November 23, 2007 at 9:05 am · Filed under cricket
When in search of an answer, you first turn to God. In which case, you turn to Google. I tried to figure out, in the last twelve months, who’s the most popular amongst India’s big three from the Indian internet users.
This link suggests that it’s Tendulkar, hands down.
Ironically, the only time Dravid extracted more popularity from the Little Master was when he resigned as captain of India! Shows what it takes to get the crowd away from Sachin.
GoogleTrends also suggests that the only city he loses as Mr. Popular - to Ganguly - is Calcutta. Bangalore, however, still has Tendulkar ranked higher than Dravid. It figures - the Bongs are more loyal to the son of their state than the Bangs are.
Personally, I dislike Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar for one simple reason: he makes blogging difficult. I mean, you’ve written this awesome piece on why he should be kicked out, you go to CricInfo and hunt for his stats, you spend days tweaking them to sell your absurd idea of leaving him out, you refine your blog posts, you get people to proof-read it, and just before hitting ‘Publish’, lad walks out cool as a cucumber and scores a 90 or two.
A waste of time, effort and draft space on the blog, I tell you.
October 13, 2007 at 12:06 am · Filed under cricket
Vengsarkar has been yapping, Sachin states the obvious - performance over age - and the world is writing all about the big three.
A quick look at the trio, probably India’s best servants of cricket in recent times. Let’s not even get into stats, reputation or their services until date. Unquestionable. Here’s what I think of each of them.
Sachin Tendulkar
Worshipped as if he were God Himself. I had gone for the first ODI at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, and I can tell you that Tendulkar is still the biggest crowd-puller. The roar that went up when the 5′5 cricketing genius graced the third-man boundary was deafening. There is no bigger name in Indian cricket, and only a handful might compete with him for popularity. The word ‘Endulkar’ is enough to invite the wrath of millions.
Memories - April 1998 - Sandstorm. Sachin Tendulkar murdered the might of the Australian attack. Kasprowicz was taken to the cleaners. Damien Fleming felt all kind of pain except physical. It’s not every day you see Shane Warne bowl a googly, only to see it screaming over the sight-screen for six. It’s not every day you see him hang his head in shame and walk back to the ropes, like a prisoner sentenced to the gallows.
Tendulkar had made it clear. He’s boss.
Verdict - His inconsistency has been worrying. Dropping him doesn’t make sense, because even the off-color champion is an asset to the team, and not a burden. Tendulkar has the aggression to step it up, his arm is still strong and he can chip in with the occasional off-breaks when Bhajji gets hammered. Useful, do retain.
Rahul Dravid
He isn’t nicknamed ‘The Wall’ for anything. Most bowlers, until last year, would have rather broken through Fort Knox. Dravid played two crucial roles during the Ganguly-Wright ‘revival’ of Indian cricket. First, he doubled up as a wicketkeeper, allowing India the extra batsman. Second, he played around the explosive middle order (the Yuvis and Kaifs) and the tail (the Agarkars and Khans), becoming India’s best and most clinical finisher in recent times.
Memories - Dravid has scored many memorable hundreds and fifties in winning causes, but I recall one innings against New Zealand. First day after marriage, Dravid walks out, scores 50 in 22 balls. Mind you, none of those were remotely slogs, all perfect cricketing shots. Never seen better timing ever. Here’s a batsman who can drop it short, sneak the singles, play the big-shot, pull on bouncy tracks, and evade the bouncer with the ease of slicing through cake, as even Tendulkar and Ganguly would clumsily play all over it, ducking in fright.
Verdict - The dip in form has been horribly worrying, and without the ‘keeper role anymore, Dravid will need to really turn it on towards the end of this ODI series to keep the critics mum. Personally, I’d like to see Dravid call it quits from limited-overs cricket soon, while focusing on Tests. Dravid has been a great adapter and a greater servant, and though he’s the safest pair of hands in the slips, he needs to make room for agility. What Dravid brings to the team is rock-solid stability in the middle order, a role that probably few can fill. There is unfortunately no one in the Indian team who can match his temperament, and that would certainly be India’s worry in a side without the Wall.
Sourav Ganguly
What do you say of this bloke? He might be ‘princely’ and stubborn, a tad lazy too, but aggression knows few limits in the presence of this Bengal tiger. One of the few Indians who mustered up the guts to take the attack to the opposition, once regarded as the finest on the off-side after God Himself, Sourav Ganguly has made a great comeback this year, and though his fitness looms under a huge question-mark, he makes India’s best bet as an opener alongside the great Tendulkar.
Memories - Muttiah Muralitharan is probably capable of turning the ball on glass. In he hops, the face contorted in determination, the ball leaves the fingers. It’s the doosra. Ganguly has stepped out, gets to the pitch of the ball, and lofts it as only he can, banging it dead straight. Long-on and long-off are reduced to mere spectators. The sight-screen shudders in fright. Fewer sights can better that if you wear Blue.
Verdict - F is for fitness, a worry for the man. Ganguly hasn’t been bowling much either, and with Gambhir showing excellent signs of strong maturity, one is tempted to see dada retire to Test cricket, although knowing the fighter in, I’d put my money on him coming out tops against adversity yet again. He still hasn’t managed to work his away around the shorter one which has more than troubled his career, so I’d like to see Ganguly quit at the peak than be ushered out of the team due to lack of form.
Having mentioned it all, there really is no substitute for merit. Performance should drive selection, always, as reputation counts for nothing in a new game. For instance, let’s say, three poor consecutive performances is enough to create doubt in the selectors’ minds, and with the likes of Raina and Badrinath knocking the doors, and with Karthik already at the porch, a fourth or fifth poor performance should put things beyond doubt.
Personally, I believe that Test cricket is indeed the ‘real’ form of cricket, if that does exist. It is in Tests where you really apply your skills and tactics. Bowlers work really hard for their wickets in Tests. Batsman work hard to score runs in Tests. ODIs form a packaged version of this display of skill as the batsmen make the bigger impression. Twenty20 absolutely destroys the bowlers, turning the into a necropolis for anyone who has the guts to fancy their arm.
I’d like to see the seniors focus on Tests and make graceful exits from limited overs cricket, so that younger blood can take it up. The Twenty20 win was no fluke, is is testimony to the capability of India’s youth, even in a shorter form of cricket where luck plays a bigger role than in ODIs. As the yellow-pyjama dominance doesn’t look like deteriorating, India (and the rest of the world) need to show more aggression and fire on the field to counter-attack. It calls for youth, and perhaps Indian cricket is finally asking for the biggies to leave gaps that people can fill.
A tooth falling out on its own terms goes unnoticed. Pulling it out, however, is both hard and painful.
