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| krishna |
Posted
on 11-Mar-03 11:36 AM
India's batting hero Sachin Tendulkar has stormed India into the semifinals of the Cricket World Cup 2003 with a blistering 97 against the rivals Srilanka. His innings came of 120 balls including 8 well timed boundaries. It was a decisive innings from the Bombay man who at the start of the tournament was looking out of sort, really.
Captain Ganguly moved himself down and let Tendulkar open the innings, where he has scrored that massive majority of his runs. It was an ultimatum to being a great move. Tendulkar started with a bang knocking immediately his 35th ton. Then he produced that spellbinding 98 of only 68 balls to take India into the super sixes and send Pakistan back home reeling in agony.
His consistency is what surprises me a lot. The man is determined to get India the cup and that is exactly what he is doing. Producing this great innings again and again and just when India needed his knocks, is I think what takes him on the top of the all time greats of cricket.
He started at a tender age of 16 when he played against Pakistan in Karachi in 89. His first couple of innings were not so good and selectors were beginning to doubt his ability to play cricket at the top level. Then without further a due, he hit a magnificent ton against Pakistan in the same test to prove his ability and to bang his arrival with style in world Cricket. Ladies and gentlemen, introducing Sachin Tendulkar.
From then on it has been the story of a legend. Hitting centuries against every test playing nations as well as other minnows, he has taken batting in the next era producing finest innings of class and quality. I still remember his two back to back hundreds to give India the Sharjah cup against the then champions Australia. Every ton against Australia requires class, that was classic. The maestro rates those two beautiful tons as his all time best.
I remember when Australia toured India couple of years back. The first test started with Shane Warne in the peak of his form claiming Tendulkar very early on and then surprising India with his series of quality leg spins. Tendulkar came back in the next innings and began his assault against one of the best leggy of all time. Warne then began a very defensive tactic, bowling round the wicket and turning the ball to off side. He thought he was going to content Tendulkar. Tendulkar started hitting him cross batted to six over mid wicket. There was nothing Mr. Warne can do about it and it was the innings of determination, voyage, revenge and overall the lesson to be learnt by many legs spinners around the world. It was the test innings of a run a ball ton which was, as Warne calls it, his "nightmare".
Such is the quality that no bowling can content him if he gets going. He has been in top form in this tournament and he has applied that in good effect to carry India into the semi-finals. Australia have also stamped them arrival with fast bowler Brett Lee finishing with a thunderous 5 wicket haul and champoin bolwer McGrath 3 wicket.
Earlier the Kiwis were looking to bowl Australia out within a 100 and claim their place in the semi-finals alongside India. NZ bowler Shane Bond taking 6-23 to left Australia reeling at 87-7. It required another crisp Michael Bevan innings to take Australia to a respectable score of 208. Kiwish had a great chance to enter the semi-finals but as is the story these days lately has been, Australian fast bowlers have been mightily impressive and dismissing sides in no time. NZ were bowled around within 130, at the end it was a comprehensive victory.
So is it going to another India-Australia showdown. McGrath and Lee going against Tendulkar and company. Would be some sight, wouldn't it??
For Sajha,
Its Krishna..
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| Nirvana |
Posted
on 11-Mar-03 12:15 PM
I just came back from Nepal. I was able to catch couple of cricket games while I was there. I am not degrading the cricket but it looked sooooo slow in comparision to Baseball. Maybe I am used to watching baseball now that is why watching these so called cricket games, I felt bored. I watched game between India and Pakistan(not the game but hype around it) but it felt like pre baseball warmup games. I feel watching my school's baseball game has much fun than this criket world cup games.
This is just my view....
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| Toilet Paper |
Posted
on 11-Mar-03 02:18 PM
Simply means you don't know cricket. Got to understand the game, and even more, got to play it to enjoy cricket.
I find golf boring (not even a sport) but that's cause I don't understand the game. It is not the same with Tiger Woods. Got it
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| RaiderNation |
Posted
on 11-Mar-03 07:36 PM
Yeah…TP is right, cricket is a connoisseur’s game…the more you watch it…the more you start loving it. It’s a game that has riveted me since my days in Indian schools.
One oddity I found in watching cricket now is that commentary is extremely childish. After watching expert observations in baseball and football, cricket comes out sore and bore.
The commentators are biased. Example in case India-Pak match, Rameez Raja and Aamir Soheil, both former Pak captains, could not keep their personal bias while commenting. Raja went as far as suggesting that Tendulkar should be maliciously injured. Soheil was almost in tears in the slog overs. So much for expert commentaries. Siddhu is excruciating, Shastri is tolerable and the English, West Indians and Aussie are a joke no less. Not to say everyone is bad. There are some fine ones but not good enough to keep an audience enthralled for 8 hrs.
I personally rank cricket just below American football in spectator sports but cricket needs to rework on its commentators and introduce professionalism in them to truly be a global sport.
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