world cupped...

at 31 for 2... with sehwag and sachin back in pavilion... chasing the total never been chased in world cup finals history... the odds were stacked against team india...

india needed to chase that total... it was not only the world champions title that was at stake... but it was whether next gen cricketers had it in them to see team india through from that precarious situation...

and our next-gen did make an emphatic statement...

yes we are ready...

without them performing the way they did... the world champions title would have felt bit hollow... at least to me...

the glorious tribute to sachin was not only the world cup title that was missing from his otherwise illustrious career... but the feeling that yes... the baton has been passed on to right hands... the legacy is being carried forward... that even if when some of the stalwarts will walk into the sunset... they will sleep peacefully... knowing very well that the this team will keep going... to overhaul many more milestones...

and in this light i heard what kohli, who played a crucial role in soothing the nerves in middle, said after the world cup triumph..

"sachin has carried us on his shoulders for 21 years... now its our turn to carry him..."

thank you sachin... thank you gary... thank you team india... thank you for the wonderful game....

well played sri lanka... but we played little better...

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sachin tendulkar... the centurion...

they call him god...
i say let him stay human...
only then we will realise...
his feats are actually humanly possible... 

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talk about cricket fitness...

this is what murali vijay said after the end of day's play... after scoring a well deserved hundred...

"It was really special knock for me. I would like to dedicate this to my mom. It was a dream come true for me to play with Sachin. I was just focused on each ball and not try to think too far ahead. In that regard Sachin paaji helped me a lot. He gave me pep-talks through the day. After the tea I got tired; I didn't want to give my wicket away but ended up playing a bad shot. I am trying to just keep things simple and work on my basics; whenever I get my opportunities I want to do well."

this is a significant statement coming from a youngster of about 26 years of age just into international cricket... who batted alongside the veteran of 21 years of almost non-stop international cricket at the age of more than 37 year... and still batting as strong and as relaxed as if he has just come to crease... taking quick singles or twos with youngsters like murali... raina.... and later with dhoni... during his marathon innings of 190+

yes... age is just a number... right murali...?

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14000 reasons to salute sachin...

 they say he has been playing international cricket for about 21 years...

to me... he started batting at international level the momement he picked up the bat... its not sachin's fault that they don't play international cricket for that age...  so cricket waited patiently for him to become a teenager...
so that we all could feel privileged to watch him bat ever since...
its not only us who feel privileged though...
even milestones feel honored to have their name taken alongside sachin... thank you sachin!  

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move on sachin... stuart broad is here...

although sachin is crowned the (unofficial) god of cricket... but we are not yet convinced...

unlike stuart broad... we have never seen sachin given the god like status...

stuart broad, of all players, has unlimited access to umpires to quiz them as and when he desires... allowed to show frustration whereas others are booked for dissents trying to ape him by showing similar 'frustration'... he has the power to stop the ball at play with his spiked shoes... and unlike lesser mortals... he does not need to appeal to take the wicket...

and they still call sachin the god of cricket...

on bored: spare the broad and spoil the child...

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on sachin being rested from tri-series...

as expected... sachin has been rested from the upcoming tri-series between india, sri lanka and new zealand...

sachin has been given rest is not an ordinary decision but a comment on sign of times to come... when a player will be rested from meaningless international series to play in more commercially viable... glamorised designer domestic level tournament... the future of cricket... aptly named... champions league...

coz that is where champion players play...

why should a champion player, like sachin, play in an unglamorous, increasingly meaningless and about to die format... limited overs internationals... nobody cares about...?

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what will sachin do...?

from mid july onwards india will play test series with sri lanka which will be followed up by the tri series with new zealand as the third team that will end in last week of august...

from 10th september onwards champions league t20 will start in south africa in its new format which will end late september... after that, almost immediately, it will be time to play home test series followed by an odi series with australia ...

here is india's schedule... and this is champions league's schedule...

now considering the workload from the upcoming hectic season... and considering that sachin excused himself from an international event, asia cup, in lieu of some well deserved rest and spending valuable time with his family... will sachin excuse himself from champions league, a  t20 league, to be ready for much important australia test series after playing in sri lanka...?

or will he take rest from tri-series in sri lanka, another international series, to be ready for the champions league which is not even an international tournament...?

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sachin tendulkar – a 37 year old virgin...

a lot has been said about sachin... he has been praised... dissected from every possible angle... writing anything (new) about sachin, the player, is like showing light to the sun...

cliché isn't it...? this is what sachin to me is...

so today on his 37th birthday... and more importantly... his 20th birthday as an international player... i wish sachin loses his cricketing virginity...

i wish the chastity he has been religiously protecting shall melt away and we shall see the real sachin ramesh tendulkar...

the one who has faced and passed 20 years of intense scrutiny... the one who would really have opinions instead of cliché he has been feeding us ever since... the one who, by his sheer authority, can make things happen... the one who would say what is in his heart... khull ke... the one who would come up and say "yeah... if i got a nice shot to keep orange cap then why not...?"

so sachin... give us a birthday to remember... let the real transition begin...

lets start with the question manu joseph asked some time back...

do you really like being called 'little' master...?

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take it easy sachin redux...

i know you take it to the level of obsession when you are captain...

so rather than i coming hard at you at times... the truth is... it is not as hard as you are on yourself...

mumbai indians are more or less in the semifinals... and so are delhi daredevils...

you won the battle last time but the war is far from over...

however much i would cherish delhi defeating mumbai in your own den... it will not be same without you...

so till then... take care... take it easy...

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take it easy sachin...

sachin's captaincy in ipl for mumbai indians reminds me of his captaincy stints in 90s...

even yesterday he was over the top... animated... expressive... and so volatile... that he was putting his colleagues under undue pressure... goes to show even if the time changes... some things never change...

often his stifling method of captaincy is mistaken for passion... coz i have seen captains leading teams with equal passion but less histrionics in the middle...

its good that mumbai indians are winning so nobody is talking about his captaincy otherwise there would have been many questions raised by now about the way he handles team in the middle...

take it easy sachin... let the boys relax a bit... that does not mean they will do job with less zest and focus... in fact they would do it better if given space to enjoy the challenge at hand...

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read sachin tendulkar like never before...

one of the better, if not best, analysis on sachin tendulkar by manu joseph in open magazine... titled... the worst sachin arguments...

here's an excerpt...

The male analysis of Sachin Tendulkar is a two-decade long confession of Indian men. When they speak of him, usually through pilfered opinions, they reveal fragments of their own fears and private grouses. So when a guy says that Rahul Dravid is a more useful Test player than Sachin, he means to say, ‘I am an ordinary person and I want the ordinary to triumph over the flamboyant, I want hard work to be accorded the same respect as unattainable genius, otherwise what is the whole point of my existence.’ When he says Laxman is more beautiful to watch than Sachin, he is saying, ‘I want you to believe that I am classy, an opera among rock concerts.’ And when he says that Ganguly was a better one-day opener than Sachin, he is saying, ‘I am a Bengali.’

but my favorite is the parting line...

Then there is the other annoying epithet—Little Master. You think he likes being called Little?

don't waste time... go... read... enjoy... cherish... rave...

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sachin tendulkar makes 200...

now i know why they say a picture is better than thousand words!

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my friendly advise to badrinath...

when the experience of over 20 years of international cricket... more than 30,000 runs... and 90 international hundreds... gives you tips... you better pay attention...

on bored: open thread - first test first show...

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taking fresh guard...

sorry for talking about mundane things like the upcoming india vs sri lanka series when the flavor of the season is tendulkar20 business...

its not that being a sachin fan i did not capture my feelings on sachin completing 20 years... but i came bit early to the party... end september to be precise...

coming back to the post... after the brain freeze series that india had recently against fractured australian team... the aura around sri lanka series seems to be just about the same... that india will have to just turn on the ground to beat sri lanka which has youngsters in the rank who have virtually no experience of playing in india... is carrying the weight of veteran jayasuriya... in a land where even the likes of murli have not find any favors...

i hope this is not the case this time... specially after the timely rap on the knuckles provided by australia... the last series was like the mirror placed in front of team india in which they could clearly see their ugly complacent face and the extra flab which needed to be shed...

hopefully now team india will realise what it takes to remain at the top... any team can have bad days but great teams usually keep the gap between bad days as wide as possible...

earlier team india was not expected to win and the win against top teams used to be seen as underdog defying all odds to beat the favorites... but now the table is turned... now india start as favorites to win most of the time... it will take some time adjusting to this scenario... much the same way it took australia some time to reconcile to the fact that they are not favorites or the same force anymore...

so next few series starting from srilanka series will tell us whether team india has it in them to cross this hurdle or this is the best they can produce... how they are going to cope with this new found status coz now even fans want team to behave the way favorites teams are supposed to... on and off the field...

good showing in upcoming series will go a long way in re-assuring dejected indian fans that they really have the team which is not only the best but can take the best head on... consistently...

whatever be the case... as far as indian cricket goes... we are in for some interesting times...

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sachin versus killer instinct...

so we again finished second best against a team which is not even their third best... and i particularity liked what purna said on her blog...

India might as well wear yellow at the next game. They seem to love playing for Australia.

this basically sums up the series for me... nothing less... nothing more...

india has managed to dig a hole for themselves spectacularly in this series slowly but surely... when they actually should have been thinking to rest some over worked players (its been five intense matches already) they now find themselves in a position where they need to win the next two matches on trott to win this series and with it the no.1 spot in the odi ranking... and this is not happening for the first time...

australia on the other hand is sitting pretty... they had nothing to lose in this series and they have nothing to lose in the next two games either... if we crush them in next two matches... we are expected to... but if we manage to lose this series then you know what i mean... so they are coming out in middle with virtually no pressure whatsoever as it is india who has to do all the running...

our weakness of closing out games is again highlighted nakedly in this series and apart from mohali... yesterday's match illustrate it more than anything...

sachin played the brilliant innings and me as a fan is being told by almost everybody that you do not judge a player by the result of the game... that you are not a sports lover if you judge the greatness of the game or the player like sachin by the result... but to me sachin tendulkar's innings epitomize the lack of very killing instinct that we seems to lack all these years...

the instinct that yells that do not... do not in any circumstances give an inch to opposition when you have the chance to do it... coz you may not get the same favor when you will be under the boot...

yes the result can not take away the greatness of the man... but for a second... ask yourself a question... what yesterdays innings proved about sachin that you didn't know already...? had sachin got out to a lessor score would he had become bit of lessor mortal in our eyes...?

and an honest answer to above questions will be resounding NO...

we learn from our heros coz we look at them... we follow them and when you see them floundering at last hurdle... it hurts... and this was not the first time it has happened... we have already seen it happening at chennai...

if you look at yesterday's innings dispassionately for a moment you will agree that the man on 175 odd are not supposed to get out this softly... when the requirement of the team is reduced to almost run a ball... especially when you know you are the last recognised batsman at the crease... and if you can not see it off... how come you can expect lessor mortals in jadeja... or tailenders to finish the job you were supposed to do...

how these infants of cricket will learn if you as veteran won't show them how to do it in first place...?

you might come hard at me and say what 10 other players were supposed to do in a team... but sir... when you say 'team' then there are going to be days when one player will be standing at the debris... be it gambhir, yuvraj, dhoni or raina... but that will take nothing away from the fact that whoever will be left standing after hard fought battle... near the sight of unexpected victory... will have to finish it in teams favor... otherwise the margin of defeat will just be a mere teasing number... this is what makes good team a great team coz even if individual wins it they reflect the mentality of  the team...

after the match was over my younger brother asked me a question in his dejectedly sinking voice...

"yaar jab bhi cricket jitutaa hai... india hi kyon harta hai..."
(brother whenever cricket wins why only india ends up losing it...)

and i just do not have answer to this question...

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on why sachin should open... only...

you read everywhere there has been this persistent debate about where sachin should bat... whether he should open... the position for which his love is known to everybody... or he should bat in middle order... there there is debate here too on whether he should bat at no.3 or further down the order...

yours truly too on more than one occasions have argued that he should bat in middle order given his experience... but last night i re-visited my argument  and come out with conclusion that he is best suited to the opening now...

before you blame me for two things... first what's new in it... and secondly for changing my stance... let me defend myself... thanks...

most of us still perceive sachin tendulkar as the 'sachin' he used to be... but the thing is he is not... sachin of today at best is an earnest batsman who uses his experience and skills the way his body allows it to be... the reflections are getting decidedly slow... and that's why you see opposition teams have started coming up with strategies to ball wide and full to him... to make him stretch even further... the balls which he used to dispatch to boundary even in his sleep finds fielders now... he is also getting slow with age so you can not expect him to run between wickets the way he used to do... the very demand of playing in middle overs when boundaries don't come as frequently as say in power plays...

this leaves only one spot for him in the team... that is to open... but with a twist...

sachin seems to have decided his role even before the start of this series and is religiously sticking to it... the role of a 'dravid'... to play through the innings... to accumulate runs... and that's why we are seeing him play the way he is playing in this series...

there used to be the time when india used to depended on him a lot... many used to switch the tv off when he got out... but today the scenario is altogether different... the team is full of match winners... who on their day can win on their own... and although they still look upto him... but in different way altogether...

its time to carry his legacy forward and let jatman don some responsibility which he is perfectly capable of without losing much sheen the way he plays... this could just be the gift team india can give to sachin for completing 20 intense international cricketing years of carrying the hope of billion fans on his shoulders without every complaining...

its the time sachin reap on the freedom this team provides him...  its the time to liberate himself off all the burdens he used to carry on his shoulders... its time to let him play as freely as he wanted to but could not... its time to let him enjoy in the middle without much botheration...

suddenly sachin will find that the 'touch' is also coming back with the enjoyment and we might just be able to see the old sachin the bowlers used to fear of... its time to go back to his youth days when there were seniors who used to bat around him and he was asked to open to destroy the bowlers confidence and was given the license to go for the kill...

i hope he completes the cycle which has been longing for sometime to complete...

let bowlers around world hear some much needed (sa)chin music... the sound of balls whizzing pass straight close to their ears...

go unwind yourself sachin... unleash yourself the way it meant to be...

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a note to sachin and sehwag...

to sachin... if i want to see dravid bat... i would download innumerable clips of him batting from you-tube...

to sehwag... why you are so hell bent on turning afridi with only one gear to work on...?

...but more importantly... where is john wright when we need him most...?

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find permanent player for no. 3 spot...

whenever sachin opens gambhir comes at no. 3 or sometimes either dhoni or raina come at one down depending upon the match conditions...

its time india finds a permanent player who can come at no. 3 rather than playing musical chair game for this coveted position... and what better than using this 7 match marathon series to test water... without compromising the balance or composition of the team...

we all know whenever sachin is in the team... he opens... and given the explosive start jatman provides he is best utilised there... so this leaves gambhir to vacant the space and drop down to no. 3...

india have invested so much time on raina that its time he should be made to stand up and be tested for whether he has it in him to become one down player... give him the assurance of two full series (oz and srilanka) and see how he responds to the responsibility... currently there is so much happening in the name of flexibility that the stability is being compromised and sometimes player do need to be told about their batting order in the team so that they prepare themselves for the challenges of the job...

its also not going to help kohlis, rainas to come at different positions virtually every game coz they are still in formation stages of their career and it will help them and their overall game if they are told in advance of their batting positions...

so to me either gambhir opens or comes at no. 4 and the dashers bat around him in the middle... what is happening is that once top order goes the onus of keeping the innings together falls on dhoni... subsequently he has to curb his attacking instincts according to the requirements of situation and if the burden can be shared in middle overs then it will only help india to either launch full throttle attack in case of good start... or do the dirty work of consolidation if the start is not that good...

as i said earlier... the goal can be achieved without compromising on the balance or composition of the team and we might just unearth proper and permanent batsman at no. 3... for most occasions...

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twenty years of being sachin tendular...

"He has competed against the best in the world across different eras; against grizzly pros when he was a kid and brash, irreverent young men now; he has played on feverishly seaming pitches and on raging turners, on cold, cloudy days and blazingly hot ones; at home surrounded by family and fans and away amidst loneliness; when the body is obeying all commands and when pain and fatigue bring you to your knees. And he hasn't just survived, he's left his imprint on every situation."

writes harsha the way only he can... on sachin ramesh tendulkar completing 20 years of intense cricket... when you see youngster struggling to carry their form from one season to another... which brings me to my recent post on bored 'suresh raina is on staple diet' in which i said...

"its not easy being great... for that you must have an insatiable hunger for runs... every time you step on to the field you must shoulder the weight of expectations... of not only the fans but more importantly your own... in short you need to do a sachin... over 20 years non stop... not necessarily of sachinesque level... not everyone can be... but at least there must be something burning inside you that keeps you going... challenging you to run that extra mile... so that when time comes knocking at your door... you have the presence of mind... skill and urge to grab it with both hands..."

isn't its irony that on one side sachin has inspired fans, players, hopefuls... yours and mine kids to play cricket they way he plays... "you play like sachin" is the ultimate compliment one can get today... but at the same time those who share the same dressing room with him are often left wanted...

although its almost a fashion to thank sachin at the drop of hat... but the true thank to sachin will be to take the legend forward... to learn from him how he converted his skills into monumental scores... in all conditions... against every opponent... without complaints... without ever offering excuses...





are we walking into times when the hero will be as good as his last innings...? when you will be judged by every friday like the cine stars are judged...? when term 'great' will be used only on the impression of couple of good outings...? is expecting some kind of consistency from today's youngsters is asking too much...? are we knocking at the wrong doors...?

or we don't want to ask uncomfortable questions fearing answers...

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curious case of sachin and dravid...

nice that dravid raised his hand...err bat and agreed to open the innings today... though dravid would not have have been selected in the first place had sachin raised his bat too and said i will bat in middle order...

so who's doing who a favor...?

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