Sumit Gupta

Cricket

  • Fun as a way of doing Business, and why the “Cricky says Thanks” Campaign?

    As I (CricketRadius) launch the Cricky says Thanks to Dravid and Ganguly campaign on twitter today, I want to take you into a brief journey of how I came up with the idea and how I see fun as an integral part of life, whether it is doing business or watching a game of cricket, or anything else for that matter.

    If you Obey all the Rules, You miss all the Fun
    If there is one mantra I live my life by, it would be this. The focus is not on breaking rules, but on having fun. We learn by doing, and by failing we learn how not to fail the next time. But that failing had all the fun. Remember the childhood days when you fell off the bicycle, or while playing football, and how much fun it was. And with every fall, we became better at not falling. For me, doing something the way I want do it is the greatest thrill in the world.

    Cricky The Fan
    Cricky The Fan

    Work = Fun = Play = Business
    I have always been in the business of cricket. Irrespective of where I have worked, I have always followed every single cricket match played by India in the last 20 years. I have devoted hours every day reading articles, watching videos and discussing about cricket with my friends and colleagues. The point I am making is what you ‘care‘ about is your business anyway, in whichever form it is. And throwing yourself into a job you love and enjoy is one of life’s greatest pleasures.

    I am my own Customer
    The one thing that wakes me up in the morning these days is the idea of giving a great experience to my customer. I have myself followed cricket by way of keeping a track of records in notebooks and cutting pictures from newspapers to form huge albums of collages. Later on I have maintained excel sheets containing all kinds of cricket related data and kept them updated regularly. What I am trying to do with CricketRadius is to deliver a product for myself and people like me. I have still not figured out what the end product would be, but I am sure I know it somewhere deep inside and just have to bring it out in the right form.

    Get Started. Make Impact. Small is not Bad
    If I have an idea that can save the planet, I will act on it. But if I have a small idea which will just make watching cricket more fun, I will work on that too. For me, the real joy is of ‘creating‘ something new, not in how big or  small, and the journey in itself rather than the destination. So the point is – Just make a difference where you can. Some solutions can be scaled up, some can’t, but I like to realize that after taking action, rather than in classrooms and meetings.

    Relive 5 historic matches of Ganguly and Dravid on Twitter from 23-27 May
    Relive 5 historic matches of Ganguly and Dravid on Twitter from 23-27 May

    How the campaign came about?
    It is not a co-incidence that the campaign is about expressing gratitude to Dravid and Ganguly for their contribution to Indian Cricket. I have spent my childhood watching their entire careers and I believe these two players have had the biggest impact on Indian Cricket in the last 20 years, along with Anil Kumble, VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar. And in todays inter-connected world, the question I am asking with this campaign is – “What if twitter had been there on these 5 historic matches which I am re-creating and reliving?” Every fan has the option to relive those moments of pure joy by following the commentary, reading articles and watching videos about the same online for 5 days starting today.

    And what better way to show that we acknowledge Dravid’s and Ganguly’s contribution to Indian Cricket than getting all fans together in the form of a huge collage made out of our Twitter profile pictures – The Twit-Bat. So follow the matches live on our twitter account, and invite other fans to take part in the campaign all details of which can be found here.

  • Back to Entrepreneurship – Circa 2012, and what is CricketRadius?

    If I have not told you yet or you have not heard yet, let me tell you. Recently, I quit Yahoo and am now working on another entrepreneurial venture of mine (after SaleRaja). Like most things in my life, this happened suddenly and without notice. When I joined Yahoo!, I was very clear that I would jump back into entrepreneurship again, but always thought it was 3 to 5 years away. More than that, I had a certain set of skill-gaps which I wanted to plug in before jumping back again.

    Today, as it has already been over a month since I left Yahoo!, I can say with surety that those skill-gaps have not been plugged 🙂 And though I have done and learned a lot in the two years I spent at Yahoo, the gaps I wanted to plug still have a lot of holes left in them. But as I wrote in one of my previous posts (read point 9), maybe it was only a question of WHEN and not IF, that this would happen. And I am thankful to Yahoo to pushing me where I am today.

    It started with the idea of a job change a few months ago and perfectly coincided with a separate cricket blog I started in November (cricketradius.com). When the response I got in the next couple of months to mine (and others) articles on CricketRadius surprised me, I actually looked at starting this as a business, even when I had a good and exciting job offer in hand. And so here I am, a little scared, a lot unsure about the future, but certainly confident that this is the right thing to do and I will figure out the maze that awaits me in the year ahead.

    CricketRadius - Because Fans Deserve Better
    CricketRadius – Because Fans Deserve Better

    Coming back to cricket, it has always had a very central place in my heart right from my childhood. From watching every ball of Test Matches to cutting pictures from newspapers and creating collages to the many thousands of cricket records and statistics in my head, I always knew cricket is going to take up a lot of my time, no matter what I do and where I work. And when I started writing regularly in 2010, I couldn’t stop myself from writing on a lot of topics related to the gentleman’s game. Eventually it led me to where I am today. Another benefit of my writing and proof that if you have faith in life, the dots will somehow connect in the future.

    I am working on developing the first version of the CricketRadius product I have in mind, and it would go live in April first week. The central idea around CricketRadius is that fans like me are at the center of everything that happens in cricket. There would be no meaning to any cricket without fans, and as much as cricketers are sports persons, they are also entertainers performing in front of an audience. This fan base is the glue holding the cricket world together, as they generate the eye-balls, the emotions and the revenue which eventually runs cricket and pays for the salaries of everyone involved with the game.

    The aim of CricketRadius is hence to provide a platform on web, mobile and other mediums where fans can express themselves and share their emotions about the game they so much love and adore. Because as fans, we deserve a lot more than just being able to read articles by journalists or hear the commentary by former players or watch the match passively on television or at the stadium. As a fan, I want the ability to express my love for my team and my favorite players in an easy and convenient way. I want to let the world know how big a cricket fan I am, and what this game means to me.

    The exact details of how this will shape up as I build the product is still very unclear and evolve in the year ahead, but what I am very sure is the ‘WHY’ of doing this as a business. And the WHY is that ‘BECAUSE FANS DESERVE BETTER‘.. Much better than the options currently in the market to express their love for the game. And more than anybody else, I am the most eager person to start using the CricketRadius website once it is live.

    If you are a fan, behold, as the COUNTDOWN begins…

  • Two more historic moments from my cricket archives

    After the last article where I chronicled three important cricketing moments from my archives which I could recall very vividly, I went over the archives once again. And alas, I found two more historic moments from 1999. See the first three here. I am sure I can find many more if I try to go over the images again and try to recall the matches. While going over these archives, I also got present to the fact that I remember the 1996, 1999 and 2003 World Cups much more clearly than the 2011 World Cup which we won. Well, those were the days!!

    1999 India – Paksitan Test Series

    The 1999 India Pakistan test series was as dramatic as it can get. It was the first tour by the Pakistan team to India (apart from 1996 WC) in more than a decade and Indo-Pak relations were on a boil at that time. Even before the first ball was bowled, some Shiv Sainiks damanged the Kotla pitch which made the first match to be scheduled in Madras instead. India lost that match by some 12 runs after Sachin’s dismissal following a brilliant century. His dismissal by an unnecessary shot caused an unlikely collapse resulting in India losing the match.

    The second test match was eventually held in Delhi and it was forever written in history books for what happened in the 4th innings. Pakistani batsmen fell prey to the guile and spin of Anil Kumble on a chilly February day. He became only the second player after Jim Laker to take all 10 wickets in an innings. The fact that I watched every ball of this last innings on TV made the memories even more sweeter.

    An eventful series - as dramatic as it gets
    An eventful series – as dramatic as it gets

    Though the series was shared 1-1 and as you can see in the pic, both Wasim Akram and Mohammad Azharuddin lifted the trophy, there was another controversial Test Match after the series in Calcutta as part of the Asian Championship. It was marred by a controversial run out of Sachin Tendulkar which led to crowd trouble and I still remember Sachin and Azhar going around the stadium asking the people to calm down. Eventually the match was finished in front of empty stands as the crowds were evicted by the police. India lost the match. Shoaib Akhtar, who was at perhaps the peak of his form at this time, was at the centre of the controversy in this match. He bowled some unplayable deliveries to the Indian batsmen but his involvement in the Sachin run out turned into a big controversy. As I said, as dramatic as it gets.

    Read this Cricinfo report to get a feel of what happened that day.

    Pitch Invasions during the 1999 World Cup
    Pitch Invasions during the 1999 World Cup

    1999 World Cup  and security fiasco

    The 1999 World Cup in England saw fantastic performances by Lance Klusener, Steve Waugh, Shane Warne, Rahul Dravid and many more players, but it was also one tournament where crowd trouble threatened to go out of hands, for the first time outside the subcontinent. The tournament saw a lot of Asian fans watching the games and they would celebrate by running onto the field after the end of play. This turned into a nightmare for the security staff as they were unable to handle the crowd. Luckily no untoward incident happened, but it would not have been a surprise if something tragic would have happened. The below pic taken after a Pakistan match shows it all.

  • Three Cricketing Moments Immortalized in my Cricket Archives

    Ever since I found my cricket archives collection at my Delhi home which was gathering dust for over 10 years, I have been going through them and recalling some of the old memories I had of important moments in cricket history. These moments mark important milestones in cricketing history and I am going to share three of them here.

    The Shiv Sainiks damaging the Kotla pitch
    The Shiv Sainiks damaging the Kotla pitch

    Kotla Pitch Fiasco before Indo-Pak Test Match

    In what was a major fiasco for security agencies, Shiv Sainiks damaged the pitch at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in early January 1999 just before the start of the first Test Match. It is to be recalled that this was the first Pakistan tour after a long time and there were a lot of politics and emotions involved. The match was later moved to Madras with the second match scheduled for Delhi (the one where Kumble took all 10 wickets in an innings). Here this picture captures the Shiv Sainiks damaging the pitch in the middle of the night.

    Australian team celebrating after the chokers choked
    Australian team celebrating after the chokers choked

    1999 World Cup Semi Final

    Nobody can forget the 1999 World Cup semi final between Australia and South Africa which was dramatically tied leading to Australia entering the finals. It is to be recalled that South Africa needed 9 runs to win in the final over with Lance Klusener, the best player and the man of the series in that world cup. Klusener hammered first two balls of the over for boundaries, with a South African win looking almost certain. As Steve Waugh brought all his fielders in, there was almost a run out on the third ball, which eventually materialized on the 4th ball. With this being the last wicket, the match ended in a tie. See the video here, and as you can see, the South Africans choked, like they have done many times.

    Sir Donald Bradman with Sachin and Warne
    Sir Donald Bradman with Sachin and Warne

    Sachin and Warne meeting Bradman in 1998

    It became a talk of the whole country when Bradman’s wife saw Sachin play on television and reminded Bradman of how much Sachin resembled him. After that, Bradman invited Sachin and Shane Warne to come visit him, and their pictures were splashed all over the newspapers. (I cut one of those :P) Coming to what happened during their discussions, read the snippet below. To put this visit in perspective, Sachin was 25 years at that time.

    Bradman asked Tendulkar whether he moved before the ball left the bowler’s hand. To which the younger batsman rather modestly replied, “I don’t know.” With a glint in his eyes, Sir Donald tapped Tendulkar’s shoulder: “I think you do. You begin your movement before the bowler balls, otherwise you wouldn’t have the time to play the kind of shots you do.”

  • Why I love Test Matches?

    If there are sports as fast as hockey and football which can get pretty exhaustive and a real test of stamina for players as they hardly get any break in a game, there sits Test Cricket on the other side where your stamina and skills are tested, but in a totally different way. Test Cricket is the longest form of cricket, where two teams play over five days, and sometimes even those five days fails to produce a result. Nevertheless, it has its own following and has been in existence since 1877. It puts the players’ skills, patience, fitness and stamina to utmost test over the five days.

    Waiting is a very important part of test cricket. Waiting everyday for a 40 minute lunch and a 20 minute tea forms an integral part of the day. Apart from that, there is more waiting, for the openers to settle in, for the ball to get old, and then waiting for 80 overs to take the new ball. The batsman wait for the ball to stop swinging, while the spinners wait for the ball to start spinning. The bowlers wait for the batsmen to make a mistake, and the batsmen wait with their shots till the bowlers are tired.

    A sight only possible in Test Cricket
    A sight only possible in Test Cricket

    Twists and Turns

    A test match can turn a match over its head many times over the period of 5 days. Every session gives both teams the chance to show their talent and come back into the game. This way it is a real test of skills and only the best team will win at the end. Lucky performances don’t matter as much as in ODI and T20 cricket. There is ample proof of this as teams have won after having to follow on or being completely outplayed in the first innings. No other sport perhaps can give such thrills.

    Patience

    Test cricket, more than anything else, is the test of patience of the players. Ishant Sharma’s spell to Ponting in Perth in 2008 was a testimony for that. A bowler has to bowl long spells and really bring out his talents to the table to get the batsman out. There is no hurry or run rate issues and the batsman will not play any rash shots. The batsman will also wait for the bowlers to get tired out and the ball to get old before playing their shots. In this way, it is more about playing time and testing the patience of the opposition which makes Test Cricket so intriguing to watch.

    Intensity

    Although it might seem like a slow game, it never goes down in intensity. The concentration and focus which players need to put in, and the fighting spirit which brings out the best in many players, is a real treat to watch. Players like Rahul Dravid, Steve Waugh, VVS Laxman, Anil Kumble are a result of this unwavering focus and never ending determination on the cricket field.

    That's why they say that the defensive shot is the most important
    That's why they say that the defensive shot is the most important

    Fitness

    Playing continuously for five days, sometimes under very harsh weather (like in Chennai) requires great level of fitness and character to survive, let alone play. Many of the players to score a century in Chennai have suffered cramps and dehydration, but it has also brought out some of the best innings and test matches ever played. When a bowler has to bowl 40 overs a day and a batsman might need to bat out more than 10 hours, every muscle in your body will be tested and is a big challenge for not only the players, but also the support staff.

    Those who say Test Cricket is dead perhaps have never realized what cricket is. The contest between bat and ball, the constant struggle to wait before the other side makes a mistake, and the never ending twists and turns it brings, with the emotions it brings out from players as well as spectators, make it the ideal ‘Test’ of a player’s skills, and also their patience. Only test cricket can create great records such as Australia’s 16 consecutive test wins, and only test cricket can bring out matches like the Calcutta Test in 2001, or the Adelaide Test of 2003, or Headingley in 2002. Only test cricket can bring out heroes like Gavaskar, Dravid, Laxman, and Kumble. And cricket would certainly be poorer without the presence of players of this stature.

  • Life Lessons from Sachin Tendulkar

    Most players come as rookies, show their talents and skills, have their ups and downs and after performing consistently well over many years they are termed as legends by the critics and the media. But the case of Sachin Tendulkar is unique. Right from the first time he burst on the cricketing scene as a 16 year old, everybody knew this boy was special and there was something legendary about him. And the way he has been performing over the last 22 years, he has left all those expectations behind and rose tall among legends themselves. As a cricketer, and as a person, there are many life lessons to be learned from Sachin Tendulkar, and I am listing five of them below –

    1. Humility

    He has the most runs in both forms of the game, the most centuries in both tests and ODIs, the maximum man of the match awards, the highest ODI score and numerous other records to his name. He is called GOD in India. He has been called the world’s best batsman continuously over the last 15 years, and Sir Donald Bradman saw himself in his batting. Perhaps there is no one else in world cricket today who can take all this praise with the grace and humility that he embodies. Carrying the expectations of a billion people, and constantly improving the benchmarks he sets for himself has been his hallmark. When asked about being termed a GOD, he humbly says, “I don’t think it is possible for anyone to become GOD”

    Still the same smile and enthusiasm
    Still the same smile and enthusiasm

    2. Always a Student

    Despite having all the records to his name, and after consistently performing well for the last 20+ years, he is still a student of the game. He believes that there is always room for improvement. He says he is always keen to improve his game and wants to focus on the next game rather than celebrating his records and achievements. The same holds true for life too, as we must strive to be its students always and take whatever lessons and learnings life has to offer daily.

    3. Continuous Hard Work

    He is one man in the team who many would argue doesn’t need to practice. But still he is the one who always works very hard before every series and match. He is always punctual in team practice sessions and makes sure to practice more before an important series. His asking leg spinners to bowl in the rough outside leg stump to prepare for Shane Warne before the 2001 series is well known. He has never sat on his laurels but always look to work hard on his technique and fitness, and that is the reason he is still one of the fittest players at 38 years of age.

    Enjoy life like he enjoys cricket
    Enjoy life like he enjoys cricket

    4. Never ending hunger of the game

    “I am happy with my performance, but not satisfied”, he has said many times. This after having almost all batting records to his name. His hunger for the game is something which makes his game worth watching. He still has the same smile as he had as a 16 year kid when he plays the game. He still considers every game important and the joy on his face after winning a match or scoring a century tells of his never ending hunger. The hunger to keep scoring runs, to keep his fans happy, and to prolong the misery of the opposition bowlers. If we all live our lives with the same hunger, would there be anything not possible.

    5. Discipline

    His greatest talent is not to pick up a ball early or hit it through the gaps, but to do it consistently for over 20 years, and constantly improving the standards which he himself has set for the world. His discipline in the nets is well known, where he sometimes bats even after the younger players wind up. Tendulkar shows that talent without discipline is useless. His preparation before every game, and his decision making at crucial times as a batsman is for all to see and marvel at. And when everybody else calls him a perfectionist at many shots, he is continuously improving at them for the last two decades with enormous hard work and discipline.

  • Will this India v England series live up to the hype?

    This series is certainly the most awaited series for quite some time for me. If the India v Australia series last year was legendary (where I watched two days of test cricket in a stadium), and the India v South Africa series was termed as the clash of the titans, this series has the anticipation like none. Maybe it is because of the landmarks which the first test of the series marks, as this would be the 2000th Test Match ever played and the 100th between India and England. Sachin Tendulkar will be looking to complete a century of centuries and it will be Duncan Fletcher’s 100th test as coach.

    Apart from that, there is also the fact that the No 1 spot is on stake in this series. The first match at Lords also marks the return of Dravid to his debut ground 15 years after, when he sparkled with a 95 alongside another debutant Saurav Ganguly who scored a century that day. The number 1 team playing the number 3 team, who defeated Australia easily in the Ashes, in their home ground should make it a cracker of a series. Add to it the fact that there are 4 test matches in a series after a long time will make for a evenly and toughly fought battle between these two teams.

    Watching a test match sitting in a jam-packed stadium was super fun
    Watching a test match sitting in a jam-packed stadium was super fun

    History of India in England

    If you see the last three series India have played in England, it has marked the emergence of Dravid and Ganguly in 1996 where India lost 1-0, it marked the promotion of Dravid into the league of greatness in the 2002 series where he scored 602 runs in 6 innings at an average of 100+ and the series proved to the world that the Indian middle order is the best in the world. Add to this emergence of Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh ably supporting Anil Kumble in this series. It also marked the emergence of Saurav Ganguly as an enigmatic leader who showed the world that he is here to stay. The 4 test series in 2002 was tied 1-1, an achievement at that time.

    When India came back to England in 2007, they were led by Rahul Dravid. And if Ajit Agarkar managed to hit a century at Lords in 2002,  it was Anil Kumble’s turn in 2007. We won the series 1-0 that year, mostly due to team unity and partnerships and not any big individual performances. With Anil Kumble being India’s only centurion in the series, the more important stats are that India scored 14 half centuries and had 16 half century partnerships in the series, making sure England never got two quick wickets.

    Waiting to watch them in action
    Waiting to watch them in action

    Will this series live up to the hype?

    This series will be the first time many Indian players play on England soil, as indeed it will be the last time Laxman, Dravid and Tendulkar will be seen playing in England. Add to that the non-availability of Sehwag, the most destructive opening batsman in world cricket today, and you have a series on your hands. England are perhaps in their best form of the moment, and most of their players are fit and in good form. India have been slow starters abroad, and playing England at home will not be easy. But I hope for a tightly fought series, and it will a tough test for players from both the sides as they will be facing quality opposition and that might just bring out the best in them resulting in a truly scintillating display of Test Cricket.

    Key Players

    For India, a lot of depends on how well Gautam Gambhir adapts to England where he has never played before. With Sehwag not playing, the responsibility on Dravid and Laxman will be more to cushion in case of collapses and pressure situations. How Ishant Sharma, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh bowl to Strauss, Trott and Peterson will decide who will hold the honors at the end of the day.

    For England, James Anderson, Chris Tremlett and Graeme Swann will lead their attack and test the Indian batsman to the max. India should not take Swann lightly as he is the best spinner in the world as per ICC rankings and will be no pushover. The form of Strauss and Trott has been amazing over the last two years and dismissing them will take a real test of skill and patience for the Indian bowlers.

    If the umpiring is upto the mark and the weather does not play spoilsport, we might witness on of the most competitive series in recent times. Let the best team win.

  • My Cricket Collages Collection

    As I mentioned before, I started cutting out the photos, scorecards and statistics from newspapers and magazines and sticking them in a file in the form of picture collages. Very soon, the pages started to pile up, and I decided to put them in binders. I still have 3 such big binders with my collages at home, although the pages have turned yellow after almost 13-14 years.

    Due to this collection, I have images and records of that era which are sometimes difficult to find online even today. I am glad today I spend so much time doing all this, which if is so much fun seeing them now, imagine how much fun it would be to create them! I am also glad that my mom didn’t threw them away during the 4 years I was in Jaipur after school and in the last 6 years of my professional career, when I was mostly in Noida and Bangalore.

    You can see the full screen slideshow here..

  • How I followed cricket B.I. (Before Internet)?

    Cricket and me go back a long way. I started watching cricket in the late 1980s, and am regularly following it and watching it since 1992. These days, following cricket matches, scores and records is not difficult. You get in-depth statistics on TV, and all records, matches, pictures and videos are available at the click of a mouse over the internet. I first started using internet in the year 2000. In this post I am going to write about how I used to follow cricket in the 1990s, which was the B.I. (Before Internet) era. And believe me, it was so much fun!!

    One of the page in my collage
    One of the page in my collage

    In the 90s, the only way you would hear about news related to cricket was on TV and newspapers. Live cricket was available on TV, but the statistics were very few, TV cameras and crew were not so technically advanced. Even the third umpire was started only in 1992. Only before a major match or series started, you used to get the historic records between those teams, and about their players in newspapers. And after a match is over, the next day newspapers would be the only source of information about the match.

    The Magical Sahara Cup 1997
    The Magical Sahara Cup 1997

    So how do you keep track of all the important cricketing happenings in those days? All the pictures, statistics, scorecards were not archived over the internet and it was impossible to find them if you miss the newspaper after the match. Simple, I started cutting out the photos, scorecards and statistics from newspapers and magazines and sticking them in a file in the form of picture collages. Very soon, the pages started to pile up, and I decided to put them in binders. I still have 3 such big binders with my collages at home, although the pages have turned yellow after almost 13-14 years.

    When Azharuddin used to be a cricketer
    When Azharuddin used to be a cricketer

    Due to this, I have images and records of that era which are sometimes difficult to find online even today. I am glad today I spend so much time doing all this, which if is so much fun seeing them now, imagine how much fun it would be to create them! I am also glad that I mom didn’t threw them away during the 4 years I was in Jaipur after school and in the last 6 years of my professional career, when I was mostly in Noida and Bangalore. To preserve the memories and archives, the last time I visited Delhi, I decided to capture those archives in my DSLR as the pages were getting very old and difficult to maintain in its real form.

    There are three such files
    There are three such files

    I hope you enjoy the few pics I have attached with this post. I will be attaching more in later posts.

  • Shane Warne – A Maverick and a Magician

    There are not many leg spinners in world cricket today. Neither were there 20 years ago, until Shane Warne (along with Anil Kumble) brought it into fashion again. Leg-spin is not only about skill, it is like an art, and like all work of artists, watching him bowl is always a treat to watch. When he begins to ‘walk‘ his short run up, it is marked by the ball being tossed from the right hand to the left by those artful wrists. With eyes and mind focussed on the plan, the ball is released from his hands towards a batsman who is confused about the flight, the dip, the speed, and the amount of turn the ball will take after pitching.

    In the face agression, but very well controlled
    In the face agression, but very well controlled

    Two decades before he came onto the international scene, fast bowlers have ruled world cricket like never before. Despite the fact that executing and mastering leg-spin is extremely difficult, he came up trumps and made his own bewildering English and South African batsmen with a puzzle which they will never solve. His humiliation of Mike Gatting and many other batsmen by his enormous turn, masterful googlies and surprising flippers made for a wonderful sight for cricket lovers who were tired of seeing West Indian bowlers destroying batting lineups. South African Daryl Cullinan was believed to have sought the help of a therapist to overcome Warne’s psychological hold over his batting.

    Gideon Haigh, the Australian journalist, said of Warne upon his retirement: “It was said of Augustus that he found Rome brick and left it marble: the same is true of Warne and spin bowling.” Though known mostly for his 708 wickets in Test cricket, he was highly effective in ODIs too, with his twin man of the match awards in the semi-final and final matches being instrumental in handing Australia the World Cup in 1999. He was something with the bat too, having the highest number of runs without a century with two 90+ scores under his belt. He was also a successful slip fielder, and stands seventh in the list of most catches.

    Like all this was not enough, he signed up for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL in 2008 after retiring from one dayers in 2003 and test matches in 2007. As captain of perhaps the most weak side in the tournament, he turned a group of nobodies into a formidable team and led them to an unprecedented victory in the first version of IPL. Many remarked him as the wiliest captain Australia never had. His overs were always a fun to watch rather than just individual balls because of the way he planned and plotted the dismissal of his preys. It was the same spirit and guile he showed as a captain when he led Rajasthan Royals to IPL victory.

    On and off the pitch, his life can be compared to a typical bollywood masala movie. His story is a tale of women, bookmakers, diet pills, then more women, but certainly headlines all along the way. Coming to cricket, he was one of the five players ranked by Wisden as the greatest cricketers of the 20th century. In 1993, he took 72 victims, and in 2005 took a massive 96 wickets coming after a one year ban. His control over the degree of spin, and his flippers, sliders and zooters made the life of many a batsman miserable. He was also invited to see Sir Donald Bradman along with Sachin Tendulkar.

    A colorful life, but full of controversies
    A colorful life, but full of controversies

    If ever there was a Bradman of bowling, it has to be him. He has always been my favorite cricketer, right on the top with Sachin Tendulkar. His presence on the cricket field is itself magical and the whole stadium and the commentators are totally entertained by his tactics. With the bowl in his hand, anything can happen. He can turn a match around with a few overs, with the 1999 World Cup semi-final being the best example. He is as arrogant as any Australian, yet humble enough to acknowledge that he had nightmares of Sachin Tendulkar hitting him for sixes.

    No one has had a more colorful career than him, full of achievements as a magician and mischiefs as a maverick. He retired from one dayers in 2003, tests in 2007 and now he has announced T20 retirement in 2011. Looks like all well-timed decisions. I have watched IPL for the last few years and supported Rajasthan Royals only because he was playing. IPL will miss him. I will miss him. Cricket has certainly been left poorer by his departure.

  • World Cup 2011 Review

    This was the World Cup everybody hoped for after the debacle in 2007. With India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka reaching the last four, and an Indian victory, the ICC could not have asked for a better script. This World Cup will also be remembered for a dream of a billion people getting fulfilled, and Sachin Tendulkar getting this one final jewel in his bag of crowns, which was no secret. India won the World Cup after 28 years, putting Dhoni right among the top when it comes to captaincy greats.

    This World Cup will also be known for some extraordinary and unexpected performances from few players, like how Pakistan rallied behind Shahid Afridi the bowler to surprise many and reaching the semis, or how Yuvraj marked his comeback with superb all round performance which won him four man of match and the man of the series award. It was also marked by the clear end of Australian dominance in ODI cricket. England proved the most entertaining team of the tournament, losing to Ireland and then winning against South Africa, who in-fact, did a deja-vu by confirming their ‘chokers’ tag by losing to New Zealand in the quarters.

    Indian team after the victory
    Indian team after the victory

    How my predictions fared?
    I predicted India and Australia as favorites before the World Cup and India took home the trophy. However, my other predictions were not upto the mark and you can see below how they fared –

    • Most sixes in single over – I predicted two overs where all balls will be hit for sixes but this World Cup did not produce even a single such over.
    • Most sixes in an innings by a team – New Zealand hit 13 sixes in the game against Pakistan while I predicted 25.. Did the bowlers bowl too well?
    • Most sixes in an innings by a player – Ross Taylor hit 7 sixes in the above said game, while I predicted 10.
    • Most sixes by a player in tournament – Ross Taylor hit 14 sixes, the highest in the tournament while my prediction stood at 25
    • Fastest Fifty – 23 balls by Kieron Pollard v Netherlands, very close to my prediction of 20 balls
    • Fastest Century – 50 balls by Kevin O Brien of Ireland v England. This was one hell of a knock which shook England and bettered my prediction of 65 balls.
    • Highest total – 370/4 by India in the first match against Bangladesh was the highest total, and no team managing to get more than 400 as I predicted. The associate teams seems to have improved.
    • Highest Individual Score – 175 by Sehwag, again in the first game itself and the 200* by God still remain the highest score in an ODI.
    • Hat Tricks – Here I was right on the target with Lasith Malinga and Kemar Roach providing the two instances of hat-tricks in this world cup.
    • Most Wickets – Afridi and Zaheer Khan took 21 wickets each while I predicted 22-25 wickets. Afridi came from no-where and proved to be the best and most intelligent bowler on the subcontinent pitches.
    • Most Runs – Dilshan emerged the top scored with 500 runs with Sachin following behind with 482 runs. My prediction of 650 runs was way off the mark here.
    • Strike Rates with runs over 300 – Again as I predicted, Sehwag made 380 runs at a strike rate of 122 to emerge the player with the highest strike rate with more than 300 runs.

    Other notable stats
    Apart from the above predictions, there were some other important statistics which need a mention. They are :-

    • Highest run rate in any World Cup – This World Cup saw the average run rate of 5.03, which was the first time it has crossed 5 in all World Cup history.
    • Highest number of centuries – This World Cup saw 24 centuries which was the highest ever in any World Cup, surpassing the 21 in the 2003 World Cup.
    • Yuvraj Singh scored 362 runs and took 15 wickets, grabbing four man of the match awards, only the third player after Arvinda De Silva and Lance Klusener to do so. He was only the fourth player and second Indian after Kapil Dev to achieve the doulbe of 300 runs and ten wickets in a single WC.

    • People came out on the roads to celebrate
      People came out on the roads to celebrate

    Overall, it was a world cup where spinners came into their own. They opened the bowling attacks quite regularly with every team, and also featured among the major wicket takers. All that can attributed to the slow pitches of the subcontinent aided by the fact that this was the end of a season. Pakistan and South Africa were the best bowling units in the World Cup, and India and Sri Lanka the best batting units. In the end, it was cricket that won and that is what matters.

  • Three reasons India should not play the trio of Sachin, Sehwag and Gambhir together

    India has played two matches so far in this World Cup and in both these matches, Sachin and Sehwag has opened the innings with Gambhir at number three. Kohli and Yuvraj make the middle order at four and five followed by Dhoni and Pathan at six and seven. This batting lineup leaves no room for Raina. I feel that only two of our three openers- Sachin, Sehwag and Gambhir should play in any match. Here are 3 reasons India should do so –

    Sehwag and Gambhir opened for Delhi too
    Sehwag and Gambhir opened for Delhi too

    1. Adequate rest – All three players, Sachin, Sehwag and Gambhir have been plagued by injuries and fitness issues coming up into the World Cup and playing only two of them in any single match will give adequate rest to all of them. It will be very critical going into the knockout stage of the tournament that all three of them are fully fit and rested.

    2. Team Balance – Just as you can’t play 11 Sachins in one team even if he is the best, a team needs to have only two openers to maintain team balance. No doubt all these players are good enough to play in any position, but that leaves Kohli at number 4 and leaves no place for Raina. Kohli has shown tremendous maturity batting in the last year and he needs to bat in the middle of the innings for that, not at the end of it which normally happens if all three openers play. At the end of the innings, Raina could be very destructive but playing all three openers means he can’t find a place in the team. So playing only two of them will give Kohli and Raina their comfortable spots in the team rather than Kohli coming to bat in at number 7 as he did yesterday.

    3. Enough exposure to all – Indian top order has failed only 5 times in the last 32 matches which means Yuvraj, Pathan, Dhoni and Raina have very little time in the middle. Playing only two of the openers will give more chance and opportunity for the Indian lower middle order to get some match practice. When we face a tough opposition or when the top order fails, we want the middle order to be prepared to take on the challenge rather than being sitting ducks due to lack of time in the middle.

    Sachin and Sehwag have demolished many attacks
    Sachin and Sehwag have demolished many attacks

    Due to the above reasons, it will be best for India going ahead into the knock-out stage of the World Cup that all players are rested enough, fit enough, and have got enough time in the middle to be ready for their chance when it comes. The same also holds true for our bowlers, rotation will be the key to ensure Zaheer, Nehra, Sreesanth and Chawla are fit and confident whenever they are required.

  • World Cup predictions – Ind and Aus my favorites

    The coveted trophy
    The coveted trophy

    As the ICC World Cup starts in under two weeks on what are going to be batsman friendly pitches of the subcontinent, a lot of records are going to be broken and new ones made. Considering the small grounds of the subcontinent and the hot weather, it is expected that bowlers will take the heat and a lot of batting records are to be made. Below I am trying to predict some important statistics and records that this world cup might see. I will evaluate these figures again at the end of the world cup.

    There are 14 teams participating this time in the World Cup hosted by India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. There will be 49 matches in total, two less than the 2007 world cup. The format will be similar to the 1996 World Cup, with a knockout round of quarter finals, semi finals and a final after the round robin league of two groups of 7 teams each. The tournament starts on 19th Feb 2011 and ends with the final on 2nd Apr 2011. Lets now get to the predictions…

    • Most sixes in a single over – I reckon there will be at least two overs during the tournament where all balls of the over will be hit for sixes. There was one such instance during the 2007 WC.
    • Most sixes in an innings by team – My bet is that there will be more than 25 sixes hit in one or more of the innings. India and SA hit 18 sixes in an innings in 2007 WC
    • Most sixes in an innings by 1 player – Ten, yes at least one player will 10 sixes in an innings in this WC. Watch out for Pathan, Afridi, Pollard and others
    • Most sixes in tournament – I think the tally will be around 25 sixes by any one player.
    • Fastest Fifty – 20 or less balls
    • Fastest 100 – 65 or less balls
    • Highest Total – My bet is there will be a minimum of five 400 plus innings in this WC
    • Highest Individual Score – I am sure Sachin’s 200 not out will be equaled or bettered in this WC, either by the GOD himself or somebody else.
    • Hat-Tricks – I am counting for only 1 or 2 hat tricks in this event due to the batsman friendly pitches
    • Most Wickets in WC – I think the top contenders are Steyn, Malinga, Muralitharan, Zaheer, Harbhajan, Anderson, Brett Lee and Sohail Tanvir with the highest number of wickets going to be between 22-25
    • Most Runs – My top bets are Sachin Tendulkar, Gambhir, Hashim Amla, Sangakara, Jayawardene, Misbah Ul Haq, J Trott, Shane Watson and Michael Hussey with the tally being somewhere between 650-700 runs
    • Best strike rate with runs over 300 – My bet is the highest strike rate for players scoring 300 or more runs to be about 125-135

    My line up for the semi finals would be Australia v South Africa and India v England with Sri Lanka and Pakistan being wildcards, and Australia / India being my favorites to lift the trophy.

    Now, after the cup is over I will again go over these predictions and compare them with the actual statistics. Obviously there will be some surprises, some new records created, some disappointing performances and some consistent ones. Let me know your comments on these predictions and we will see how they pan out over the whole tournament.

  • Intrusive Advertisements in Cricket

    When Ten Sports bought the telecast rights for international cricket in SA recently for $70-75 million, it stage the stage for one of the most intrusive advertising campaigns ever seen on cricket telecasts in India. The recently concluded India – SA series saw advertisements like never before, with the romantic cricket lover suffering the most. The above mentioned series saw intrusive (some might call it innovative) advertising such as L-shaped advertising which reduces the size of the cricket telecast, the two rectangle boxes right behind the keeper (shown on TV, not actually on ground) and advertisements bursting out of the ground (again using animation) during live action. All this made the cricket lover miss the most important moments of the match. For example, in a recent match, when Yusuf Pathan was dismissed at a crucial moment, I had to wait 3 overs to see his reaction to the dismissal as the advertisements followed right after his dismissal not even waiting to show his reactions or the opposition celebrating.

    Many people in the advertising and broadcasting business are concerned about the extremely high prices at which TV rights are auctioned and sold. Since the rights are sold as exorbitantly high prices, the TV channels face the pressure of generating revenue through ad sales since the subscription rates are very low in India. They are running a business and not a charity, and hence they have to make sure every second is monetized to recover the TV rights price and generate profit for them.

    Purists / cricket lovers, on the other hand, argue that while it may be fine to show advertisement between overs and at the fall of wickets, intrusive advertising while the cricket action is on actually takes away from the experience of watching the game. These advertisement include placement of animated display advertisements (sometimes even with sound) during the game itself. Their point of view is that cricket boards need to strictly mention at the time of selling broadcast rights what kinds of advertisements are allowed so that the quality of cricket is not compromised.

    Intrusive advertisements in cricket telecasts
    Intrusive advertisements in cricket telecasts

    Another issue which plagues the Indian broadcasting industry is very low subscription fees paid by the customer compared to international markets. The price the consumer pays to watch the same channel in the UK or Australia is five to six times the amount paid by the Indian subscriber, leaving advertising as the only way to recover the costs. Moreover, India is a very price-sensitive market, and maybe the Indian consumer (most of them) doesn’t mind the advertising as long as they have to pay the minimum amount to watch it.

    So what could be the solution to this problem which is peculiar in the Indian context. One option is to set up clear guidelines by the Indian broadcasting industry and the BCCI about the kind of advertising allowed. They can even limit the number of minutes of advertising per hour like FIFA does, but that might be an extreme step and not feasible in the Indian context. Another option could be to introduce a new ad-less high quality broadcasting option with high subscription fees for the purist. This telecast will not interrupt cricket action but consumers will have to put their hands in their pockets to watch this. People in the broadcasting industry are very skeptical of the success of such an option considering the Indian audience.

    But as in everything else, a balance has to be find between showing quality cricket telecast and showing enough advertising to generate revenue for the TV channels. Maybe the BCCI needs to fix a maximum price for the rights auction at which enough advertisements can be shown without affecting the quality of cricket action. Recently Ten Cricket was given a show-cause notice by the Indian government for showing intrusive advertisements during the recent India vs SA series. Timely action by the regulators and specifying the right guidelines by the cricket boards can go a long way in ensuring a quality cricket telecast for the cricket lover.

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