The Wall

Pic Courtesy: rediff.com

Some of my friends still say that Rahul Dravid never got his due credit. To be fair with them, if Dravid would have born in a different era or a different country, he probably would have been known as the greatest cricketer of that era/country.

On the other hand, however, how many cricketers on the world have got any nicknames, and that too "The Wall"? I am sure most of the cricketing greats of this era and previous would love to trade that nickname with him.

The world is biased towards flashes of brilliance. It does not qualify patience and hard work as inspiring qualities. The ability to stay focused for years when others were taking away all the fame, is the one quality that makes Dravid the greatest of them all.

In the new age of T20s, the world will probably never see a Dravid again. But to the old timers, he will continue to remind that the greatest skill for success is consistency, and once the fame and aggression wears off, it is patience, focus, concentration and hard work that takes you to the next level.

I salute you Rahul Dravid, for being there all this while, and for giving hope to the rare breed of hard workers.

We are the champions

It was in the 1992 world cup when I first saw cricket matches with any interest. Incidently, that was also Sachin's first appearance in a world cup for India. I was told we won it in 1983. When Pakistan won it in 1992, I thanked god that atleast we already had one to show for ourselves.

For 19 years, I couldn't understand what it feels to win the cup. Heck, I didn't even know if it feels anything. For 19 years, this other guy didn't know that feeling either. We abused him while feeling sorry for him when we got destroyed on a faithful eden garden pitch, and then when we came tantalizingly close but got brutally drubbed by a certain genius in yellow.

A dream of a billion cannot be fulfilled by one, it has to be fulfilled by eleven. This is the time when the individual brilliance of the 90s is complemented with the leadership and teamwork of 2011. This is a new India, and it can take on the world on its own. I salute the stars who have given us this belief. I salute you Sachin, I salute you Dhoni. I salute the Indian Cricket Team.

Yes, and now I know that there is a feeling when you win the cup. And I am happy that now he knows it too.
(Photo courtesy: cbc.ca)

I invented the slow bouncer

Long long time ago, I used to play a cricket game on my computer. It was a DOS game and was called Allan Border's Cricket.

Most of these cricket games were heavily tilted towards batsmen. There were limited options with the ball, and most of the time any player, like a typical indian, would simply put the game on auto-player mode while bowling and then play when it came to batting. 

But I used to try bowling a lot (mainly because I was a better bowler as a kid than a batsmen). I saw that whatever I tried, it was really difficult to take wickets.

Then I noticed that these computer players would always leave the bouncers alone (it was the era of test cricket). So I would drop most balls short. Then I tried reducing the pace. I reduced and ... what I see ... the batsmen got BOWLED by the slow short pitch delivery (hehehahaha).

To some it might be discovering a bug in the game. To others it is innovation, out-thinking the computer (is that an oxymoron) and its physics laws by bowling out the batsmen with a slow bouncer.

I invented the slow bouncer.

Farewell letter to Sourav Ganguly

Dear Sourav

I was in class Xth when I first heard about you. My friend told me that these matches would be telecasted in some new channel ESPN, which I cable provider didn't provide. I wasn't too keen anyways. Next day he told me that you hit a century on Lords. Bahut hi beautiful khel raha tha yaar, aur off side main to amazing hi maar raha tha. 

Then came Toronto, the Sahara Cup. You won the man of the match with your batting. Sachin, who was captain then, said - We have a secret weapon, and he did it for us. Next match, small target for Pakistan. They were doing well. Suddenly you came and took 5 wkts. We won and you won the man of the match again. Sachin - As I said we have a secret weapon, and he can bowl too. Another match, another man of the match. and then another one. Sachin was running out of words. All he said was - Well, our secret weapon is not longer secret. And you became the God of offside.

Then I went to college. you and Sachin became the most successful opening pair for India. And you would come at no 6 in tests, inevitably hitting a century playing with tailenders. And inevitably you would come down the track and hit the ball for a six on mid on. Sixes from Indian Batsmen were a rarity those days. We actually believed that Rahul Dravid cannot hit a ball for six as he doesn't have enough power. This and the Straight Drive six from Sachin were the treats that we would watch a match for. And what happened in that faithful match with Sri Lanka Sourav. You just kept on coming down the track on Murali and hitting him for a six. A score of 183 to break the age old Indian record by Kapil Dev. I haven't seen anything like that before. And I thought, what are you doing Sachin, this record should belong to you. And he heard me too. In the hindsight, Sachin and Sourav with #1 and #2 best individual scores for India make perfect sense. 

Me and my friend used to just read statistics on cricinfo as a pastime. We found out, not surprising though, and that you have taken less matches to cross each 1000 runs landmark. I remember this link, At that time there used to be only 2 names there, and your name on the top (and only one name in the next list).

An injury to Ajay Jadeja and you were given captaincy for one ODI which we won. Then among some match fixing controversies and a ban on Jadeja, you became the captain. That was the time when we realized that your true greatness was more than batting. You became the most aggressive Indian Captain ever. Statements by the Steve Waughs would now get matching answers. You became the center of Indian Cricket, as many critics and there were fans. Some would say you couldn't play on the leg side. Others would say you can't play bouncers. But we the college youngsters just loved your attitude. You made us believe that we can be more than just tigers at home. And forget cricket, you taught us aggression, and the confidence to take on the world. 

It was you under which we witness the most historic wins. That Very Very Special Eden Gardens Test, that Natwest Final where you took of the ur shirt. In there anyway one can forget them. Then there was the overseas victory in England. And it didn't come easy. You took the brave decision to bat first on a testing pitch, then Dravid passed that test with flying colors to hit a century on day 1. Then Sachin and you took over and just murdered the English bowlers. I remember the umpire offered you guys light and you didn't take it. Instead, both of you scored 83 runs in the next 10 overs that we bowled. The first time when the God, the Wall and the Prince all hit centuries in the same test, and that too an overseas one. We had to win that one. 

Then people started questioning your batting. We thought its just a lean patch and will be fine as long as you are leading well. Then came the World Cup. Suddenly the pacers who used to be the weakness of the team became match winners. Suddenly the fielding improved. Suddenly there were weird things happening like Team Huddles. Before the Pakistan match, you said We just need to win every match. And you did. Except Australia. But you did establish India as the second best team after all.

But what happened then Sourav. That lean patch would simply not end. Its not that we didn't wait. 3 years is a long long time. Its a long time when everytime you would watch a match hoping to see that flair again that Sourav was known for, and all you would get a yet another disappointment along with everyone else saying bad words for you. You got a century in Australia and you almost made it a miserable last series for Steve Waugh. But we wanted more than that. You only taught us aggression. And aggression also means dropping a senior player mercilessly if its good for cricket. But you seeemed to forget your own principles. And one day you were out. I thought it was probably good for you. But I felt bad the way media used it. But that was is their business, isn't it. 

It indeed was good for you as you fought back. You taught us yet again on what to do in unfavorable circumstances. You fought and fought hard. You won back ur place. And you proved yet again that you deserve a much better exit than what you got earlier. 

Cricket ceased to be the same and so did life 6 years after college. There would not switching off the TV when Sachin would get out. There would not be a sense of confidence that one need not worry as long Dravid in on the crease. And there would not be leader like Sourav who would just not take sh*t from anybody. 

You can never forget heroes that you grow up with. And You are one of those. Farewell Sourav, I salute you, as much for being in the game as for leaving it. 

Update: This post is on BlogBharti

Photo Courtesy: rediff.com, welovesourav.com