Sunday, April 19, 2009
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
The Wankhede Effect!
There is something special about the Wankhede stadium. Something that is just synonymous with only this ground. It has bad seating arrangements for spectators, it has stinking toilets, it has people charging exorbitant prices at the food stalls, the pitch too has been criticized some times but this is not what is special to this venue.
It's the atmosphere. It's the spectators who come and support their team on. It's the noise decibels these spectators produce. It's the energy that these spectators manage to fuse into the players on field. It's the fun these spectators manage to have even if their team is not winning. This is what makes Wankhede the fortress it is.
Even with imbalance between the good and the bad inside the stadium, one can see Mumbaikars flooding the ground for every international match or for that matter any match where they can see their icons do what they do best. Hit the ball.
The IPL match between the Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers this Sunday was no different. The stands started filling up hours before the match was to start. The decibel levels reached their peak even before the first ball was bowled. Every movement on field cheered on. It was a gala affair and can be termed as a concert put together for the audience with a big three hour performance by the cricketers.
The Mumbai spectators are never afraid to let their opinions be heard. Be it the cricketers, their shots, the substitutes, the ball boys, the cheerleaders or for that matter any random guy walking beyond the fence.
The cheerleaders (better known as 'Champa' by the spectators) did their best to keep the spectators' eyeballs working. There actually came a time when the spectators were perplexed as to whether to see the match or the cheerleaders, many preferred the latter during the unlikely boring moments in the game.
The Mexican wave doing its rounds around the stadium, the Mumbai Indians' anthem being sung, the personal comments towards the player fielding in the outfield, every ball, every shot being cheered, it is all in the game for these cricket loving fanatics of Mumbai. For them it is an experience that cannot be matched by any thing else.
The kind of crowd that the wankhede attracts varies from the old to the young, You can see the father- son duo, you can see the young couple sitting next to the old ones or just a group of young guys who have come to watch their stars and also the group of girls who have come to see some 'Hot Bods'.
It's the spectators who make Wankhede what it is. The attitudes of these people change once they walk through the narrow gates. This is what Wankhede does to them. Cheers to many more matches at the Wankhede.
It's the atmosphere. It's the spectators who come and support their team on. It's the noise decibels these spectators produce. It's the energy that these spectators manage to fuse into the players on field. It's the fun these spectators manage to have even if their team is not winning. This is what makes Wankhede the fortress it is.
Even with imbalance between the good and the bad inside the stadium, one can see Mumbaikars flooding the ground for every international match or for that matter any match where they can see their icons do what they do best. Hit the ball.
The IPL match between the Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers this Sunday was no different. The stands started filling up hours before the match was to start. The decibel levels reached their peak even before the first ball was bowled. Every movement on field cheered on. It was a gala affair and can be termed as a concert put together for the audience with a big three hour performance by the cricketers.
The Mumbai spectators are never afraid to let their opinions be heard. Be it the cricketers, their shots, the substitutes, the ball boys, the cheerleaders or for that matter any random guy walking beyond the fence.
The cheerleaders (better known as 'Champa' by the spectators) did their best to keep the spectators' eyeballs working. There actually came a time when the spectators were perplexed as to whether to see the match or the cheerleaders, many preferred the latter during the unlikely boring moments in the game.
The Mexican wave doing its rounds around the stadium, the Mumbai Indians' anthem being sung, the personal comments towards the player fielding in the outfield, every ball, every shot being cheered, it is all in the game for these cricket loving fanatics of Mumbai. For them it is an experience that cannot be matched by any thing else.
The kind of crowd that the wankhede attracts varies from the old to the young, You can see the father- son duo, you can see the young couple sitting next to the old ones or just a group of young guys who have come to watch their stars and also the group of girls who have come to see some 'Hot Bods'.
It's the spectators who make Wankhede what it is. The attitudes of these people change once they walk through the narrow gates. This is what Wankhede does to them. Cheers to many more matches at the Wankhede.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Ay! Ay! Captain!
It’s been an interesting and eventful year for Indian cricket. In march, the early exit from the World Cup, Then winning some tests and series for the first time, Winning the T20 World Championship without the “Big Three” under the leadership of the “aggressive” new captain MS Dhoni. Rahul Dravid quitting captaincy, Appointment of Dhoni as the ODI captain, dropping dravid from the ODI team, amongst other comparatively smaller issues.
Now the year seems to be coming to and end but the stories coming out of the cricket board just doesn’t seem to. The latest debate the “Test Capatincy”. Now that Sachin Tendulkar has declined to accept the “challenge”, the selectors are once again in the public eye. Whom do they pick? Dhoni? Ganguly? Kumble? Laxman?
Well one thing is for sure! It is going to be the talking point for a long time.
If I was to choose out of the lot I may choose either Dhoni or Laxman. Dhoni being appointed the captain doesn’t feel right at this point in time. Laxman may be a surprise because he himself isn’t a surety to be played in the playing eleven. Ganguly may hesistate to take up the challenge considering what has happened in the past and his record with the board and the selectors. The problem with Kumble is that the selectors may just over look him looking at the fact that at most he may playt for another year or so.
Now the year seems to be coming to and end but the stories coming out of the cricket board just doesn’t seem to. The latest debate the “Test Capatincy”. Now that Sachin Tendulkar has declined to accept the “challenge”, the selectors are once again in the public eye. Whom do they pick? Dhoni? Ganguly? Kumble? Laxman?
Well one thing is for sure! It is going to be the talking point for a long time.
If I was to choose out of the lot I may choose either Dhoni or Laxman. Dhoni being appointed the captain doesn’t feel right at this point in time. Laxman may be a surprise because he himself isn’t a surety to be played in the playing eleven. Ganguly may hesistate to take up the challenge considering what has happened in the past and his record with the board and the selectors. The problem with Kumble is that the selectors may just over look him looking at the fact that at most he may playt for another year or so.
Cricket or Soap???
The recently concluded World T20 was no less than a corny Ekta Kapoor soap opera if you were an Indian supporter. The tournament started with rain washing away the first match against the Scottish thus making the Pakistan game a must win. They did and how! Again losing the first super 8 game to the Kiwi’s and then coming back to beat the English and the South Africans to meet the Oz in the semis and then beating them and setting up a dream finale with the arch rivals Pakistan and then winning it in the last over! (grabs breath) it wasn’t any less than a soap with heroes(men in blue), Heroines (cheerleaders), climax anti climax and also the villains (purists)
YES WE GET IT!
“Hutch is now Vodafone!” Yes we know! With so much bombardment of the same who wouldn’t notice the change. Well I am sorry but I can’t help but write about it. When Hutch first turned to Vodafone for some odd reason I was pretty excited. And when I saw the first ad my excitement grew. But for the last two days now it’s getting on my nerve. Vodafone here, Vodafone there, Vodafone everywhere. I wonder how much media space these people bought. Every second hoarding and TVC I see on is either the pug or the hutch boy and girl. I was watching the India- Australia match the other day and as soon as the Aussie batsman was dismissed, the earlier lovable now irritating dog appeared from nowhere. The length of the ad does not help at all.
PS: THE COMPANY HAS NOT PAID ME ANYTHING TO WRITE ABOUT THEM. BUT I AM OPEN TO DISCUSSION.
PS: THE COMPANY HAS NOT PAID ME ANYTHING TO WRITE ABOUT THEM. BUT I AM OPEN TO DISCUSSION.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
RESURGENCE OF INDIAN CRICKET
In the year 1970-71, when India beat West Indies in West Indies, everyone thought India had the best team at that time but the fact was West Indies was fielding its weakest team. Again in 1970, when India beat England at the oval it was again thought that India had arrived but that was the time when Indian spin was the talk of cricketing world and they ruled for another ten years. Except for two stars in Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev subsequent to the spin era, there was no name mentioning in the Indian team. But the team was performing well at home but was failing miserably overseas.
The late 80’s saw a young Azhar scoring three consecutive centuries against England but the team performance was not much to write about. India was basking in the glory of 1983 world cup triumph but the standard of cricket in India was going downhill. BCCI was worried. It had funds to spare but didn’t know how to raise the standard of cricket. In a collective wisdom in the late 90’s they thought of hiring a foreign coach for the team and thus in 2000 came John Wright of New Zealand as Indian coach and fortunately the stint was for a period of five years.
This was a period when the Dravids and Gangulys were getting their feet in. Srinath was slowly getting into his stride and a host of other fast medium bowlers were waiting in the wing. Anil Kumble was slowly peaking, Sachin was at his best but the team was not winning. John Wright was a worried man.
When the all-conquering team of Aussies led by Steve Waugh landed in Mumbai in 2001, nobody gave India any chance. The scene became gloomier after the India lost the first test in Mumbai within three days. Then came the turning point at Eden gardens, Kolkatta. After being followed on India came back from behind to defeat Australia in one of the greatest turnaround ever. Laxman’s 281 was the talk of the cricket world for many more years to come. The test also saw the emergence of one more world-class spinner in Harbhajan Singh. When everyone thought that the Aussies will bounce back in vengeance, India surprised them with a close victory at Chennai, thus winning the series and also ending the 16 tests unbeaten run of the Australian side.
In the same year, in the One Day Series, India fielded a rookie batsman named Virendra Sehwag who was to become one of the most feared batsman in the next few yew years. With batsmen like Sachin, Dravid, Laxman, Ganguly and Sehwag in the line-up Indian batting was considered one of the best in the world. India just wanted a couple of good fast bowlers in the line up to supplement Srinath, fortunately the Zaheer khan’s and the Agarkars and Prasads stepped in at the right time. All said and done India had a bad reputation to erase i.e. tigers at home but chokers abroad. The good work continued and by the time the 2003 world cup came India had a good chance. The build up to the world cup was not the most ideal one. They were beaten handsomely by new Zealand in very alien conditions suiting the fast bowlers of new Zealand. After the initial hiccups India came into their own to reach the finals of the world cup only to be thrashed by the ponting led Australia. Thus the Indian team returned to India with their heads held high. The confidence was sky high as was evident in their next series against Australia in 2004 in Australia. The team almost won the series but finally settled for a one all draw. This was one of the most fiercely competed series, where the strong Australian team was made to fight every inch of their way. This tour saw the emergence of another star in Irfan Pathan. The purple patch continued with the tour to Pakistan after fifteen years. India recorded their first test series victory in Pakistan. They also ended up winning the ODI after trailing the 5 match series 2-1.
Another reason that could be termed as a catalyst for the resurgence of the Indian cricket is the selection committee. Though there have been question raised about the term and the selection of the committee members, there is more transparency in the system since the selectors have been given a fixed period to get the results in. the dropping Ganguly, a bold move in itself was an example of the efficient working of the selection committee. But there have been certain instance that have raised quite a few eyebrows, the selection of VRV Singh, Wasim Jaffer did not go down too well with the public and the former players. As these selectors are doing a voluntary job, there isn’t any incentive for them to prove themselves to anyone. Irfan Pathan’s and Yuvraj Singh’s place in the team for the world cup was an issue that could be handled in a defferent manner. All other players were selected on subject of their fitness but yuvraj just played one twent-20 match to get back into the national team. The ideal situation would be where the national selectors are chosen on by former players and these selectors would be paid their salaries on the basis of how the team performs. Performance based salary system is the way to go.
The late 80’s saw a young Azhar scoring three consecutive centuries against England but the team performance was not much to write about. India was basking in the glory of 1983 world cup triumph but the standard of cricket in India was going downhill. BCCI was worried. It had funds to spare but didn’t know how to raise the standard of cricket. In a collective wisdom in the late 90’s they thought of hiring a foreign coach for the team and thus in 2000 came John Wright of New Zealand as Indian coach and fortunately the stint was for a period of five years.
This was a period when the Dravids and Gangulys were getting their feet in. Srinath was slowly getting into his stride and a host of other fast medium bowlers were waiting in the wing. Anil Kumble was slowly peaking, Sachin was at his best but the team was not winning. John Wright was a worried man.
When the all-conquering team of Aussies led by Steve Waugh landed in Mumbai in 2001, nobody gave India any chance. The scene became gloomier after the India lost the first test in Mumbai within three days. Then came the turning point at Eden gardens, Kolkatta. After being followed on India came back from behind to defeat Australia in one of the greatest turnaround ever. Laxman’s 281 was the talk of the cricket world for many more years to come. The test also saw the emergence of one more world-class spinner in Harbhajan Singh. When everyone thought that the Aussies will bounce back in vengeance, India surprised them with a close victory at Chennai, thus winning the series and also ending the 16 tests unbeaten run of the Australian side.
In the same year, in the One Day Series, India fielded a rookie batsman named Virendra Sehwag who was to become one of the most feared batsman in the next few yew years. With batsmen like Sachin, Dravid, Laxman, Ganguly and Sehwag in the line-up Indian batting was considered one of the best in the world. India just wanted a couple of good fast bowlers in the line up to supplement Srinath, fortunately the Zaheer khan’s and the Agarkars and Prasads stepped in at the right time. All said and done India had a bad reputation to erase i.e. tigers at home but chokers abroad. The good work continued and by the time the 2003 world cup came India had a good chance. The build up to the world cup was not the most ideal one. They were beaten handsomely by new Zealand in very alien conditions suiting the fast bowlers of new Zealand. After the initial hiccups India came into their own to reach the finals of the world cup only to be thrashed by the ponting led Australia. Thus the Indian team returned to India with their heads held high. The confidence was sky high as was evident in their next series against Australia in 2004 in Australia. The team almost won the series but finally settled for a one all draw. This was one of the most fiercely competed series, where the strong Australian team was made to fight every inch of their way. This tour saw the emergence of another star in Irfan Pathan. The purple patch continued with the tour to Pakistan after fifteen years. India recorded their first test series victory in Pakistan. They also ended up winning the ODI after trailing the 5 match series 2-1.
Another reason that could be termed as a catalyst for the resurgence of the Indian cricket is the selection committee. Though there have been question raised about the term and the selection of the committee members, there is more transparency in the system since the selectors have been given a fixed period to get the results in. the dropping Ganguly, a bold move in itself was an example of the efficient working of the selection committee. But there have been certain instance that have raised quite a few eyebrows, the selection of VRV Singh, Wasim Jaffer did not go down too well with the public and the former players. As these selectors are doing a voluntary job, there isn’t any incentive for them to prove themselves to anyone. Irfan Pathan’s and Yuvraj Singh’s place in the team for the world cup was an issue that could be handled in a defferent manner. All other players were selected on subject of their fitness but yuvraj just played one twent-20 match to get back into the national team. The ideal situation would be where the national selectors are chosen on by former players and these selectors would be paid their salaries on the basis of how the team performs. Performance based salary system is the way to go.
DOWNFALL OF INDIAN CRICKET
It can be boldly said that the glory days of Indian cricket was in the two years that followed the World Cup victory in 1983. The whole scenario changed after winning the World Series in Australia in 1985. It turned out to be the last memorable, successful tournament for a long time to come. In the late 70’s and the early 80’s. as the West Indies had an all conquering team, except Australia there was no other country who could give these two teams a run for their money. The 1983 victory of India in the world cup was indeed a team effort rather than any extraordinary talent. The Indian team of the 1983 world cup consisted of three – four players of average skills who were helped by the English conditions in their bowling. But the same team on their return home were beaten 5-0 by the same West Indies team in India. After that the tournament victory in Australia in 1985………was last major victory for India before the downslide started.
Though a star was born in 1989 by the name of Sachin Tendulkar, with most of the batting stalwarts aging, there was no one to fill up the vacuum. It was not until the champions trophy in 2000, that India reached the finals of a major tournament.
The golden era of the Indian spin quartet was over. Sunil Gavaskar who was the best opening batsman of that era was nearing the end of his career. The mainstays of batting like the Vengsarkars, amaranths were at the end of their careers. With the retirement of Kapil Dev in 1994, the bowling department looked woefully inadequate. For many years India struggled to find the right opening combination in both batting as well as bowling.
Sachin was very young and inexperienced and Srinath, who was to be the spearhead of the bowling attack was just settling down. The two new youngsters who made their debut in 1996 at Lords –Rahul Dravid and Saurav Ganguly were too raw to take over the mantle from the seniors. Moreover, the Indian team was traditionally coached by an Indian coach who unfortunately were not professionals enough. At the same time, the standard of cricket in other countries was improving rapidly. With the enormous popularity of cricket in India, BCCI was making huge money but they were finding it difficult to get the right results on the field. During the same time, the West Indies cricket had declined unbelievably, the south Africans who came into mainstream cricket in 1992 had built a formidable team with some outstanding fielders but the Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh lead Australian team was going from strength to strength with no real competition from any cricket playing countries of the world.
The BCCI in its wisdom finally thought of a foreign coach to coach the Indian team and the former New Zealand opening batsman, John Wright was roped in to coach the national side and the rest as they say is history, may not be a fairy tale but a turnaround all the same with India reaching the world cup finals in 2003.
Though a star was born in 1989 by the name of Sachin Tendulkar, with most of the batting stalwarts aging, there was no one to fill up the vacuum. It was not until the champions trophy in 2000, that India reached the finals of a major tournament.
The golden era of the Indian spin quartet was over. Sunil Gavaskar who was the best opening batsman of that era was nearing the end of his career. The mainstays of batting like the Vengsarkars, amaranths were at the end of their careers. With the retirement of Kapil Dev in 1994, the bowling department looked woefully inadequate. For many years India struggled to find the right opening combination in both batting as well as bowling.
Sachin was very young and inexperienced and Srinath, who was to be the spearhead of the bowling attack was just settling down. The two new youngsters who made their debut in 1996 at Lords –Rahul Dravid and Saurav Ganguly were too raw to take over the mantle from the seniors. Moreover, the Indian team was traditionally coached by an Indian coach who unfortunately were not professionals enough. At the same time, the standard of cricket in other countries was improving rapidly. With the enormous popularity of cricket in India, BCCI was making huge money but they were finding it difficult to get the right results on the field. During the same time, the West Indies cricket had declined unbelievably, the south Africans who came into mainstream cricket in 1992 had built a formidable team with some outstanding fielders but the Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh lead Australian team was going from strength to strength with no real competition from any cricket playing countries of the world.
The BCCI in its wisdom finally thought of a foreign coach to coach the Indian team and the former New Zealand opening batsman, John Wright was roped in to coach the national side and the rest as they say is history, may not be a fairy tale but a turnaround all the same with India reaching the world cup finals in 2003.
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