contenders

Very, Very Special Laxman does an encore

On Laxman

Cometh the hour, cometh the man!

How trite it sounds, how repetitive , how boring.

But there is nothing trite about VVS Laxman,nothing monotonous and his sublime touch has cricket fans transfixed and spellbound.

He has always seemed the bridesmaid,never the bride.

Even though he has that very,very special 281 and that blinding, blistering 167, both against the Aussies, one at Kolkata, the other at Sydney in 2000 when he opened the innings at the outset of his career.The 167 denotes a period when the selectors persisted and insisted that he take up the opener’s role.

This at a time when although the Indian team had a multitude of contenders to the middle order , finding a regular opener to see off the new ball was an exercise in futility. Laxman, however, put his foot down and signaled his intention to stake a place in the middle or not play at all. For a lesser light it would have meant a premature eclipse to a budding career, but neither Laxman nor his claim to greatness could be denied, would be denied.

The 2001 home series against the Aussies cemented his place in the pantheon of cricketing greats. Laxman will always be identified by that defining, unbelievable, edifying knock against an Aussie side that seemed nigh invincible.

Steve Waugh’s kangaroos were made to bleed from a thousand cuts by a cavalier Laxman; the Eden loss also ended the Australian team’s run of sixteen victories on the trot. Interestingly, Australia’s world record of sixteen consecutive victories , was ended by India twice over. There really is something about an Aussie-India series; it brings out the best and sometimes the worst in both sides. A rivalry to match and perhaps surpass the Ashes.

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Wimbledon Finals: A Preview

So, it’s final!

The last men and women standing at Wimbledon are Serena & Vera, Tomas & Rafael.

11 days of tennis and the draw has whittled down to these 4 contenders for the throne at the green lawns at SW18.

Could it have gotten any better than this?

Of course, we will miss Federer and his balletic grace on the tennis court. We have grown so used to having his majestic presence adorn Wimbledon that his absence seems like blasphemy. But if it is blasphemy, then what do we make of the stronger, fitter and wiser Nadal whose game, presence and speed makes us forget , at least for a while, that Federer was God?