Silly M(a)id-on

..we know they didn’t create any opportunities in the second Test. I was disappointed. I thought they might go for an early declaration and make a game out of it, which they didn’t. I felt that they are not as aggressive as a No. 1 team should be.

A little rich coming from someone whose team was part of this monstrosity. And why would India want to inflict additional pain on its bowlers knowing how “positive” Sri Lankan cricket is generally. Much better to get some batting practice for the bowlers too, right? Coz that is the only skill that comes in handy on most subcontinental pitches.

It’s important that we play aggressive cricket.

Hahaha…you are kidding me, right? Aggresive cricket…I will not be holding my breath for that dear Mahela. It’s not something you guys do, so don’t joke around.

Even in the previous Test we went for the kill.

You have gone for the kill? What is the “kill” here? Test matches, bowlers?

Go back and do what you do do best. Make centuries on flat tracks. Oh, congrats on breaking Don’s record btw.

India’s loss, Somerset’s Gain?

Should Kartik be in the Test team instead of Ojha/Mishra or, dare I say, Bhajji?

Don’t be disheartned by this dismal show, ye India fans! This is canny strategy at play by Team India.

Mendis gets wickets in this game. He gets selected for Tests 2 and 3. The Indian batsmen launch a savage attack on him and the 2008 series is avenged for, the way it was supposed to be.

Why would you choose to bowl first on a seam-friendly track and then open with your spinners twice in a row?

Are they batsmen, are they bowlers, are they in the team to just make up the numbers, does the captain not like the other players warming the benches? Why were Jadeja and Pathan playing against WI after repeated failures?

Were these mistakes repeated just so that the stubborn captain could try and prove that his tactics and team selections were actually a work of genius, and just did not work in the match against Australia for some reason? Is this one of the reasons why we are almost out of the tournament??

Why…why…why would the batsmen in a team, who are supposed to be “the strength of the team” no less, not even try and apply themselves when chasing a decent score? Twice in a row?

Screw you Men In Blue. Pfft. I’ll follow the girls instead. You would do well to take some inspiration from them yourselves. Two S/F appearances in two T20 WCs. (Dear reader, did you see what the girls did to SL today, yet?

Btw, the senior members of the One day team have rebelled big time against BCCI. They can’t stand playing SL anymore, so they’ve pulled out of the Triangular tournament in Zimbabwe altogether. I know. I know. The BCCI is trying to avoid this scandal by saying stuff like “We are resting the seniors” etc. But trust me. That’s all boo-hockey. Revolt is in the air.

Bhajji has the best bowling figures (RPO-wise).

Yuvi got a couple of wickets.

Rohit Sharma is (and probably will remain) the highest scorer for India.

Yes…it’s one of those matches…

I was going to take a dig at Kabir Khan’s pre-match “We’ll give India something to think about” statement in this post, but I changed my mind. Thanks to this article by Sharda Ugra (link via Prem Panicker).

Opener Karim Sadiq, the Indian Express revealed a few days ago, is called Kabul ka Sehwag (the Sehwag of Kabul) while wicketkeeper Mohammed Shazhad, like MS Dhoni wears the No. 7 shirt. Their left-handed fast bowler is nick named Zak after our own Broody One.

Cricket is not a favourite sport but the cricketers are Afghanistan’s new heroes. They have become the words Afghans want read about their country in the outside world. Not ‘Taliban’, ‘warlords’, ‘drone attacks’, suicide bombers, opium fields, NATO forces, CIA. But victory, qualification, performance, joy, batsmen, bowlers, man of the match, fours, sixes.

The fact that I did not write a cocky post before the match, and that I was feverishly checking the score while watching Iron Man 2 to make sure all was going ok, should tell you that I was a little…well…concerned. Afghanistan has the drive and hunger to make its mark at the big stage, and India has a tendency to start slow. Let’s just say I’m happy to note that India won comfortably and am looking foward to following Afghanistan’s progress in the future.

So I was testing this cricket game site that a friend and I have been working on (more on this in a few days..watch this space!), and I went into the admin panel to create a dummy test tournament. Guess what was the first thought in my head? Yes…India vs Sri Lanka. No Australia, no South Africa…not even Pakistan! Sri Lanka!! Aargh!

(Previous mini rant on the mind-numbing regularity with which these two have been playing each other here.)

The usually prolific blogger, JRod of cricketwithballs had “nothing to say”. Which is saying a lot, to Sachin’s credit.

Straight Points paid homage at BCC!, 3 Idiots style.

Paddlesweep didn’t like it when people said “No one deserved it more than Sachin”

There are loads of people claiming that if anyone deserved it, it was Sachin. I disagree. Not because he did not deserve it, just because saying such a thing oozes empathy towards the person in question. Sachin Tendulkar needs, nor wants any empathy, sympathy or any other relevant pathy.

GreatBong -

The old Sachin radiated heat. The new Sachin gives light.

But he still remains the sun.

Ayaz Memon @ Cricinfo Magazine -

If Tendulkar were to retire tomorrow, a long queue of the game’s greatest batsmen would await him near the dressing room: Hammond, Hobbs, Hutton, the three Ws, Richards, Gavaskar, Dravid, Sehwag, Ponting, Lara, Chappell, Miandad, et al. And at the head of this queue would be Bradman, first to shake his hand and say, “Gosh, you little bonzer, I would have loved to play an innings like that!”

Meanwhile, somewhere in London, I raised my glass in Sachin’s honour. And not knowing what else to add when so many have done such a wonderful job… in true BCC! style, I simply said “Thank You Sachin“.

(You may…nay…you must join the Facebook group here)

A repeat of what is on most people’s minds…but, could there be someone more deserving than Sachin to be the first across the finish line for this record??

I was at the Nehru Stadium on 31/03/2001 when Sachin became the first batsman to cross 10000 runs in ODIs. How I wish I was in Gwalior today.

Congratulations Sachin. Congrats Team India. Congrats India!!

There is work to be done yet. A match to be won to make this innings truly memorable. But this is going to be one record to cherish all life long

Yes, that combination still works!

59/5 off 48.3 overs..not too shabby..

India remain #1..and all is fine with the world for now…

And you, Mr. Amla…MUCH RESPECT sir..hats off!

More later,

Ciao.