilight of his career, with perhaps two and a half more years left in his tank. But, as he himself proclaimed, he is probably in the form of his life and opposition must be afraid, very afraid. Being among my favourite players, I thought this would be a good time to have a look back at the value he has added to the South African team over the years, and of course, will continue adding in the coming few years.

Kallis, As a Batsman:

Cricketing experts often talk about how a batsman has to be “In the Zone”. If anyone wants to know what that exactly means, just watch a Jacques Kallis innings. Concentration personified. Among the contemporaries, only Rahul Dravid and Shivnarine Chanderpaul can lay claim to being as good as him in this aspect. His expressionless face while batting, especially in tests, almost gives you the impression that he is bored of blunting down the bowling attacks that are thrown at him. But, that is just him being In the Zone. 24000 runs and 60 centuries at the international level, a testimony to his concentration prowess. For the kind of batsman Kallis is, it is pretty hard to digest that he has scored just two doubles in tests, first of which came only in 2010. I predict a few more in the coming years though.

Kallis, As a Bowler :

Running in at 37 years of age, bowling consistently at around 140 kmph is in itself worth massive respect. Kallis, known for his deceptively quick bouncers has been South Africa’s 3rd/ 4th seamer right from 1996. For a team which has given us bowlers like Allan Donald, Brian McMillan, Shaun Pollock, Makhaya Ntini, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and the current phenomenon, Vernon Philander, it is a tremendous achievement to be able to hang out with them, in addition to shouldering the bulk of batting responsibilities. He has 550 international wickets to his name, which clearly suggests he is good enough to be even the 2nd/3rd seamer for most international sides in cricket. Maybe, even the lead seamer.

Kallis, As an All-Rounder:

Time to give a close look at stats. Kallis has 12500 runs in Test cricket. Pretty close to Sachin, Ponting and Dravid , and more than Lara, Jayawardena, Allan Border and Steve Waugh.

Kallis has 270 test wickets. Hanging out with likes of Steyn, Anderson, Zaheer Khan among contemporaries and Alec Bedser, Derek Underwood, Joel Garner among the legends.

He has 187 catches in test cricket, hanging out with players like Dravid, Ponting, Jayawardena, Mark Waugh etc, among the best slippers.

That would mean, you put a Ponting, Zaheer Khan and Jayawardena together, you get Jacques Kallis. That’s the colossal value a player like Kallis adds to the South African team.

If numbers were the sole measure of greatness in Cricket, Jacques Kallis is untouchable. He is undoubtedly the greatest cricketer to have set foot on planet earth. Though, that might be a bit exaggerated, Kallis is quite easily the best all-rounder of this generation, and also one of the legends of the game.

Yess !! I am the best !!

Best Allrounder ever? There is a raging debate on whether he is as good as Sir Garfield Sobers. Different people have different opinions on this. Personally, by the time Kallis hangs his boots, he might just sneak ahead of Sobers in the race to the title. He is just that damn good.

Rahul Dravid - The Legend who wasn't

Exhibit A: October 2004: Nagpur – India

India vs Australia, on a green pitch. Yes, the very same game in which Saurav Ganguly famously sat out. India were 70 odd with 4 down, Rahul Dravid and Mohammed Kaif slugging it out against a marauding Glenn McGrath. During the course of partnership, Dravid, who himself was struggling for form, apparently said to Kaif, that he will face McGrath from this end, and let Kaif face the relatively easier Warne. Reason – Him being the senior player, he felt he had the experience to handle McGrath, and if they saw through this mini session, they had a chance of building a good partnership. Dravid eventually was caught at first slip of McGrath after 6 consecutive maidens. The scorecard would show an ugly 21 of 140 balls, but there was much more to the innings than just Strike Rate.

Exhibit B: July 2006 – Sabina Park –Kingston, Jamaica

India vs West Indies, on a minefield of a pitch. The pitch was 2 paced, variable bounce and everything else that made a pitch nearly unplayable. Wickets were tumbling for fun. In a pitch where everyone failed, there was one certain Rahul Dravid, who carved out a couple of epic half centuries , 81 and 68.  And In the end, India managed to post a comprehensive victory by 49 runs, and hence post their first series win in the West Indies since 1971.

Exhibit C: August 2011 – England

After a 4-0 drubbing and a spate of Injuries, It was time for the ODI series. India were hoping to redeem themselves. The ODI squad was announced, and surprise !! Rahul Dravid was named in the squad. Dravid was dropped rather unceremoniously from the ODI set up in 2007, and had been recalled and dropped at will henceforth a couple of times. For the treatment meted out to him by the selectors, he had every right to not play the ODI series. But, being the Gentleman he is, he duly accepted the selection and announced retirement from ODI’s effective from after the series.

Rahul Dravid is remembered for quite a few memorable innings, spread across his illustrious career, but the above mentioned are some of the main reasons why he will be missed by Indian Cricket, and even Cricket as a whole. Dravid was not just a cricketer, he was a model cricketer.

I personally feel it would diminish his legacy if he is remembered only for his monumental innings, and his amazing exploits overseas for India. Great players score heaps of runs, pick up hoards of wickets. Legends do much more. Dravid is a Legend. His contribution towards Indian cricket goes way beyond the 22,000 runs he has scored or the hundreds of catches he has pouched. Right from keeping wickets to give the team that 7 batsmen and 4 bowlers balance, which continues till date, to selflessly opening the innings in England because Gambhir was injured.

Even his retirement was typical of the man. He was not someone who enjoyed much fanfare and adulation. For all he had done for Indian cricket, he deserved a retirement match, played before a full crowd, with him walking back to the pavilion one final time amidst huge applause and a standing ovation. But Dravid decided to call it a day, few weeks after the Australian tour through a press conference. He realized age was not on his side, and following the 2 disastrous overseas tour, it was time to blood youngsters. He could have played one more match, but as he himself said, It did not make sense to him.

There will always be the debate on where does Rahul Dravid stand among the greatest batsmen of all time. I haven’t had the opportunity to watch some of the all time greats like Don Bradman, Viv Richards, Sunil Gavaskar, Len Hutton, Everton Weekes, Javed Miandad etc , but I am quite certain Dravid was good enough to be able to hang out with these legends.  Among the contemporary greats, Dravid would be right in the upper echelon, along with Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis.

The next big question to have arisen post his retirement, Who will be the next Rahul Dravid? For which, I would like to say , there will be no next Rahul Dravid. Yes, India will find a new No.3 batsman, they almost have in Cheteshwar Pujara, who will be big for Indian Test Cricket in the coming years. But, No one can replace the man Rahul Dravid.

Thank You Rahul Dravid for leaving behind a legacy that has enriched the game. You will be missed.

2012 T-20 World Cup : Gangnam Style

Afghanistan: Honest triers. Fearless Pathans. Took India very close and were then demolished by Luke Wright, England’s poor attempt at replacing KP. The Afghans are here to stay though. 

Australia: Not sure if Australian Team or Watson and Starc Inc. Destroyed every team in sight (Thank You Watson), before Pakistan gave them a trial by spin, which had them fist pumping on reaching 112. And, then they were clinically put away by the Calypso Kings in the semis despite a captain’s knock by George Bailey. Oh yes, Bailey was their captain.  

Bangladesh:  They were the victims of the Group of death. I fancied Bangladesh to sneak over New Zealand in their group, but first a BMac blitzkrieg and then a Imran Nazir onslaught showed them the exit door. And hence, yet again, Bangladesh faltered to deceive. They have been living with the minnow tag for far too long.

England: Defending Champions. No KP. No semis. The highlight for England in this tournament was most certainly the way they handled the Indian spinners. That was stuff of legends. Few shots were so atrocious that It was impossible to believe that Andy Flower, one of the best players of spin in history was their coach.  After this match, the English practiced so hard to handle spin, that they forgot about pace and Malinga took over. Poor English. They tried. You can’t really blame them

India: Rain. Enough Said (Yes, I am being biased here). Only team to have won 4 matches and not qualified for the Semis, Dismissed their opposition 4 times out of 5 and gave former champions, Pakistan and England their lowest T-20 WC scores. Someone who didn’t watch the WC would ask how on earth did this team not make it to the semis. Well Of Course, It was the rain.

Ireland:  There was only one upset in this tournament and Ireland were a part of it. A lowly ranked Watson and Starc Inc bulldozed the Irish team in their opening fixture. This is being considered as one of the biggest upsets in T20 WC history, with the Dutch beating England coming a distant second. They couldn’t go past the group stage as they could not recover from that huge Upset.

New Zealand: Officially the first team to consider Super Over as shit. They have every right to. They managed to tie two matches from the brink, but were deprived of a win first by Slinga Malinga and then by Chris Gayle. What could have been 2 wins and 1 loss, turned out to be 3 losses for them in their Super Eights group, and the perennial Semi-finalists missed out on their 9^th semi-final in ICC tournaments.

Pakistan: They possibly had the best bowling attack in the tournament. A manic innings from Umar Gul, a mandatory loss to India and a demolition job of Watson and Starc Inc. later, they reached their 4^thconsecutive semis in T20 WC’s. In the semis though they were done in by a committed Sri Lanka and Rangana Herath. Saeed Ajmal was ridiculously good, Emergence of Raza Hassan is something one needs to watch out for.

South Africa:  They had the batsmen to win matches on their own, They had Steyn and Morkel who could win matches on their own. Heck, they had 2 good spinners in Peterson and Botha. They had the most capped T-20 player ever in Albie Morkel. But then, they also had, you know, the C-Word. Lost all 3 matches in their Super Eights group. Urghh..

Sri Lanka: Yet another final. Yet another loss. Cricket South Africa is checking with ICC on procedures to award the Chokers tag to Sri Lanka Cricket Board. They had everything going for them. Perfect run up to the finals (Except for one loss to South Africa,, oops) , a battery of mystery bowlers and home crowd. But the occasion got to them, yet again. You will have your cup soon Lankans

Zimbabwe: Were they in the tournament? Oh yes, I remember, they were the first team to be knocked out of the tournament. That too, before New Zealand, Pakistan, England, West Indies and Bangladesh had even played a single match. I genuinely feel bad for them.

West Indies: And finally, OPPA GANGNAM STYLE. The Champions. The resurgence of the Calypso Kings. They were pre-tournament favourites, and they delivered or what! Gayle, Narine, Bravo, Pollard, Badree, Rampaul ,everyone had their moments. None better than Marlon Samuels though, coming up with an immense innings in the finals. West Indies also came up with the quote of the tournament. “If Jesus Christ could go no wrong and still get crucified, who is Darren Sammy”. Sammy came up with this gem on being asked about proving his critics wrong.

The 2 ladies look amused

Take a bow Champions. The West indies finally have their moment to savour after many tough years.