March 31, 2011
For the story to make sense, I need to rewind to 1999. The wonderful politicos had announced that the match would be screened at the beach on a large screen. I had no plans to watch there. It was 2:30-ish PM. Folks at home settled around the TV. But alas, we lost power within 10 overs, thanks largely to the beach screening. So we had no choice but to listen to radio commentary on a battery powered walkman with speakers. (Yes, in ’99, they were still cool). In what was an unusually long power cut on our area, the power returned only after 10:30 PM.
Interestingly enough, something similar happened yesturday. There was no power cut, but there was a TV issue at home. Got to see parts of India batting. After the 5th wicket fell, the TV issue got very bad and had to switch off.
So yet again, for an Ind-Pak World Cup match, I had nothing but radio commentary; got a chance to refresh some of my “book” Hindi. But thank god for “Akaash Vaani”, I could still follow the game. Also found out that there was a 15-20 second delay between radio commentary and Star Cricket feed, for there was a short delay between my celebrating a Pak wicket and my neighbors loud cheering. So much for that! The annoying little part about the Akaash Vaani commentary was the premature declaration of India’s victory – at the fall of Afridi’s wicket – and interview with Rathnakar Shetty on the successfully “completed” World Cup.
This gave me a chance to appreciate the power of visual information. You see so much visually, and no amount of high pitched, emotionally charged audio can replace one snap shot. A picture is truly worth a thousand words!
After all the firecrackers, it started to settle that after 2003, India have made it to another World Cup final. Heart also went to Afridi and Pakistan’s heart broken fans. But somebody had to lose this. Only wish the match was a closer one!
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Cricket, India, Indian cricket | Tagged: Afridi, Cricket, India, India beat Pak in WC semi final, India make it the WC finals, India vs. Pakistan, Indian cricket, Mohali, Pakistan, Radio Cricket Commentary, Shahid Afridi, World Cup 1999, World Cup 2003, World Cup 2011, World Cup semi final 2011 | 
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Posted by vmminerva
October 22, 2008
India triumph over Australia to go 1-0 up in the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2008-09 with a historic win in the second Test at Mohali. Team effort and proactive captaincy made this possible. Australia have been bringing the best out of India for the past 5 years now, with each victory arguably better than the other in quality.
Congratulations, India! A well earned victory! Cheers!
But the series isn’t over yet and there is still some good work to do.
Where now from here for India? India need to keep the intensity just where it is, if not turn it up another notch. The bowling attack with Ishant, Bhajji and Zaheer is rocking. Mishra had a compelling debut. Delhi will be key and the selectors will have one hell of a task picking a playing XI. I shall save that for another discussion, but I must add that for once, I’m glad that this selection isn’t my job!
India’s batting is still a bit of a concern. Ganguly has been the best performer so far – he’s looked solid in defence, characteristic in attack and has played his natural game. Viru and Gambhir closely follow. There are still a few question marks around the others in the batting order with respect to solidity, based on current form.
As for the Aussie, I would give anything to hear from Greg Chappell. 🙂 I’ll save my comments on him till the end of the series. Ponting has some sorting out to do. Clarke is good only in patches. I don’t understand how Shane Watson and Cameron White made it to the side. The only reason I can think of is thier familiarity to the conditions from IPL. Watson, course played for the Rajasthan Royals and White, rather unimpressively for Bangalore Royal Challengers. I find it hard to believe that the Aussies don’t have anything better in the closet. Haddin has a long way to go – an average keeper and below-average Test batsman. Siddle was hyped beyond proportions, might be (along with Johnson) the better ones from the newer lot. Lee is obviously out of form/rusty. Two players hold the key – Hayden and Hussey. While lashing out at the apparent lack-of-quality/experience in the Aussie line up, in the back of my mind, there is this dark thought that India might face this very situation (maybe even worse with the batting) when the Fab four disappear from the scene. But that is not for this day.
This day, we celebrate for going one step ahead to re-gaining the Border Gavaskar Trophy! Cheers!
13 Comments | Bhajji, Cricket, Dhoni, Dravid, Ganguly, India, India-Aus series, Indian cricket, Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Ricky Ponting, Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly, Tendulkar, The Big 3 of Indian cricket, Zaheer Khan | Tagged: Amit Mishra, Amit Mishra's debut, Aussie team, Australia, Bangalore Royal Challengers, Bhajji, Border Gavaskar Trophy, Brad Haddin, Bree Lee, Clarke, Cricket, Dhoni, Dhoni captaincy, Dravid, Fab Four, Fab four of Indian cricket, Gambhir, Ganguly, Gautham Gambhir, Greg Chappell, Haddin, Harbhajan, Harbhajan Singh, Hayden, Hussey, Ind vs Aus 2008-09 Day 5, India, India vs. Aus 2nd Test Mohali, India win 2nd Test at Mohali, IPL, Ishant, Ishant Sharma, Johnson, Lee, Michael Clarke, Mishra, Mitchell Johnson, Mohali, MS Dhoni, Peter Siddle, Ponting, Rajasthan Royals, Ricky Ponting, Sehwag, selectors, Shane Watson, Siddle, Sourav Ganguly, Tendulkar, Test Cricket, The Big 3 of Indian cricket, The Big Three of Indian cricket, Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman, Watson, Zaheer Khan | Permalink
Posted by vmminerva
October 20, 2008
A lot can happen in two days. India’s middle order, precisely Ganguly, Tendulkar and lower-order batsman Dhoni powered India to a decent total of 469. Four quick Aussie wickets meant that the Aussies needed some damage control. That they did, but nothing more. In fact, the Aussie damage control would have looked a lot less fancier had Watson been given out by umpire Rudi Koertzen when he was actually out. That would have given the Indian think tank some food for thought about the follow on. But forget it, they would have never enforced it anyway.
A lot of things have been good for India:
- Ganguly’s silken century, his 16th ton in his farewell series enabled fans to watch Grace and helped India to a good total
- Dhoni’s “gadayudh” batting helped us get quick runs and goes to prove my earlier point that Dhoni cares to perform with the bat only when he captains (ok, ok, it was a batting pitch and I’m being a little harsh here)
- Mishra’s dream debut got him a fifer. So, the spin closet has one worthy item in it. One in hand and in form is worth ten times the weight in gold of a closet full of junk
- Gambhir and Sehwag have gotten us off to a flier.
What needs to be done:
- Viru and Gambhir need to bat some more and get more runs quickly
- Don’t know if Dravid will bat at #3 tomorrow, but this could be the best opportunity to cement his place among seniors. VVS seems like he’s currently on tenterhooks.
It will be interesting to see when – both in terms of run and timing – that the declaration comes. I would think setting Aus 450-480 in over 3.5-4 sessions would be a good ask. Will we do it?
PS: Meanwhile, for those of you looking for a daily dose of Dravid goodness, he’s only 5 short of Mark Waugh’s record for max catches in Test. Mark Waugh was really cheap in saying this, but I hope Waugh is wrong. The only person close to getting a pair is an Aussie and he’s called Matthew Hayden. Waugh! Which match are you watching?
7 Comments | Cricket, Dhoni, Dravid, Ganguly, India, India-Aus series, Indian cricket, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Tendulkar, The Big 3 of Indian cricket, Umpiring | Tagged: 2nd Test, Amit Mishra, Australia, Australia's tour of India 2008, Border Gavaskar Trophy, Cricket, Delhi Amit Mishra, Dhoni, Dravid, Dravid 5 short of record for max catches in Test, Dravid catching record, Fab Four, Fab four of Indian cricket, Gambhir, Ganguly, Ganguly 16th century, Ganguly 16th ton, Ganguly hits century, Gautham Gambhir, Hayden, Ind vs Aus 2008-09 2nd Test, Ind vs. Aus 2008-09 2nd Test Mohali, India, Indian cricket, Laxman, Mark Waugh on Dravid, Mathew Hayden, Mishra, Mohali, MS Dhoni, Rahul Dravid, Rudi Koertzen, Rudi Koertzen decision on Watson, Sachin, Sachin reaches 12000 runs, Sachin Tendulkar, Sehwag, Shane Watson, Sourav Ganguly, The Big 3 of Indian cricket, The Big Three of Indian cricket, Umpiring, VVS Laxman | Permalink
Posted by vmminerva
October 17, 2008
On a day that will only be remembered for the milestones, India’s top three batsmen will rue the fact that they failed to make merry on a what seems like a batting paradise.
In case you missed it, here are the milestones
- Sachin breaches 12000 runs in Test Cricket
- Sachin makes 50th Test 50 and is the second Indian to do so after Rahul Dravid 🙂
- Sachin breaks West Indian Brian Lara’s record for most runs scored in Test Cricket
- Ganguly crosses 7000 runs
Meanwhile, there was a game of cricket being played.
Sehwag should have paid attention. Dravid looked set for a big one with some of the shots reminding us just what kind of a player he is. He should have capitalized on what looked like his best innings in the last 4 Test matches. Gambhir should have stayed on, he got stuck after lunch and fell shortly after Dravid. I have no words for Laxman. Maybe he should not have been promoted up the order – it seems almost like some kind of a curse. Tendulkar and Ganguly each played a brilliant innings, one true to their reputation. This partnership has saved India some blushes.
India will do well do get to 400. Does Amit Mishra bat? My fellow Delhi-ite bloggers NC, SB and SP will know better if deserving debutant Amit Mishra can bat. Now a days one has more faith in India’s lower order than our middle.
6 Comments | Cricket, Dravid, Ganguly, India, India-Aus series, Indian cricket, Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Tendulkar, The Big 3 of Indian cricket | Tagged: 2nd Test, Amit Mishra, Australia, Border Gavaskar Trophy, Cricket, Delhi Amit Mishra, Dravid, Gambhir, Ganguly, Ganguly crosses 7000 runs, Gautham Gambhir, Ind vs Aus 2008-09 2nd Test, Ind vs. Aus 2008-09 2nd Test Mohali, India, Indian cricket, Laxman, Mohali, Rahul Dravid, Sachin, Sachin reaches 12000 runs, Sachin Tendulkar, Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly, Tendulkar breaks Lara records, Tendulkar highest run getter in Test Cricket, Tendulkar reaches 12000 runs, Test Cricket, Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman | Permalink
Posted by vmminerva
October 17, 2008
Not only did Sachin break Brian Lara’s 11.9k+ record, he went on to create a new 12000 run club in Test Cricket. Who better than Sachin to have inaugurate the most elite of clubs?
What was most striking today was the way he tore apart Aussie bowling on his way to a brilliant 88. I really thought he would get to the 100 today (nervous 90 jitters apart). He certainly deserved that, and what an occasion that would have been. But that will remain so.
Today, it is all about Sachin – the man Indian never tires to watch.
4 Comments | Cricket, India, Tendulkar | Tagged: 2nd Test Mohali, Australia's tour of India 2008, Border Gavaskar Trophy, Ind vs. Aus 2008-09 2nd Test Mohali, India, India-Aus series, Indian cricket, Mohali, Sachin, Sachin Tendulkar, Tendulkar, Tendulkar breaks Lara records, Tendulkar reaches 12000 runs | Permalink
Posted by vmminerva
VM\'s Random Ramblings 
World Cup 2011: My India-Pak World Cup Story
March 31, 2011For the story to make sense, I need to rewind to 1999. The wonderful politicos had announced that the match would be screened at the beach on a large screen. I had no plans to watch there. It was 2:30-ish PM. Folks at home settled around the TV. But alas, we lost power within 10 overs, thanks largely to the beach screening. So we had no choice but to listen to radio commentary on a battery powered walkman with speakers. (Yes, in ’99, they were still cool). In what was an unusually long power cut on our area, the power returned only after 10:30 PM.
Interestingly enough, something similar happened yesturday. There was no power cut, but there was a TV issue at home. Got to see parts of India batting. After the 5th wicket fell, the TV issue got very bad and had to switch off.
So yet again, for an Ind-Pak World Cup match, I had nothing but radio commentary; got a chance to refresh some of my “book” Hindi. But thank god for “Akaash Vaani”, I could still follow the game. Also found out that there was a 15-20 second delay between radio commentary and Star Cricket feed, for there was a short delay between my celebrating a Pak wicket and my neighbors loud cheering. So much for that! The annoying little part about the Akaash Vaani commentary was the premature declaration of India’s victory – at the fall of Afridi’s wicket – and interview with Rathnakar Shetty on the successfully “completed” World Cup.
This gave me a chance to appreciate the power of visual information. You see so much visually, and no amount of high pitched, emotionally charged audio can replace one snap shot. A picture is truly worth a thousand words!
After all the firecrackers, it started to settle that after 2003, India have made it to another World Cup final. Heart also went to Afridi and Pakistan’s heart broken fans. But somebody had to lose this. Only wish the match was a closer one!