:lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by VinodKumar's
//neenga thread mattum open panni paarunga. appuram neenga irukka pora edame vera. :D
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:lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by VinodKumar's
//neenga thread mattum open panni paarunga. appuram neenga irukka pora edame vera. :D
Life Beyond Cricket
Cricket was one of the most interesting sports, India were always the underdogs with everything depending on Sachin, or Azhar to an extent when I started watching. I loved the way Venkatesh Prasad, Javagal Srinath and Anil Kumble performed, I liked their attitude. That hooked me on to cricket, Azhar’s cricket was surely eye-candy (now eye-candy in cricket is used to refer to cheer girls). His batting, his fielding, everything was charismatic. Sachin was always there, his consistent self, people mad about him. But for me, it was Azhar, the classy batsman.
Then the things changed, I used to see this guy working hard every time, every single innings. I saw him have his good days and bad days, but one thing was sure, I always saw him there. I saw him field very well too, I saw a batsman smashing on his hand at silly mid off while Kumble caught it on the rebound (I don’t remember batsman cause he wasn’t ever the focus). Even in pain, I saw him celebrate the wicket before heading for the treatment.
I saw so much of him that from then cricket was him only. As always, Sachin was always there, but this guy Dravid was surely my favorite, more than Azhar, more than Prasad, more than anyone I could have been. From the slambook entries varying from Azhar to Sachin to Sonu Nigam to Bobby Deol to S C Bose to S P Gautam (the most consistent factor- my father), it ended up having only Rahul Dravid and S P Gautam in the Idol Section.
That was long back, I was a kid then. Now, I don’t have that much time to view, and neither is cricket that much more interesting. Team India doing well, as people say, in ODIs, has finally gone down. They won’t get the same number of challenges, they won’t play on tough tracks 90% of the time, the rest 10% will be easily forgotten or Sachin will come to rescue (he is always there), or may be some others will play a blinder at times.
In Tests also, a transition will come. People will look at 44* of Suresh Raina rather than remembering he had danced down the track to Malinga for an edged four, when the team was too close to victory. Rahul Dravid will move out of cricket. Not soon may be, may be soon, it depends on him. I won’t get to see someone working so hard for everything (surely times are changing, and like Dravid, even Sachin won’t be always there, and when great players leave and the quality of cricket keeps coming down, the number of challengers will have to be down to prevent disinterest of people). Also to note is that cricket is being globalized, and so the teams at the top will have to come down for the sake of competition, and any batsman or bowler will be good. From 16 countries presently, may be there will be 32 playing in World Cup in next 20 years or so, because once there were only 8 countries, and right now with T-20s, money is on.
T-20s are surely a boon for someone like me. As I said, I am not a kid anymore, I won’t have the same kind of time for cricket as it was before when I could watch days of Test cricket without any worry. Life is also moving at a faster pace these days, like cricket. T-20 has made sure that I get to watch the masters of the game in shorter format and see the highlights of their real skills. On an odd day, on a tough track in a T-20, I can see the great batsmen raising their hands up and do the job. And so, the cricket enthusiast in me will be alive.
But beyond cricket, I will have my memories. When the cricket in me ends, or tends to end (like the infinity curve), there will be something that will still be there. I will remember how Rahul Dravid worked for everything, and I will have a few points in my diary when in game called life I’ll visit tough times, I will remember how you could always be there, your consistent self, doing the best you can, despite what people say, like Sachin Tendulkar who was always there for India. I will remember the stories that from the cricket that under-rated gems performed when most needed, and did the job for the team, and team always valued them irrespective of whatever others said, like Very Very Special. I will remember how a few cricketers managed things off the field. I will remember I met Rahul Dravid, had a handshake, touched his feet. When people will talk cricket, I’ll remember the golden period of Indian cricket, with Sourav Ganguly as captain, Rahul Dravid scoring 25% of the runs in his 21 Test wins, with an average of over 100, I will remember Very Very Special performing when needed, and I will remember Sachin for being always there.
Talking about life beyond cricket, Rahul Dravid still stays, Sachin Tendulkar still stays, VVS still stays. That is probably what is called ‘Larger than Life’ image.
http://day2dayrg.wordpress.com/2010/...eyond-cricket/
Jadeja vechu 4-5 pages :roll:
Avan appa amma kUda avanai pathi ivLO nenaikka mAttAnga!
// It's not here !!! Athu vera thread !!! Inga Strictly no digression :mrgreen: //Quote:
Originally Posted by Plum
Andha threadla pOttA, 10 pages advance aayidum. NInga kaalaila vandhu pArkaradhukuuLLa.Inge pOttA safeA apdiyE orukkum - ningaLum pArthuttu reply paNNalAm. Adhukku vasadhiyA dhAn...;-) :)
// :lol: //Quote:
Originally Posted by Plum
Who has scored the most Test runs after reaching the age of 30?
asked Jermaine Peel from London
The leader among batsmen is Matthew Hayden, who scored 7306 of his 8625 Test runs after turning 30. Next come Alec Stewart (6758 in 107 matches, a record for the over-30s), Brian Lara (6547), Steve Waugh (6487), Graham Gooch (6360) and Allan Border (6139). Rahul Dravid has so far scored 5876 runs in Tests since turning 30, while Sachin Tendulkar has 5026. In one-day internationals the leader is Sanath Jayasuriya (8674), well clear of Adam Gilchrist (5771). Turning to bowlers, Muttiah Muralitharan took 388 Test wickets after his 30th birthday, to Shane Warne's 386. Murali (239) also leads the way in ODIs, ahead of Glenn McGrath (217) and Wasim Akram (215).
What's the highest individual score in the fourth innings of a Test, and how many Indians have made hundreds in the fourth innings of one?
asked Anurag from India
Five players have scored a double-century in the fourth innings of a Test, and the highest score among them is George Headley's 223 for West Indies against England in Kingston in 1929-30. Nathan Astle threatened that record with 222 for New Zealand v England in Christchurch in 2001-02, while Sunil Gavaskar made 221 for India v England at The Oval in 1979. Bill Edrich hit 219 in the final innings of the famous Timeless Test in Durban in 1938-39, and Gordon Greenidge sped West Indies to a nine-wicket victory over England at Lord's in 1984 with 214 not out. There have been 23 centuries for India in the fourth innings of Tests, four by Gavaskar, three by Sachin Tendulkar, two by Mohammad Azharuddin, and one each by Ajit Agarkar, Abbas Ali Baig, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Vijay Hazare, Wasim Jaffer, ML Jaisimha, VVS Laxman, Sanjay Manjrekar, Mushtaq Ali, Polly Umrigar, Gundappa Viswanath, Dilip Vengsarkar and Yuvraj Singh.
http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/con...ry/473648.html
Kumar Sangakkara reached 8000 Test runs during the third Test in Colombo. Is he the fastest player, in terms of innings, to achieve that landmark?
asked Keith D'Souza from Nigeria
Kumar Sangakkara did indeed pass 8000 runs in the second innings of the recent third Test against India in Colombo, in what was his 152nd innings in all. And that does break the previous record, held by another player in the same match - Sachin Tendulkar. He reached 8000 runs in his 154th Test innings, three fewer than Garry Sobers and four fewer than Rahul Dravid. Sangakkara was playing in his 91st Test, equalling Sobers' record (Matthew Hayden reached 8000 runs in his 92nd Test, Dravid and Brian Lara in 94, Sunil Gavaskar in 95, and Tendulkar in 96).
http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/con...ry/471770.html
Murali's last wicket was caught by Mahela Jayawardene, his 77th catch off his bowling - is this a record for a bowler and fielder?
asked Lionel Rajapakse from Colombo
That dismissal of Pragyan Ojha at Galle was indeed the 77th, and presumably final, time that "c Jayawardene b Muralitharan" will appear on a Test scorecard. And that is easily a record for a bowler-fielder combination: "c Dravid b Kumble" is next with 55, just ahead of "c Taylor b Warne" (51). The record for a bowler-wicketkeeper pairing remains "c Marsh b Lillee", with 95.
http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/con...ry/469021.html
Innaiku padichatha poturukaen. Archives la neraya matter irrukum pola :oops: