As I listen to songs and let the pressures of the past week slowly ebb away, my mind jumps hoops, stopping along the way to let some of the nebulous thoughts coalesce into these points.
Showing posts with label Don Bradman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Don Bradman. Show all posts
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
The Force is strong in him
In my review of Day 1 of the India-South Africa Test at Eden Gardens, I had written:
Juice in the track or ice in the veins, nothing seems to matter when Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag are together at the wicket. The first over by Dale Steyn was a disappointment. Six balls were pitched outside the off-stump, going further away, and left well alone by Gambhir. It was as unsatisfying a start as was possible for South Africa. Here you had Gambhir, fresh off his first failure in 12 Tests, nervous about the situation, and you let him just ease those nerves by watching 6 balls go by?! Ugh! In spite of that maiden, after 9 overs the score was 68 for no loss.
Taking that last wicket quickly on the 2nd morning will be necessary. Though, as long as they don't allow too many more runs, it may not be a bad thing from India's point of view if South Africa bats long enough for the early morning dew and moisture to evaporate from the pitch! I'm not hoping it happens, though.It was a little bit of both - the last wicket pair scored another 30 runs to take the score to 296 while playing out some of the juice in the track.
Juice in the track or ice in the veins, nothing seems to matter when Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag are together at the wicket. The first over by Dale Steyn was a disappointment. Six balls were pitched outside the off-stump, going further away, and left well alone by Gambhir. It was as unsatisfying a start as was possible for South Africa. Here you had Gambhir, fresh off his first failure in 12 Tests, nervous about the situation, and you let him just ease those nerves by watching 6 balls go by?! Ugh! In spite of that maiden, after 9 overs the score was 68 for no loss.
Saturday, December 10, 2005
The passing of the torch
For years, Kapil Dev has held a unique distinction - of being the only person to hold the world record for wickets in both limited overs (ODI) matches and Tests. Today, Sachin Tendulkar made an entire nation come to its feet by matching Kapil's feat in terms of centuries made in both forms of the game. (There are some well-compiled profiles and articles about his achievement on Cricinfo).
The self-proclaimed "child of the one-day age" is now the greatest accumulator of 100-plus scores in Tests (35 and counting), to go with the 38 he has in ODI's.
On the same ground in Delhi where Sunil Gavaskar had equaled Sir Donald Bradman's century mark, Sachin eclipsed one of his childhood heroes. Gavaskar's century was a frenetic affair, smashing fours almost at will and reaching his century off just 90 balls, a type of innings one imagines Tendulkar usually conjures. And ironically, Tendulkar's century was one that could have been manufactured by Gavaskar - 177 balls of studied determination, defending ball after ball, waiting for the bowlers to change their line and length to his demands.
For a long time one complaint I had against Tendulkar was that while he had the hunger to score centuries, he did not seem to have the temperament to make it a huge one. Someday, somewhere, a key was been turned in his mind, and a lock opened. In the past few years this has changed as evidenced by his scores the last 5 times he has crossed a 100 - 193, 176, 241 not out, 194 not out, 248 not out.
What is better than starting the day batting on zero? Starting the day batting on 100! Tendulkar gets to do that tomorrow. I look forward to watching this one unfold.
The self-proclaimed "child of the one-day age" is now the greatest accumulator of 100-plus scores in Tests (35 and counting), to go with the 38 he has in ODI's.
On the same ground in Delhi where Sunil Gavaskar had equaled Sir Donald Bradman's century mark, Sachin eclipsed one of his childhood heroes. Gavaskar's century was a frenetic affair, smashing fours almost at will and reaching his century off just 90 balls, a type of innings one imagines Tendulkar usually conjures. And ironically, Tendulkar's century was one that could have been manufactured by Gavaskar - 177 balls of studied determination, defending ball after ball, waiting for the bowlers to change their line and length to his demands.
For a long time one complaint I had against Tendulkar was that while he had the hunger to score centuries, he did not seem to have the temperament to make it a huge one. Someday, somewhere, a key was been turned in his mind, and a lock opened. In the past few years this has changed as evidenced by his scores the last 5 times he has crossed a 100 - 193, 176, 241 not out, 194 not out, 248 not out.
What is better than starting the day batting on zero? Starting the day batting on 100! Tendulkar gets to do that tomorrow. I look forward to watching this one unfold.
Friday, November 25, 2005
Lara ascends another peak
A man with a penchant for big, big scores - Brian Charles Lara - added to his legacy with a fighting 226 (the next highest score was 34) for the West Indies against Australia at the Adelaide Oval. In the process he became the highest run-getter in Test history, a position that he may just be keeping warm for the other great legend of this era - Sachin Tendulkar. In a career spanning almost 13 years, Lara has had more highlights than a generation of cricketers combined.
Opinion is divided on who the better batsman of the current era is - my money is on Tendulkar as he is more compact and consistent - but there is no denying that Lara clearly outdoes Tendulkar in one department - getting a huge score once set at the crease. Only Don Bradman has more Test double centuries (12) than Lara (8 and counting), while Tendulkar's first (of 4) double century was the 21st century of his career. Lara's first century was a 277 against Australia! (Lara is also the only man to have posted scores in the 100's, 200's, 300's, 400's and 500's).
Opinion is divided on who the better batsman of the current era is - my money is on Tendulkar as he is more compact and consistent - but there is no denying that Lara clearly outdoes Tendulkar in one department - getting a huge score once set at the crease. Only Don Bradman has more Test double centuries (12) than Lara (8 and counting), while Tendulkar's first (of 4) double century was the 21st century of his career. Lara's first century was a 277 against Australia! (Lara is also the only man to have posted scores in the 100's, 200's, 300's, 400's and 500's).
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