test cricket

Indian cricket: Tendulkar seeks the next level, Gambhir bats for Kirsten

 

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It’s true that geniuses and champions are never satisfied with what they have achieved.

They are always thinking of the next level, the next summit, the next goal.

They dare not rest on their laurels.

There’s always the next mountain to climb, the next peak to scale.

And so it is with Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.

14,000 Test runs in test cricket, over 30,000 international runs and 49 Test centuries to his credit.

Yet, the gentleman talks about yearning to reach the next level.

"I’m really focusing now on how I can get to the next level as a batsman. How can I get even more competitive? How can I get even more consistent? How can I get better?"

What else does Tendukar have to say in his interview to The Guardian?

On dreaming, Tendulkar has this to say:

"Life would be flat without dreams. I think it’s really important to dream — and then to chase those dreams.”

2010 has been Tendulkar’s best year in recent times, reminding us of the young Sachin, unburdened by the cares of the team and varied niggling injuries.

Tendulkar is also back at the top of the ICC rankings, the first time since 2002.

It is said that all’s well with the world when Tendulkar is in full flow and so it is for cricket fans.

The full interview will be published this Saturday.

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Australian cricket: The Big Bash à la IPL raises more than a few questions

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The Big Bash League

If the BCCI is not quite open to having private equity from foreign investors in the IPL,that is not quite the case with the Australian version (The Big Bash League) of the IPL scheduled to begin in the 2011-12 Australian summer season.

New South Wales and Victoria have allegedly already sold shares in their state associations to two giant Indian corporations.

Brisbane-based Adani Group and Jay Mehta, co-owner of Kolkata Knight Riders, have been named as Indian corporates with possible interest in the Big Bash league.

Gautam Adani recently bid unsuccessfully for an IPL team.

In breaking news, Cricket Australia (CA) has approved minority private ownership paving the way for Indian investors.

The Australian Cricketer’s Association had backed the entry of private overseas investment saying that it will not only bring in much need investment into the sport but also raise the profile of the sport Down Under.

Each Big Bash franchise is valued initially at $20 million each which is expected to rise to $80 million over the next few seasons.

The Australian cricket calendar is being punctured to accommodate the new entity; tests will be foregone for the period of the tournament to ensure the availability of top Australian cricketers for the duration of the tournament.

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More thoughts on the Mohali cracker!

To put it succinctly: India won a match they should have lost. Australia lost a game they should have won.

Neither team deserved to lose and it was a great advertisement for Test cricket. That’s what Test cricket is all about. It’s not over until it’s truly over!

The difference was that man VVS Laxman, who reserves his best for the kangaroos.

The Aussies kept digging into their marsupial pockets for ways to counter the Hyderabadi’s merry march to victory but there were just no tricks up their sleeves.

Ricky Ponting, unlike his predecessor, Steve Waugh, seems to ,more often than not, let the game drift and that was to be the case once more when the Aussies, by rights, should have gone in for the kayo.

No discredit to the fighting qualities exhibited by Laxman, Sharma and Ojha but Ponting needs a new thinking cap and soon!

In the end, it was yet another famous victory for the No. 1 Test team and Dhoni must thank his stars that he can call upon players of the calibre of Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman to do yeoman service without throwing any starry tantrums.

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Is India’s No. 1 ranking truly deserved?

Is India’s No. 1 ranking in Test cricket , a fair assessment of their status in the pecking order of Test playing nations?

Does it reflect consistent performance? Is the Indian team head and shoulders above the competition?

Can Team India lay claim to greatness? Or is it an aggregation of some great individuals who have not always jelled together as a fighting unit?

Is India’s bowling truly world-class? Would India’s bowlers walk into a world eleven on the strength of their performance?

Are the accumulated points over a window of three years enough for cricket crazy fans in Indian to tom-tom India’s superiority and paper over the inconsistencies and sometimes abysmal losses?

Adios, Murali: The Final Musketeer

Suddenly there were none!

The Galle test this week brought down the curtain on the career of the last of the three spinning maestros of this generation.

Much has already been written about Muttiah Muralitharan’s exit from the cricketing stage, and many more reams of paper will be consumed describing his exploits in his swan song test at Galle. Murali ended his Test career on a high against his Indian opponents claiming the requisite eight wickets to perch himself atop the summit of 800 wickets – master of all he surveys – in the process ensuring victory for his Sri Lankan teammates.

Murali , Shane Warne and Anil Kumble were the foremost exponents of spin bowling of this generation. Each alike the other but yet very dissimilar. Will there be any more  like them?

They were the three Musketeers of spin bowling; their sovereign – the Art Of Spin Bowling. Come flat tracks, come bouncy ones, come true ones, come lousy ones, come under-prepared ones, come turners,come rain, come shine, they were forever on call to serve their master, to do him proud. All-weather heroes, I term them!