Sachin..Sachin..
Sachin Tendulkar 1, Mumbai crowd 0...read the headlines on The Hindustan Times the day after India’s first innings debacle against England at Mumbai.
Well, the reason behind the headline…Sachin was booed off the field for scoring a solitary run off 21 balls in his home country and home ground..how many people have been given such a treatment?? Does he actually deserve it?
Let’s have a look at the stats…..miserable scores in the last 8 test innings….
Moreover, not even a single 50 or a 100 in these innings…. A tagline which would bemuse bowlers world over….Tendulkar himself wouldn’t be proud of this…
Reporters at home craving for his neck, giving headlines such as ‘Endulkar’, ‘lacking in confidence’... In my opinion, this is all absolute rubbish…
For a man who has been a good son to Indian cricket for 17 years now, is this the treatment that his home crowd gives him? Absolute shame on Mumbai. How can they ever do this? Indian cricket fans tend to suffer from amnesia of some sort...and most cricket fans say that he has never scored a match winning knock….
Now, lets rewind 16 years back….to Sialkot in 1989...a 16 year old kid facing Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram…possibly the fastest bowlers around that time...scoring a 50 against that sort of an attack...the world then noticed a special talent that India had...a batsman who would infuse fear in the bowlers’ mind, giving them nightmares before they even bowled to him...A one man demolition army…
Comment: Sachin hasn’t played a match winning knock to date…
You call that an accusation?…..how many times have you enjoyed watching Sachin play...praying all the time that he stay at the crease...have you forgotten all that?? Have you?
For a long time, Sachin used to stand tall amidst Indian ruins….and the Indian public would not notice the way the whole team has played, but would simply tell that he hadn’t played any match-winning knock..A match winning knock would necessarily need some support from other batsmen...but when nobody gave him support, how could you expect him to provide that?
Against New Zealand in 1994, when Sidhu was unavailable for opening the innings, Sachin was asked to open….and the result, a stunning 82 from 49 balls faced...winning us the match
Against Australia in 1996 World Cup @ the Wankhede..thrashing McGrath all over the park leaving him frustrated and gnawing at his cap…
Rewind back to Sharjah in 1998…when he single handedly won us the match against Australia…..wouldn’t you love to see that match again and again on Ten Sports ‘ Great Innings?
Bangladesh – Independence Cup 1998 – Sachin thrashed Saqlain Mushtaq for six the very first ball he faced
Against Pakistan in Chennai – suffering from severe back pain and taking India to the brink of victory, only for India to lose…
World cup 2003 - match against Pakistan when he thrashed Shoaib Akhtar out of the park….. But all people remembered was his failure in the final of the World Cup 2003 against Australia…
and there are so many instances...
16 years of hard cricket has taken its toll on his body….major surgeries apart, the battered soldier still has the heart, mind and body of a 16 year old kid on the cricket field…one cannot expect Sachin to play the same attacking way he used to play some time back….
Let me explain the feeling of watching a Sachin in free flow @ the Chepauk against Australia in 1998. I had my Standard 10 exams the next week….but sneaked out of home along with my friends to watch a special knock…
The time I entered the stadium, Rahul Dravid had just got out on 51 and Sachin was not out on 60….Sachin danced down the track and almost played all the shots in the book to Shane Warne, leaving him flabbergasted….watching him play was like a dream come true for me….. I had seen him on TV…but seeing him disband bowlers with such ease was a treat for me..
Comment: Sachin should retire now…
Oh Yeah…and have you found a replacement??...the replacement should be a person who is a great batsman, a swing/ off-spin/ leg-spin/ off-break/ leg-break bowler and a great fielder/ athlete….come one, have you found one? Well, then. Who’s filling up the void…?
The Indian public are nothing short of traitors…. Baying for Sachin’s blood whenever he fails and praising him when he scores…
I believe he still has the energy to keep him going for another 3 years at least….
You must read this article….Watching Sachin leave
And you still believe Sachin must retire? Huh….then God save Indian Cricket…
Friday, March 24, 2006
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
One day in the Life of J.P.R
Long long ago...when MGR used to be Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, the hero of our story was a henchman.
Currently, he is the chairman of around 6 engin(err)ing instutions...owns a dairy, sells bakery products and has around 50 acres of barren land on the Old mahabalipuram road....well, I am talking about J.P.R
Lets see how our hero starts off his day...
Morning around 6 o clock....he goes for a jog in his traditional outfit...white veshti and white shirt with Nike shoes...
an assistant jogs with him all the time.
7 o clock...comes back to the house...has tiffen and goes to the college administrative office thereafter...
his house is located in between 3 engineering colleges....he owns around 10 Mercs...all of them white...and he uses them to travel across locations..
8 o clock...all college students assemble at the 'Pandhal'...
this is where the fun starts...
our hero tries to speak english....but makes mistakes at the press of a button...
here are some samples...
I have two daughters...both are girls..
he explains a situation to the crowd when he was going by car and all the cattle and hen were crossing the road and he was finding it difficult to drive on the road...
he says "I driving car...chicken , mutton crossing the road, i drive car to all corner..."
Now, here's one more funny incident...
Normally, outside the computer labs, one finds an instruction "Please leave your shoes outside the lab"....one fine day, the students were in for a surprise...in place of the shoes, Underwear was written in Block letters!!!!
Around 12 o clock : One can find J.P.R going around the campus on a white Merc, ushering everyone to have lunch....
gets back to the office after having Lunch....gives punishment to students who have broken the college rules...
5 o clock : College closes for the day...and parents come to meet our hero...he likes being called as "Ayya"....he sits on the Diwan wearing a new pair of Nike shoes and a white shirt...
The guy who once reigned terror in the city is now the laughing stock !!!!
Currently, he is the chairman of around 6 engin(err)ing instutions...owns a dairy, sells bakery products and has around 50 acres of barren land on the Old mahabalipuram road....well, I am talking about J.P.R
Lets see how our hero starts off his day...
Morning around 6 o clock....he goes for a jog in his traditional outfit...white veshti and white shirt with Nike shoes...
an assistant jogs with him all the time.
7 o clock...comes back to the house...has tiffen and goes to the college administrative office thereafter...
his house is located in between 3 engineering colleges....he owns around 10 Mercs...all of them white...and he uses them to travel across locations..
8 o clock...all college students assemble at the 'Pandhal'...
this is where the fun starts...
our hero tries to speak english....but makes mistakes at the press of a button...
here are some samples...
I have two daughters...both are girls..
he explains a situation to the crowd when he was going by car and all the cattle and hen were crossing the road and he was finding it difficult to drive on the road...
he says "I driving car...chicken , mutton crossing the road, i drive car to all corner..."
Now, here's one more funny incident...
Normally, outside the computer labs, one finds an instruction "Please leave your shoes outside the lab"....one fine day, the students were in for a surprise...in place of the shoes, Underwear was written in Block letters!!!!
Around 12 o clock : One can find J.P.R going around the campus on a white Merc, ushering everyone to have lunch....
gets back to the office after having Lunch....gives punishment to students who have broken the college rules...
5 o clock : College closes for the day...and parents come to meet our hero...he likes being called as "Ayya"....he sits on the Diwan wearing a new pair of Nike shoes and a white shirt...
The guy who once reigned terror in the city is now the laughing stock !!!!
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Cricketers of yesteryear
I was reading this post by Sidin and fell down from my chair laughing.....
I have some more cricketers in mind and shall write in detail about them....
Rajesh Chauhan: He was once part of an attack comprising Anil Kumble, Venkatapathy Raju, Venkatesh Prasad and Javagal Srinath.
Except the last and the first bowler, the batsman would have to wait for eternity for the ball to reach them...
Rajesh Chauhan was an Off break bowler...but seeing the way he used to spin the ball, the batsman would get hypnotized and start 'Bharatanatyam' on the pitch.
Henry Olonga: A cricketer from Zimbabwe who had a body attached to a thousand threads of black hair..
Olonga got the prize wicket of Sachin Tendulkar in a crucial encounter at Sharjah....he gave a big glare at Sachin and was jumping for joy....but Sachin didn't look at him....little did Olonga know that he was in for the punishment of a lifetime in the final encounter....
Sachin and Sourav smashed him to all parts of the park....Olonga cut his hair on frustration that day!!
Shoaib Akhtar: Revered as the 'fastest' bowler in the planet....he was gearing up for the battle between India and Pakistan on March 1. Apparently, he had told in a TV interview, a day before the match, that Indian batsmen weren't comfortable with quality pace...
He never knew that he'd get a thrashing reply very early on in the match....Sachin smashed him for 23 runs in his first over...a beating which he still remembers!!!
Robin Smith: A West-Indian by birth....Robin was a powerful man and was used by the Indian lower order for some lusty hitting and useful bowling...
Robin's batting used to be his hallmark....any bowler who used to bowl on the offside was smashed for a boundary or a six on the leg side...he was the harry potter of the Indian team then...swish and flick used to be his mantra...bowl to him straight and he 'd play all around it....looking as if a child had played with his toys all scattered around...
Do you remember any funny cricketers??? do post your comments....
I have some more cricketers in mind and shall write in detail about them....
Rajesh Chauhan: He was once part of an attack comprising Anil Kumble, Venkatapathy Raju, Venkatesh Prasad and Javagal Srinath.
Except the last and the first bowler, the batsman would have to wait for eternity for the ball to reach them...
Rajesh Chauhan was an Off break bowler...but seeing the way he used to spin the ball, the batsman would get hypnotized and start 'Bharatanatyam' on the pitch.
Henry Olonga: A cricketer from Zimbabwe who had a body attached to a thousand threads of black hair..
Olonga got the prize wicket of Sachin Tendulkar in a crucial encounter at Sharjah....he gave a big glare at Sachin and was jumping for joy....but Sachin didn't look at him....little did Olonga know that he was in for the punishment of a lifetime in the final encounter....
Sachin and Sourav smashed him to all parts of the park....Olonga cut his hair on frustration that day!!
Shoaib Akhtar: Revered as the 'fastest' bowler in the planet....he was gearing up for the battle between India and Pakistan on March 1. Apparently, he had told in a TV interview, a day before the match, that Indian batsmen weren't comfortable with quality pace...
He never knew that he'd get a thrashing reply very early on in the match....Sachin smashed him for 23 runs in his first over...a beating which he still remembers!!!
Robin Smith: A West-Indian by birth....Robin was a powerful man and was used by the Indian lower order for some lusty hitting and useful bowling...
Robin's batting used to be his hallmark....any bowler who used to bowl on the offside was smashed for a boundary or a six on the leg side...he was the harry potter of the Indian team then...swish and flick used to be his mantra...bowl to him straight and he 'd play all around it....looking as if a child had played with his toys all scattered around...
Do you remember any funny cricketers??? do post your comments....
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