Losing a match while defending a score of 328 can never leave happy memories, can it? Surprisingly, it did, thanks to the pack that excercised its fangs.
First though is something very disturbing. In context of what is to come, let me start by clarifying that I am no Sachin basher. To say that he is a phenom is an understatement, but at the same time, I do not ascribe to the theory that he is second only to the Don. Anyway, I have never ever been more irritated with Sachin than yesterday when, after showing absolutely ZERO INTENT to find or clear the ropes while in the 90s, he tried something aggressive first ball after reaching 100. Before someone throws details of how his second 50 was a run a ball etc etc, let me make myself clear here. Sachin scored a century that was fast for any accumulator (Dravid, ever so subtly clarified Sachin's role in the team during his post-match comments). And I am perfectly happy with that. However, when we entered the 40 over mark, we were well on our way to a big score with quite a few wickets in hand. And Sachin was in his 90s at that point. Following which, he failed to deploy a single aggressive stroke until he reached 100...which is what I take umbrage at. The complete LACK OF INTENT to take risks during the slog overs when near a personal landmark. The only missing element of this often repeated episode was him receiving the MoM award, following which we could have had the pleasure of listening to his 'I did it for the team. Century does not matter after loss' monologue.
Moving on.......When I finally managed to shut down my PC at 4:30am after the presentation ceremony, strangely, I did not feel the usual quiet desperation that accompanies a loss. No doubt that the loss due to D/L method helped sooth the pain. It was 40-60 against India at that stage and I fully expected a loss. A win from there might have had more to do with the light than anything else....not that I wouldn't have taken it though.
However the bigger factor was what I saw on the field yesterday. The lack of bite in our bowling has been harped upon and there is nothing that I can add to that. However, any keen observer and follower of Indian cricket would/should have noticed something strange about our off-side field yesterday. Yuvraj, Kaif and Raina manning backward point, extra cover and mid-off was a sight for sore Indian eyes. It was a thrill, a dream come true and a lot more to watch these fellows stop every single ball hit their way with outrageous dives on the unforgiving surface at Peshawar. For years, Harsha Bhogle has spoken about how the fielding unit needs to act as the 6th bowler. Yesterday, our 6th bowler was as outstanding as Mohammed Asif, and that is saying something! Long live our pack hunters !!!
Last, Inzi has many many strengths, however, my undying support for the Indian team censors me from talking about that. Hence, I will talk about his faults. He might be a lot as captain, but a smart one, he IS NOT. No event more than the one where he failed to take the extra 30 mins on the 4th day when needing about 30 more runs to win against NZ highlighted that. Yesterday, he went ahead and provided further ammunition during the presentation ceremony. When Ramiz quizzed him about his dismissal, he rambled on about how he could not understand the reasons for his dismissal while comparing and contrasting it with his wrong dismissal at Faisalabad against Eng. Inadvertantly, he turned out to be very funny while showcasing a lack of brain. The rules of the game are very very simple. Unfortunately for Inzi, so is the rule of life, 'Batting ability times Brain is a constant'!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
8 comments:
Obsession with personal landmarks has been Sachin's Achilles heel from a long time now. If u remember, Virender Sehwag hit a 6 to reach his triple hundred. Can u think of Sachs doing it? Remember how he made a brouhaha over Dravid's decision to declare when he was on 194 at Multan? We Indians are a very sentimental lot and tend to overlook our heroe's nwgative aspects. Who will ask Sachin why the hell did he go for a 3rd consecutive boundary against Saqlain in Chennai '98, when only 17 runs were needed to win the match? What happened after that- the remaining 5 wickets fell for just 5 more runs! Can u imagine Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh or even Inzy doing the same thing? Now there can be endless arguements about it - why couldn't the other 5 players not contribute the 17 runs and blah......! But the point is not that - If u want to raise sachin to an Iconic status, then why couldn't he finish the job? Same thing happened in Barbados '97, when he couldn't help his team to score just 120 runs in the last innings to win the test match. That's JUST the problem with Sachs - HE'S NEVER BEEN THERE (IN TESTS) WHEN INDIA NEEDED HIM TO EITHER SAVE OR WIN A TEST MATCH!!! All he's done so far's to create an enviable statistical mountain. I regard Dravid as the most valuable man in a crisis. Every one of his 22 hundreds have been crafteed under the most trying circumstances.
I think you are the ultimate sports fan I have ever met in my life. Keep up the good work!!
Hey Sundeep
Sachin's unhealthy obsession with personal landmarks has always been obvious to the naked eye. His hypocritical utterances at press conferences make this flaw worse. Combined with total silence on this subject from the press, makes this whole issue a hard to digest one for me.
Regarding the couple of performances that you pointed out, I am just not sure. THAT SHOT against Pak was irresponsible to say the least. I have never ever felt more NUMB than at the end of that match. I recall the Barbados match very well too. But the thing is, we have different standards for judging different people. In 1994, Inzi and Mushtaq Ahmed put on 56 runs for the 10th wicket in the 4th innings, to chase down the target Aus had set for them. That knock has been feted and celebrated. BUT....I recall clearly that with 4 runs to get, Inzi jumped out of the crease to Warne, who promptly slided the ball down leg side. Healy should have made the stumping. And if he had done so, Inzi's act would have been worse than Sachin IMO. Similarly, Lara, towards the very end of that epic 153 n.o. nicked one to Healy (again!), who contrived to drop the not so easy chance. What if Heals had held on to it?
IFs and BUTs dont have a place in sports, but I cant help wonder if we (myself included) judge Sachin too harshly on the 'match winner' criterion.
Even recently, when Lara scored that double after the series was lost, everyone lauded his performance. Prem Panicker (I think) pointed out that if Sachin had done something similar, the Sachin critics would have pointed out the non-performance when the series was alive.
The 'statistical mountain' comment is in some ways a fair one, but probably a little on the harsh side. But yeah, when I think back about the innumerable instances when India have had to bat out the last day and a bit to save a test match (particularly on foreign soil), I can't recollect a single instance of Sachin standing firm and seeing us through. One of the recent episodes being the debacle against Pak at Bangalore.
I just wish that he would have put in a couple of stirring 4th innings performances by the time he retires. Wishful thinking!
Hey Anon
What makes you say that....the blog or the walk in the beach? :D :D
Also, why are you 'Anon'?
Vinesh.
I definitely would not call him the ultimate sports 'fan'. Ultimate sports statistics-chomper-regurgitator...maybe.Bandwagon Hopper...definitely.
To be the ultimate sports fan, you need to enjoy sports for the sake of enjoyment. :-))
Who are you anon, and why were you taking walks on the beach with DSpo?
Dai S.Pandi
I am the 'ultimate sports fan' that Anon has met in his/her life. Where does your nosy opinion fit in that?
I think Inzi, regardless of that example of stepping out to Warne, is probably the best finisher among contemporary batsmen. There are numerous examples of his seeing his team through (against Bangladesh, against India in Ahmedabad recently). And according to Imran Khan, Sachin and Inzamam have comparable talents. One chose to bat for his team and the other for history.
Karthik
I think Inzi has some incredible stat backing him as a match winner....something like Pak winning 20 of the 25 times he has scored a century (?). But then, he has always played for a team with a strong bowling attack. Sachin has NEVER played for one.
Also, Inzi's record in AUS and SA is pathetic and his record in ENG is only average. That has got to be a major flaw. Sachin has a poor average in SA only.
Like I said earlier, since Inzi/Lara/anyone else are not followed on a day to day basis by any of us, their highlights stand out in our mind. But Sachin can only dream of such a liberty.
So, like I said earlier, I find it incredibly hard to judge Sachin. He's got flaws that haven't been criticized often enough, but his genius stands out like a beacon ( or atleast, it used to stand out!).
Post a Comment