Not Cricket

Is this a dig at Punter!!!?  How weird.

Even Punter said that was one of the best innings he had ever seen.

Vim,

Welcome to the blog.. This is a dig at all those old fogies who have been trying to bring the old man down for the last decade now.. And this was not just an innings. This was the essence of Tendulkar for people who think he is past his prime, people who think he is just an 'uncle' in the dressing room.

And this piece was about the hope that all endings won't be sad for SRT. Was it a dig at P? You decide. And if you think it was, then it was.

Indeed Homer! Indeed. Amen to that. :)

Such a knock should not have finished in the tragedy of a defeat.

Namya,

Life cannot be led about showing other people wrong in life ... that seems to be a big driving factor these days for you. Sachin is great and all these come lately youngsters who have got so much adulation and popularity are undeserving is the general theme of  your  angst. If there was something to be done by great players yesterday was to win the game .. 18 balls 19 runs 4 wickets (including the supposed greatest player of his generation) in hand ... win the damn game and then talk . Instead of focussing on the fact this  was a great innings you have gone on an attack on others .... necessiating me to point out that while brought  down an unsurmountable target to a manageable one  ... we then choked and lost the game.

Dhoni showed how  to close out games in the beginning of this series (funnily enough i saw  no post at that time from you) ... thats what is important ... close out ... not make another greek tragedy.

Som,

Indeed.. but we can only hope for a happies ending :)

Hari,

Welcome back after a long time..

Where in this post or my earlier ones have I tried to bring down the youngsters of this team? Even in this post I have not pointed fingers at any particular species in the team for losing the match.

What to do, I seem to like Greek tragidies better. If you have followed my blog for a certain length of time, I never wrote about the various contributions of the Old Man for a winning cause over the past 24 months. I don't need to write everytime he scores and makes us win because that itself is going against my inherent belief in his greatness. One doesn't need to defend the indefatigable.

About closing out the match, yes INDIA should have. For all the SRT baiters a victory is a team effort, a defeat, another sign of individual frailty.

Regarding MSD, you know my views. And the fact that I didn't write articles when we were losing left, right and center in the World T20, ICC champions trophy even when we had the World's top 2 ODI batters in our team, denouncing MSD, I think, excuses me from not gushing about 1 (ONE) match winning innings played by the Captain. There were no claims of the captain playing for personal glory trying to fortify his ODI average, not coming at #3 while chasing difficult targets. The fact that India, in this series, has consistently taken their batting powerplay with Bhajji and Praveen around, the fact that India could have, maybe, not taken the bowling powerplay in the 11th over when a lot of runs were scored from over 8-10? These are all only theoretical questions? MSD expects youngsters to learn from yesterday's loss. Maybe that applies to him as well

When I mentioned in my earlier comments about his being past his prime was more a dig at guys like Sandal (Chappal) who have nothing better to do in life.

People may enjoy their 'reality shows'with starlets, I prefer Greek tragedies better :)

cheers

Took me totally by surprise... I wouldn't be bothered much about the result. It was a treat yesterday and they don't come every other day.

Scorpi,

The Old Man has scored 3 tons in the last 10 innings he has batted. And all of them were vintage Tendulkar specials. Hyderabad, obviously top draw. But the innings against NZ and Sri Lanka were not too far behind in shot making skills.

163 (133)- Excerpt from cricinfo bulletin of the NZ match -

"While Yuvraj dazzled with glamourous shots, Tendulkar inspired awe with his innovations. He played numerous paddle sweeps, scooped Southee over fine leg for a stunning six, lofted drives inside out over cover and opened the bat-face to deftly steer the ball to the boundary. Unlike Sehwag, who was bowled while trying to pull a delivery that was not short enough, Tendulkar did not let the temptation of the short square boundaries influence his batting early in his stay. He remained busy throughout his innings, using his wristy flick to turn short-of-length deliveries cutting into middle and off stump to the leg side for many singles.

Saaed Anwar's record score was under threat but Tendulkar retired hurt in the 45th over after pulling a stomach muscle."

Against SL 138 (133) Excerpts from cricinfo bulletin - "The beauty of the chase was that it overshadowed a classy knock by Tendulkar, who rolled back the years, and then some. He stroked, ran and yearned for runs like it was the 1990s, but unlike those days he didn't need to take any risks on the way to setting what looked like a total safe beyond doubt.

This was Tendulkar's ninth international century since May 2007, to go with seven scores in the 90s. Judging by this form, 100 international hundreds have become a distinct possibility. A measure of the bowlers' helplessness lay in the fact that the first time he hit a ball in the air was to reach his fifty, that too off a free hit. With Tendulkar batting the way he was, who needed aerial shots?

He shared valuable partnerships with Rahul Dravid, Dhoni and Yuvraj, especially crucial being the one with Dravid. Tendulkar and Dravid, walking out with 73 years and 762 ODI caps between them, took charge of what has looked a shaky batting line-up: their 95-run opening stand took them to No. 6 on the all-time partnership aggregates in ODIs.

Tendulkar you simply couldn't take your eye off. Albeit on a flat track, Tendulkar and Dravid were prepared to work hard in sapping conditions, their shirts turning to dark blue with sweat even before the shine went off the white ball.

Nuwan Kulasekera and Thilan Thushara didn't serve up loose half-volleys or long hops; Tendulkar had to work for every forceful shot. The first ball he faced he punched sweetly off his toes, wide of mid-off for three. In the fourth over, he took a similar delivery and wristed it wide of mid-on for three. We were on to something.

A string of lovely boundaries followed, the best being the punches through a tight cover ring, and the late flicks from off and middle stump to midwicket and cow corner. After Dravid's dismissal, Tendulkar added 110 with Dhoni, who kept the tempo up.

By then Tendulkar had started taking the odd chance, stepping out, making room, and hitting Jayasuriya and Mendis over extra cover. One such shot off Mendis, in the 29th over, took him into his 90s and serenely, with ones and twos, came the hundred. After the hundred came the cramps, and when Tendulkar opted for a runner we were reminded for the first time it was in fact the year 2009.

Dravid came back to run, but Tendulkar did most of the calling. The bowlers showed no mercy, Malinga bowling a mix of bouncers and yorkers. Tendulkar's response was to hit Mendis for a six inside-out and reverse-sweep two boundaries in three balls."

I wasn't too surprised :)

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It was like India of old - SRT at his destructive best and crumbling batting lineup from the other.

Critics who queue up to say tht he hasnt won matches for India batting second need to watch this match and rethink of all such knocks over the first 10 yrs or so of his career.

Wht more does the man do ? .. bat from both ends? coz the other 9 cudnt get the remaining 175

Tht argument abt being the best bat opens for mortals.Yes Ponting is the best bat in the world but Sachin has always been on a completely different planet :)

Like Clark Kent Nikhil? ;)

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