The day of the artistes- IPL Day 1. By Vivek Atray

The IPL took on a new avatar on day 1 of season 2 as the artistic and classy performers outshone the sledgehammer hitters. There was a complete reversal of fortunes for the bowlers, as they stifled and outwitted one batsman after another to ensure that IPL 2 would not be remembered only for the big hits.
I for one have been proven wrong for the first two matches saw the teams on display dish out intense fare, with canny bowlers like Anil Kumble and Shane Warne putting paid to the lofty designs of their destructive opponents. One hero after another fell as the champion duo bamboozled leaden footed batsmen. The problem for Warne was that Kumble was playing for the opposition and not bowling in tandem with him! Kumble picked up 5 wickets as against 2 for Warne.
In a post match interview, Kumble joked about the fact that he took 5 wickets for 5 runs, 5 months after retiring from international cricket! Defending champs Rajasthan Royals were totally outclassed on the day by the Bangalore Royal Challengers.
Rahul Dravid had a point to prove too as he stroked his way to a classy 66 off only 48 balls. He played like a man possessed, and even hit Munaf Patel for a monstrous six over mid-wicket to show to the world that he is not just a wall, he is a champion!
Sachin Tendulkar had earlier steered Mumbai Indians to a famous win over last year’s finalists Chennai Super Kings. The manner in which he played was just what the doctor ordered for the Mumbai team. Tendulkar stood like a rock as wickets fell about him and in the process he destroyed myths that a batsman has to bludgeon the ball to succeed in a 20-20 match. By carrying his bat he ensured that the team got to a score of over 160, which in South African conditions might prove to be like 200 runs on Indian pitches.
The old guard of Tendulkar, Dravid, Kumble and Warne thus stood out on the day. Each an artiste in his own right, they proved once again that form may be temporary but class is surely permanent!

The IPL is about the big shots! By Vivek Atray

Season 2 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) commences in far off South Africa over the weekend, and for the next few weeks we shall all undoubtedly be treated to some unfiltered and undiluted big hits on TV. In the ultimate analysis, cricket remains a batsman's game, and in the 20-20 format, even more so. A bowler who can emerge from the frenzied action over 180 minutes of an IPL match, with figures of 4 overs, no maidens (this statistic needs to be removed from here!), 28 runs and 1 wicket, can count himself lucky to have done so!
Players like Virender Sehwag, Sanath Jayasuriya and Yusuf Pathan, who could have made a living as fearsome warriors some centuries back, start belting the ball from the very first delivery, and do not stop till they hole out or are castled. Sheer mayhem could result in the meantime and the field would probably resemble a battlefield where a dreaded destroyer had scathed down everything in sight. When Sehwag hit the first three balls that he faced on the Kiwi tour for sixes, he was only raising the bar a notch higher. The time shall surely come when 36 runs shall be scored off the first over of a 20-20 game!
Players like VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid would be more likely to use fewer big shots and more invention to score rapidly. The fact that their strike rate would still only be about half that of the afore-mentioned destructive trio is more than likely. The 20-20 game is for the big hitters, make no mistake! Sixes shall always out-do fours and a lightning 39 may be of more value than a merely quick 56.
The other kinds of big-shots on display at the IPL would be the owners and the organizers! The glamour quotient of the IPL is surely what causes casual observers of the game to glue themselves to the TV along with the avid cricket fans.
Pure cricket-ainment is what we are in for, and I for one am glad that I shall be a TV spectator and not a bowler at IPL 2!

The Indians are now unstoppable! by Vivek Atray

There was a time in world cricket when losing to lowly placed New Zealand was considered sacrilege. Those were the days when Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and even Sri Lanka did not play Test matches. In fact India and New Zealand were almost always fighting for the wooden spoon.
Not much has changed today for the New Zealanders in terms of their world ranking, which still stands at eighth best in the world, but India is well on the way towards becoming the numero uno team in all forms of the game!
Notwithstanding the Indian team’s inability to force a win in the third Test at the Basin Reserve in Wellington, in match that they dominated entirely, their 1-0 win over the hapless Kiwis who were playing on home turf, has clearly underlined India’s potential to be the world’s number one team in the near future.
The Test series was so hopelessly one-sided that most pundits had predicted a 3-0 win after India’s dashing performance at Hamilton in the first encounter. Apart from three days of ascendancy at Napier in the second Test, the Kiwis looked all at sea against the marauding Indians.
Gautam Gambhir showed throughout the series that India has unearthed a rare talent in him, and that he has the ability to be the world’s very best opening batsman in all forms of the game. His marathon century at Napier to save the match followed by a brilliant 167 at Wellington underscored his amazing batting ability in different conditions and in any situation.
The old guard comprising of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman was in superb form too, and they collectively amassed almost a thousand sublime runs in the series. Tendulkar was close to his very best, and followed up his scintillating 163 in the third ODI with a magnificent 160 in the Hamilton Test to take India to their series- clinching victory. Throughout the series, he repeatedly stroked the ball to the fence off the awe-struck Kiwi bowlers with shots that were precise in their placement and truly resplendent in their glory. Dravid and Laxman were on top of their games too, with each excelling in his selected role. Laxman’s artistry resulted in outcomes that were like a painter’s masterpiece, while Dravid not only broke the world record for the most catches but also for the most century partnerships. A staggering performance by any standard!
MS Dhoni was looking more and more like a champion of champions by the end of the series. His wicket keeping was outstanding (he broke the record for most catches by an Indian keeper in an innings- six), his batting was solid and powerful, and his leadership aspiring. Harbhajan and Zaheer Khan displayed their wares with aplomb, to the obvious discomfort of the opponents. Harbhajan was in total control at Hamilton and also at Wellington, while Zaheer proved in the third Test that he is getting better and better as the years pass by.
For Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh in batting as also for Ishant Sharma and Munaf Patel in bowling, it was not the best of times. While Yuvraj played well in at least two innings, Sehwag tried to over-dominate. Sharma and Patel lacked consistency and did not bowl to a plan except in a spell or two. Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble may have been missed by the Indians to an extent, but this Indian side does not let adversity come in its way. No way!
Jesse Ryder and Ross Taylor played a couple of astonishing innings each and even skipper Daniel Vettori and Brendon Mc Cullum scored centuries to bring some cheer to the Kiwis in a series which they were lucky to come out of with a 1-0 score line.


Daniel Vettori would feel himself to be extremely fortunate to have escaped with a draw at Wellington, with eight wickets down and only he with tail-ender Iain O’Brien standing in India’s way when the rain came. Next man in Chris Martin at number 11 had not scored a run since October in any of the 23 matches he had played before this one! It was only Martin’s lofted straight drive off Harbhajan Singh in the first innings that would have given Vettori a glimmer of hope! It did not help that Ishant Sharma dropped O’Brien at backward square leg off Sachin Tendulkar (who could there by have grabbed his third wicket of the innings and sealed the win!)
India’s dashing skipper Dhoni proved to be a little less enterprising at the Basin Reserve by delaying India’s declaration by at least an hour, and has rightly been advised by Martin Crowe through his web-column to watch out for weather reports in future!
All in all the Indians have provided sufficient evidence to indicate that they have the capacity to excel in world cricket with a team that has men who are ready to put in their best efforts in each and every situation. The IPL in South Africa beckons the Indians cricketers now and then the ICC World 20-20 tournament in England. Never is there a dull moment in international cricket!

Tendulkar is batting better than ever! By Vivek Atray

Sachin Tendulkar is batting better than ever before...and that takes some doing! He has been the pre-eminent batsman of his generation, without a doubt. He has conquered, blasted, mauled and even devastated the best of bowlers in the world for the past 20 years, and he is still at it! For a batsman so dominant and breathtakingly strokeful, it is a wonder, even a miracle, that he has not only endured for so long, but has even grown better with age.
There was certainly a period in the last few years when his batting, especially in Test matches, was definitely on the wane. He seemed tentative at times, though flashes of brilliance were always on view. Injuries did not help and there were long periods when he had to keep out of cricket, thereby making a comeback of sorts many a time, not an easy task in cricket, even for the very best.
For the past two years though, and certainly as of now, Tendulkar has been delighting us again with the panache of old. His sublime centuries on tour in Australia, both in the Tests and in the ODI finals, followed by a brilliant match-winning knock in the historic Chennai Test last year against England proved that he was on song once more. The collective down turn of India's batting in Sri Lanka notwithstanding, 2008 proved to be the year when Tendulkar looked to be near his best.
In New Zealand, and one has been watching very closely, he seems so much at ease at the crease, and also with himself, that he has unraveled one magical stroke after another, with consummate ease. He has caressed the ball and he has seduced it to the boundary with such sheerness of class that Kiwi commentators (all former Test players) have often been left awestruck, dumbstruck and speechless, all at once.
In a career that has given us many a moment to relish and cherish, Sachin Tendulkar seems to be on top of his considerably spectacular game, and seems more at peace with his batting and his unending talent than he has ever been before.
Those who were chanting END-ulkar had better think again...here is a man who is likely to become the first to score a hundred international centuries...truly TON-dulkar! Bat on, Sir...we are watching with bated breath.

Will Sachin get to century of 100s?

Now that Sachin has scored two centuries back to back, the chances of him reaching a century of 100s in tests and ODI are looking better. However, I wonder if he can really get there if he is going to play only till 2011 World Cup.

Sachin scores an average of one test century per 3.7 tests or 6 innings and one ODI century per 10 innings; though he hadn't scored one till he turned opener in his 84th ODI. By just looking at averages, he will need 60-70 ODIs to get to 7 more ODI centuries and 29 tests to get to 8 more test centuries--assuming he gets to 5o each in both tests and ODIs. Looks tough given this.

But great men don't just go by averages. They do better when it really matters. Sachin had scored 20 centuries in a 1.5 years stretch in 1998-99. So he can indeed get that to the so-thought improbable 100 centuries mark if he plays at his best.

Sachin stats from 1998-99
ODI: 56 matches 2737 runs 186* 55.85 avg 12 centuries
Tests: 15 matches 1735 runs 217 highest 72.29 avg 8 centuries

Go for it Sachin.

Nostalgic feelings...the 1983 World Cup win!

THE SUMMER OF 1983
By Vivek Atray
The silver jubilee anniversary of any event of significance is
a noteworthy milestone. India’s victory over the domineering West
Indians in the final of the Cricket World Cup on a balmy evening
at Lords on June 25, 1983 was a momentous occasion in more
ways than one. 25 years later memories come flooding to one’s
mind.
India as a nation was not really known for its killer instinct at
that time and even less so on the sporting arena. We were used to
losing. Even so, I remember weeping uncontrollably as a child
when India lost to New Zealand in the 1975 World Cup. The
victories over the West Indies at St. Kitts and over Australia in
their triangular series a few months prior to the World Cup in 1983,
were to mean much more on the day of reckoning than we had
anticipated. The upswing in our fortunes had begun back then.
This was a team of believers that somehow broke the mould
and rubbished prevailing theories that Indian teams could not be
world beaters. The Tournament began for India with a stunning
win over the Windies in a league match and was followed by wins
over Australia and Zimbabwe. That particular victory against
Zimbabwe is probably as much a part of folklore, as anything
before or after, accomplished by the Indian cricket team. Kapil
Dev’s magnificent 175 after he walked in when India were
precariously poised at 17 for 5 took the team to an astounding win.
Those were the days when we would thirst for a glimpse of a
ball or two, of the action on television and indeed Kapil Dev’s
innings is still part only of the imagination as no video of it is
available. Apparently the British TV Channels did not consider it
to be a match fit for telecast.
The final and the semi-final were, however, telecast in some
detail on Indian TV screens and despite the very basic technology
used in those days we could make out that our team had come of
age despite all odds.
It was, perhaps, the ease with which Yashpal Sharma hit Bob
Willis for a slog-pull over the mid-wicket fence and the searing
shots which Sandip Patil displayed that made us sure of victory
over hosts England in the Semi-finals.
The West Indians of those days were akin to the Tiger Woods
and Roger Federers of today. India’s opponents in the Finals were
awesome in all respects. Vivian Richards, Clive Lloyd, Gorden
Greenidge, Malcolm Marshal, Michael Holding, Joel Garner and
Andy Roberts were fearsome figures on the cricket field. Pitted
against them were India’s military-medium-pacers Roger Binny,
Madan Lal and Mohinder Amarnath along with some classy
batsmen like Sunil Gavaskar, K. Srikkanth and Sandip Patil. Kapil
Dev was the one outstanding one-day player in that line-up.
One remembers a familiar heart-sinking feeling as India
struggled to get only 183 runs, falling like ninepins to the dreaded
West Indian pace-quartet. We were all resigned to our fate, as
Syed Kirmani also admitted on TV last week, and to having
accomplished more than we could hope for just by reaching the
final of the World Cup. Fate had something else in store, however,
as arrogance coupled with failure to take on some steady swing
bowling led to the West Indian down fall.
Three memories that stand out from that West Indian innings
are Balwinder Sandhu’s ball-of-the-millennium to an armshouldering
Gordon Greenidge, Kapil Dev’s unparalleled
athleticism in catching the dangerous Richards and celebrated
commentator Richie Benaud’s high-pitched remark “Gone !” when
Clive Lloyd fell to a catch at point.
Amarnath’s little in-swinger accounted for Holding’s wicket
to end the match and a delirious country erupted with joy. At that
moment it seemed to every Indian that he or she was a World
champion too.
The victorious team visited Chandigarh soon after their
success and one recalls the simplicity with which each of them
conducted himself in that hour of glory. Wide eyed at finding
myself, an impressionable 16 year old, amongst my heroes at the
inaugural ceremony of Kapil Dev’s hotel, I realized that India and
its people were second to none.

Ishant Sharma gets NZ reeling at 60 for 6