All TIme Greatest Test Team (1877-2011)

It is always a dream & also a favorite exercise of all cricket crazy fans including experts & common fans to tie some greatest cricketers of this planet among all great cricketers in a 11 players team. This also include a fictional time travel into the past to consider some past cricketers also which they may not have seen live performing.

I am also one of these crazy fans. From many days I was thinking about posting my dream team on this blog .Also about which players should be in my team. And when 2000th test match in the history of cricket was starting & ICC declared there team; I finally decided to post my team. And today(26july 2011) when 2000th test match got over yesterday, I am finally posting my team. I was waiting these days for a perfect occasion, and I think this is perfect occasion for this,on next day after 2000th test match is over!

This is not the only reason for posting my team. Many endless arguments with some of my orkut & fb friends, mostly with Praveen Dixit about the cricket legends also have some share. From Pravin himself I got the idea to post my team on blog as he did.So thank you for that Praveen!

On a serious note these players are really best players on there respective positions. But Before reading my team it is very important to take into account 1 thing. Nobody can include every great player of test cricket in one team. So in my team also many greats had to be left out. As only 12 positions are available in a team .(including 12th man)But for that I will take help of a statement of a coach Knute Rockne:"As a coach, I don't play eleven best, but my best eleven! "(Again thank you Mr. Praveen Dixit!:-P)

So it is My All Time Test Dream Team, which is undoubtedly All Time Greatest Test Team Ever & these 12 players are The All Time Greatest Cricket Players Ever on there positions(Strictly as per my opinion)& this team can beat any team of the earth.(Just assume all players are in there peak)

So Here Is All Time Greatest Test Team Ever :

1. VIRENDRA SEHWAG - One of the most destructive & dominant batsman ever. And the most dominant & destructive opening batsman ever in tests. No opening batsman in tests is as destructive as Sehwag. His strike rate of 82.92 shows how dominantly he plays. He has changed the defination of opening batsman in tests. And in spite of being so destructive, he is not like of those batsman who hits 4 sixes in a row & lose their wicket at 5th ball. His average of over 53 shows that he is not of that type.In spite of scoring fast, he maintained that average. In 85 matches he scored 22 centuries. Also he is among those 2-3 batsman like bradman who have scored 2 Triple Centuries in teat cricket. I would have loved to pick Jack Hobs but he played in just first class more & also he don't have such a dominant batting skills. I need dominant batsman because , At day 4 after tea,If my team comes to bat to chase 400 to win, then he can score 100-150 runs till the end of the day's play so my team will have to chase only 250 in final day & no one can fulfil this need better than Sehwag.
So Here comes Virendra Sehwag to open my team's innings by batting at No.1.

2. SUNIL GAVASKAR - The most technically perfect & the greatest opening batsman ever. The most perfect batsman who first told to his team how to bat.Stood tall against fearsome fast bowlers of West Indies without helmets! When these fast bowlers were breaking many heads, many batsmen lost there eyesight with those bowls. Once Indian captain Bedi declared the innings against West Indies on 95-5 , just to avoid further damages on his batsmen. And in these conditions Gavaskar not only batted without a single ball touching to his body(without helmet again am saying!)but also he is the first batsman to score 10,000 runs in tests. First batsman to break bradman's record of 29 centuries after 40 years & setting his new record of 34 centuries.Also he is useful to avoid the collapse if it happens somehow. Because as someone said, "he just don't bat looking at time, but he bats looking at the calendar!" Again would have loved to pick Victor Trumper, but he don't have any double or triple century & his average is also ver poor i.e. 39.
So here comes Sunil Gavaskar to open the innings with Sehwag by batting at No.2

3. DON BRADMAN ( C ) - Undoubtedly the greatest batsman of all time. Fastest triple century,3 centuries in 3 sessions of a day, astonishing scoring rate,dominated every bowler, only batsman who didn't faced bad patch in his entire career.Lost his important 6 years in second world war & still scored 29 centuries which was a record till 40 years. & his well known average of 99.94 is still a record . In fact no one is even near this average,. There is not a single batsman whose average is even over 65! He is also captain of my team, as he don't have any risk of losing his touch due to pressure of captaincy. As Nevil Cards well known cricket expert once wrote, " If Bradman is in ur team, even in your worst nightmare you can't watch your team losing!"
So greatest batsman of all time Don Bradman comes at No. 3

4. SACHIN TENDULKAR - Again undoubtedly the greatest batsman of all time. Most Runs, Most Centuries, Most Fours,Most Man of Match, Most everything. But What stats can't show is his dominance over all the bowlers in world. His technique & beauty, his art, his answer to every bowler with his bat, his talent of turning match most of the times. Now he can only compared with bradman.
Now the question is who is the best? Bradman or Tendulkar? Well, Bradman is superior in average & his hunger of runs. But Tendulkar is superior in Technique,Beauty & Art in shots which stats can't tell. So Why can't we take in this way? Tendulkar is among one of the two finest batsmen ever who walked on a cricket pitch!(Bradman the other) Enough said !

Standing on a doorstep of 100 international centuries & still going strong , Sachin Tendulkar comes at No.4 to join with Bradman!

5.BRIAN LARA - Leonardo - Da Vinci of modern cricket. As word genius is suitable too Einestine in science , same it also suits to Lara in terms of batting. In his form & tempo what he can do, only god can tell. He 2 times made highest individual score in the history of cricket. First he made 375 which was broken by hayden when he made 380. But lara again made highest score of 400 & which is still a record & no one could touch it. Also he is first player to score 11000 runs in test cricket. A good dominant batsman who can play any bowling attack especially spin bowling.Who ruled on bowling of Murlidharan in Sri Lanka. His innings of 153 not out against Australia which gave a superb victory to West Indies is still a landmark & is a ideal example of how to play in second innings in pressure of winning. It was a tough call between him & Viv Richards about whom to select.But as Viv Richards was weak against quality spin attack with turning wicket and when he will comes to bat in 5th position, ball will be old & it will be time to use spin attack by oppositions and considering the fact Lara is 2nd best in playing spin attack ( Tendulkar 1st), I will go with Lara.
So Brian Lara comes in at No.5

6. GARRY SOBERS - Without any argument Sobers is the best all rounder cricket ever produced. Plus he is the greatest & dominant no.6 batsman. Though he can bat well in any position. The only player who struck 6 sixes in a over in a test match.Many players after so much effort can't do specialisation in even 1 aspect of game. But here Sobers was best in every form. Scored 8000 runs & 27 centuries with bat ( only 2 short than bradman). Took 235 wickets with ball & took 198 catches as a fielder. In bowling he could ball fast with 80 miles p.hour & he was a great spin bowler. What he didn't do in cricket is more easy to answer. The answer is wicket keeping! Rest all he did. It is easy to say why he was greatest all rounder among all. When he took retirement 3 records were in his bag. Most runs, Most wickets & Most catches.
Best all rounder cricket ever produced, Garry Sobers comes in at no.6

7. ALAN KNOTT (WK) - The greatest wicketkeeper of all time. First wicketkeeper in tests who took 250 catches. His Catching & Stumping both were world class.to see his wicketkeeping at its most spectacular, you had to catch him standing up to Derek Underwood on a rain-affected pitch for Kent in county cricket. Most of the time, despite the obvious problems, Knott would take the ball so nimbly he might have been keeping wicket in the indoor nets. As a batsman he learned to put a high price on his wicket, and in only his fourth Test, at Georgetown in 1967-68, he made 73 not out in four hours and helped Colin Cowdrey save the series.
I was Tempted to choose Adam Gilchrist as a wicketkeeper. But in greatest team you should select only greatest players as per my opinion. Adam Gilchrist was good keeper & good batsman but knott was greatest keeper & average batsman.So I decided to select greatest wicketkeeper rather than good keeper, As my bowlers need great wicketkeeper & as my team don't need batsman as it has more than enough dominant batsmen from Sehwag to Sobers.
So greatest wicketkeeper Alan Knott comes in at No. 7 to bat.

8. WASIM AKRAM - Known as the 'King Of Swing' as he can swing the ball in both directions with terrifying speed.He have both Inswing & outswing in his bag. But most deadly are his yorkers. With his yorkers & inswingers ,in his peak he took more wickets as either Lbw or straight clean bold! This shows how deadly his bowling was. WIth lots of spoeed & swing his ball often beat batsman's bat & either hit on his pads for lb or if it swings more, then bold ! But its a still a big question for me that, why his wickets can't match his skill & perfection? (Still wickets are 414 , reasonably good)Anyways! Wasim comes as first change fast bowler as he can easily swing better with old ball.
So a greatest left arm fast bowler cricket ever seen, also can bat well when needed Wasim Akram comes in at No. 8

9. SHANE WARNE - The Magician! Greatest spinner ever in the history of cricket. Second in highest wicket takers list with 708 wickets. But undoubtedly the greatest spinner ever. Had every delivery of leg spinner in his pocket. Turning the ball from leg to off & off to leg ( If you don't belive then still watch Mike Gating's wicket) Flipper, Googly in everything he was unmatchable. In every match he took normally 3-4 wickets. Only genius batsmen could dominate him. Otherwise he was always a hot sauce for any team. My team format is of 3 fast bowlers. But if you think Shane Warne is only spinner, then you are wrong. Because Garry Sobers is always ready to bowl his spin with him.
So undoubtedly one of the compulsary choice in any team & also can bat, Shane Warne comes at No.9.

10. MALCUM MARSHALL - Among one of the greatest fast bowlers & most fearsome fast bowler. If you are playing against my team, I bet you will even fear his pic if you have watched him live or if you have watched video of his bowling!Greatest among the famous West Indian fast bowlers line up.He was not so tall or was not athelatic like other fast bowlers.He was like pistol but having capacity of a nuclear bomb.His ball was not pitching in front of a batsman , it was blasting like a bomb. He took 380 wickets. Looks like very few. But it's not. Considering there was a lot of fearsome fast bowlers like Paterson,Ambroj, Holding, Roberts,Walsh etc. And how we can forget Sobers being bowler himself? So being all these fast bowlers taking there share in wickets, then it can be understood. But his economy rate was just 23.
So as a fearsome fast bowler Marshall becomes the first bowler ( opening bowler) of my team & comes to bat at No.10.

11.GLEN MCGRATH - The most accurate fast bowler ever in test cricket.If there would have been a six sigma( one mistake in a million) rating in cricket, Glenn Mcgrath must have been the first one to get that.He was not a real fast bowler with so much speed.4th highest wicket taker in tests.And Highest wicket taker among the fast bowlers. One ordinary bowler with ordinary speed became the greatest fast bowler just because his pin point accurate bowling.Many great fast bowlers either didn't came in tour of sub continent or those who came became totally unsuccesful in sub continent like lilee in 1987. But Mcgrath's average in sub continent is just 20. And in these conditions where batsman enjoy many things than bowlers.And his overall average is 22. His fights with legend Sachin Tendulkar was one of the finest duels in sporting history.And still remembered by many. Second in all time fast bowlers list. So my all time favourite fast bowler Mcgrath will open my bowling attack along with Marshall.
As he was good with ball , same he was poor with the bat, Glen Mcgrath comes at last position i.e. 11.

Muthayya Murlidharan (12th man) - Legend Offspinner!!! With 800 wickets Highest wicket taker in the cricket. Many say, he can even turn his ball on pitch made of glass.Though Mushtaq invented "Dusra" Murli mastered it. Except Lara no one could dominate him all time. But as my team can have only one spinner I have no choice than keep him as 12th man. But I think I can use some ' tacts' to include him also in a team. Real cricket fans know what these 'Tacts' are!



Now on second thought I can see many gr8s has been left out. Such as Jack hobs( 197 first class centuries & 62000 runs ), Victor Trumper( Grandest of all , can even play on pitch made of a swamp), Viv Richards( Most destructive batsman ever),Jack Kalis ( Greatest 2nd all rounder,below only Sobers)& Anil Kumble ( most underrated bowler ever in tests, 3rd highest in wicket takers & holds the record of taking all 10 wickets in single innings)

But we can easily make team of these players , who will give tough fight to my team.





So Here is my All TIme XI. Needless to say comments & suggestions are most welcome .

PAKED THEM OFF!!!! (India vs. Pakistan - Semi Final )

The War!!

The Indo - Pak match is no different from any war stage. Right from the beginning India - Pakistan are two enemy countries. & they are still enemy . That's why the cricket match between India - Pakistan treated like a war. Players play like a soldier , they have to play like a soldier. When both countries play in a world cup matches , there supporters always sas, " forget about the world cup. Win this match. If u win this match, we don't care abt u win the world cup or not.
That's why it was a toughest exam for Indian team. It was a semi final match & it was the match against pakistan. But one thing was in the favour of India. When India pakistan clashed in the world cup, India always won the match. Wherever the match happened.
But in cricket, history will not help you. Always match day is important & new. Also there was pressure of cricket diplomacy also.Because after 26/11 attack in India , Indo- pak relations again became worse. And now after 3 years , again to make friendship with pakistan, India prime minister invited pakistan president to see the match. So it was double pressure on both teams, to perform in front of there presidents.
Pakistan dark horse
Before this world cup, nobody was ready to assume pakistan as world cup winners even in there dreams.Due to terrorism already no country was ready to play with pakistan. That's why pakistan didn't played a single match before a year. To make the matter worse, some pakistani players arrested & banned due to spot fixing. That was a disaster news for pakistan before the world cup. That's why nobody haven't thought, that they will qualify for even quarter final stage.
& here pakistan made it to semis. Everybody was praising them a lot. But does they really deserve the salute? I don't think so. because before q.f. stage the teams pakistan faced were 4 weak teams. Only two teams were strong teams. From that they lost to New zeland very purely. They won over australia , but that was because , Aus batted bad. & still in chase of just 176 runs, they lost 7 wickets. And again in qf, they won against West Indies , & it is again a weaker team.
Same was with India. They tied with england & lost against south africa. & won against australia.
So in this match, both teams were equal. But what happened in actual match?
The Toss
Dhoni won the toss & selected to bat first. Right decision.But at the toss he told that R.Ashwin is not in the Indian team & we are going with 3 pacers. Why? Everybody was surprised. The wicket at mohali ground , was very slow & turning. More importantly it was very helpful for spinners.R.Ashwin bowled nice in the previous match vs. Australia . Still Team managment dropped ashwin & gone with only one spinner. Why? What will happen in this match??
Sehwag on fire
And Indian team started there innings. Sehwag again showed nice mind control. Didn't tried to hit a 4 on first ball. He knew he should be there till the end of the innings.
But after observing umar gul's bowling for 2 overs, he fired. He blasted all boundries in two continous over of gul. Just boundries. Not a single run without boundries. All Indian supporters were dancing with his shots. They were sure that sehwag will last there till 50 overs & India can even score 400! But....
Afridi tried a spinner in this slow & turning wickets & he did the trick. He got the sehwag on the lbw. Sehwag was out but he took a review. Why to waste a review ? He was clearly out.He should have ask his non striker partner tendulkar. Because he is able to see nicely from a nice & ideal view. Why to waste a review?
Pak bowlers took control.
Already wicket was turning. That means very difficult to bat. Now after this early wicket bowlers took control on batting. Said ajmal was troubling Sachin Tendulkar! Sachin survived two times in one over. That was the example that it was really hard to bat on this wicket.
Therfore Indian batsmen got into there protective shell. On the other side except Sachin wickets were falling. & before loosing there wickets , they were playing so defensively that run rate was not even 4.00 per over.
On the other hand Sachin compleated his half century. He was also marching to his 100 international centuries. But was that inning really deserve it? Is sachin really played like sachin in that match? let's see:
Sachin's most patchy innings 1st time in his carrier
That day sachin played most poor innings in 21 yrs of his carrier. He was not focusing at all. He was playing clumsily against pak spinners. He was dropped six times & survived also in 2 lbw decisions. He firstly dropped on 27 & from that he was playing very poor. We can say that he was batting with bat in one hand & with guilt feeling (of dropped out of 6 times) in the other !
Well, it is not right to write like this , but against newcomer Said Ajmal , Sachin was batting like a school or club cricketar. Therfore his die hart fans also didn't wanted to score him century here because of his patchy innings. & he didn't . Finally got out at 85 runs by scoring a half century.
India in trouble
After Sachin's wicket India was in even more trouble. India was struggling at just 180 runs for the loss of 5 wickets in 42nd over. After such a slow rate nobody could bate on India's win.
Raina's small flash
In this tough situation raina came to rescue. He played small but fast innings. He batted nice. because of his fast 30 + score, India managed to score 230 + score in there innings. But this score was still looking very small. & It was also looking like Pakistan will register there 1st win in world 4w. cups over India.
What happened in there innings. Let's see:

Pakistan inning started
Pakistan inning started as they will surely win. They were looking very focused at least in the start of there innings. But then again yuvraj managed to get a breakthrough & even bhajji. Therfore after 2 down,straight away Pakistan reached at 5 down. Surprisingly Aashish Nehra was bowling very good & troubling every pak batsman. Fielding was again very good. After there top order , there middle order collapsed like anything. Just like a sucide they were playing & giving wickets. Soon Pakistan reached at 8 down.
Lower order performance and end of the match
Lower order performance was more bad. Pakistani think tank, wasn't looking as they were thinking. Bcz just misbah was there who couuld win the match for Pakistan. But still he didn't took a batting powerplay. & when mandatory powerplay activated, it was too late . India easily beat pakistan by 80 + runs & reached in finals.
Final
So only 1 match was remaining now i.e. final. Competitor was Sri lanka. Which was having more chance than India.But it was India's chance after 28 years. So Indian team wanted to win the world cup for country & of course for SACHIN TENDULKAR!!!

Indian domination really started - India vs. Australia(QF)

Before the world cup started, India was hot favorite to win the world cup. But after matches with England & SA the hope suddenly discouraged. Even Indian fans were saying that it's very hard for India to reach in semi stage .

Why they shouldn't talk like this? At one end there was australia who ws opponent to India. Who were holding the record of 33 unbeaten matches. Straight from 1999 super six. & there was India gr8 team, match winner team. very strong team on paper. But chocker i practicals. So It was very hard for India to win the match.
But There was one brighter side. Australia just lost to pakistan . Means Pakistan broke australia's record of unbeaten matches in world
cup.
So can India do it? This question was in every Indian's mind.

India's bowling

Australia won the toss & elected to bat. And.....
India was looking very positive from begining. R aswwin got the chance. & Dhoni gave first over to him. That was a very positive from dhoni.
Balling was the problem for India from the begining. but here it was proving to be strenght. from some players like Suresh Raina it was world class. bowling & fielding were really improved.
1st wicket came at 45. 10 overs were bowled & still 45 runs given. It was due to fantastic fielding by India.
Ricky Pointing takes guard
Ricky Pointing came & took the guard. He was very good that day. Played marvelously & genius. He was not in the form in whole series. But that day he really played captains inning where other wickets were falling very quickly.
In fact Pointing played very wisely that day.He was knowing the weak side of Indian bowling & strong also. That's why he attacked munaf & played carefully against zaheer & yuvraj.
The thing of some of the gr8 players like pointing is ,they are more tough against competition. When some big competition appears, they play class.
Pointing played same. Bowlers were not weak, but Pointing was more strong than them. Pointing scored century after a long break. Because of his efforts only, Australia managed to score 260.
Slog overs

Bowlers bowled very pathetic in slog overs. After Pointing got out in 43rd over, India should have restrict australia to 230-240. But because bowlers bowled pathetic, Australia managed to score 20 more runs & setting the target of 261.
Now to reach in Semis, India had to do 261 runs!!

Opening of India
As usual Sachin, Sehwag opened the innings. Sehwag was rested vs. West Indian match. But he played in this match as it was very important match. But sehwag was still having pain & it was looking like it also. So Sehwag couldn't do much in that match & got out at 15.
But he showed some good mind control. He didn't hit four on 1st ball. her understood the importance of match. But still opening were unsuccessful

Partnership of Sachin -gauti
This time Sachin gauti partnership succeed.Sachin made beautiful half century & got out after fishing outside the of stump. Gambhir also scored nice half century; but how gambhir ran out , It can be said in only one word: SUICIDE . Dhoni also got out on just 7 runs by playing a careless shot which was no need . Now all hopes were on Yuvi - Raina

Rain(a) of boundaries
Indian batting was in worry, but was not in danger. Due to Sachin & Gambhir's half century , India was in comfortable position. Just India should not lose wicket, then it was a easy job. Just what raina done. He played carefully & hit boundries too, when it was needed. He batted superbly & gave a yuvraj much needed support.

Commitment of Brett Lee
Brett Lee really deserve salute. Yuvraj's one drive brett lee stopped , but in this he got himself injured. Blood was coming out of his face. But still he applied band - aid on his face & bowled his remaining 2 overs. This commitment should be learned by every player.

Singh is king & victory moment.
The real hero of that match was yuvraj singh. He batted very brilliant. In his partnership with raina, he was having the largest share & made stunning half century. He was playing in very nice form in this world cup. He hit boundries when needed , but didn't hit careless shot like dhoni.

Because of his effort India won the match by 5 wickets. & Yuvraj posed like above after win.


Domination Ended & India reached Semi Final

After this win of India, Australia thrown out from the world cup . Australian era now ended. King retired from throne. After 33 back to back wins from 1999 w.c. , pakistan blocked there path & finally India thrown them out from the world cup. Australia disqualified from world cup before final of the world cup. It was the first time after 1992 , where Australia was not in final of world cup!
Now India's next match was with there enemy country Pakistan in semis of world cup.

Slight relief for India- India vs. West Indies

After India's first loss with South Africa , everybody were criticizing Dhoni & even more Nehra. Sms bashing dhoni & nehra were flying all across India. These sms were having no limits. Therefore India needed a win & good win here against west indies. This win was more important for this. Also this win was important for w.cup positioning also. Agreed that India was already qualified for Q.F. because Sa defeted bangladesh day before. But still it was important for reaching at 2nd position in group. Because South Africa already confirmed there 1st position.

Batting problem continues

The win over W.I. was necessity as already given. For that it was obvious that India's batting should click & set a big score. But still India's batting was not in the form as it should be. Already Sehwag was not there due to injury . & making it worst , Sachin Tendulkar got killer ball & got out on just 2 runs. And in this small innings also he showed that why he is so great human as well as batsman. When bowler ramadin appealed for sachin's wicket , umpire gave him not out. But still he walked because he was sure that he was out. This fare play done by Sachin also showed his sportsmanship.
After Sachin wicket gambhir also got out in by a very lazy shot. There was no need for such shot. & because this wicket, middle order came under intense pressure.

Sing is King

This was a big opportunity for someone like yuvraj. He was in good touch in this world cup. But it was the time to do something with the bat & he done.
He scored a nice century.His innings ws not blasting. but he played perfect cricket. I mean when there was need of defense he did & attacked when he got opportunity. Virat kohli also give good support to him.Yuvraj again came back in form with these innings.
Problem of batting powerplay

continues here when India was eying on more score, just got out at 268. Match by match India's score was decreasing.

Bowling

Zaheer again done brilliant type of bowling & yuvraj supported him well. But really can't talk much abt this match & India's bowling , because when at a time it seemed that W.I. will surely win, they threw there wickets. It ws not like India bowled well, it was w.indies batted poor.Many cricket fans & cricketers said, w.i. done this purposely lost the match to avoid aus team in Q.F.
Summary
So India won the match, & reached Q.F. & no.2 position in the group. It was a very slight relief, bcz w.i. could win at one time. Just bcz of luck, India won.
India's next match was vs. Australia in q.f. the australia who were having the record of unbeaten wins which just broken by Pakistan. Had Indian's made the same in this q.f. match?

Taste of the 1st defeat - India vs. Sa

After these matches it was really a big game for India. India's so called best batting lineup were going to test. Because earlier teams before this match, were not having that best bowling which sa was having. There fast bowling was greatest in the world.Spin bowling was also good. Dale Steyn was indeed a world class bowler, & after some years his name will be taken with great fast bowlers ever.So,this can be also treated as fight between world's can be best fast bowler ever Vs. World's already greatest batsman ever.

Toss & Opening Batting

This time Dhoni won the toss & elected to bat. Very obvious decision. Because when opposition is having world's best fast bowling lineup with steyn & morkel this will be only foolish to bat second in this pitch. So as usual Sehwag started to bat, & hit a four on very first ball.But it was a very lucky shot. & then dale steyn beat sehwag many times. He was not that comfortable with steyn. So Sachin decided to go on him. And.........

Sachin's one of the best knock

If anybody make a list of Sachin's top ten innings , this inning will surely get a place in it. The way he batted was a simply genius.

He took the role of a guide too from the first ball. When he noticed Sehwag was having trouble to face steyn , he took a strike. Steyn was having tension of Sachin, Sachin was not having the tension of steyn. From the 1st ball, He attacked steyn & morkel. In 10 overs 100 runs were on the board. After the shaky start in first overs, Sehwag also attacked superbly. But Sachin's inning was very different. It was like overflow of boundaries & runs. He played each & every shot from the books of cricket & like books of cricket. His balance , waiting the ball to come on the bat & then hit.... & his drives. May be in cricket pull, hoock may be more thrilling. But drives are classical. In case of Sachin it was like from the god. He was in very peak form in that match.

Due to this Sachin , Sehwag made opening of 144 runs. Then came gambhir. He also gave nice support to Sachin. In middle overs, they didn't go to play big shots. They kept scoreboard moving. But also struck huge sixes in some balls . Due to Sachin- Sehwag & after that Sachin- Gauti Partnership, India made 268-1 in just 38 overs. 350 was easily achievable from 50 overs by looking at this score. Even 400 also. But after that India done something, that will be remembered by Indians.

Batting power play & collapse of India.
India took batting power play to attack more. Sachin played 1 big shot & got out. But no complaints. He done his job.
But after that Gambhir & Yusuf also got out in quick succetion.
In fact Yusuf was not fit to bat at no.4 , he was pinch hiter. But dhoni didn't think abt it.
Then there was just a line of wickets. In fact dhoni was at the crease.He was captain. He should have take the strike , just like sachin did when sehwag was facing trouble. Steyn took 5 wickets. Any batsman couldn't stand in front him.They took extra risk & played big shots.They played for gallery. When Sachin was playing, Steyn seemed like a common bowler. After he got out, suddenly steyn turned into world class bowler. that was not magick. That was difference between class of batting.
Due to careless attitude of batsmen , when India at one time 268-2 & eying 350 got out in just 296 runs. India lost 8 wickets in 5 overs & made just 29 runs.

India's bowling
After such a low score to defend as compare to match against Bangladesh & England , India was in the real need to keep there bowling & fielding tight. There was improvement in both. But can't say we done our job very good. It was just better than other matches, that's all!
But India succeeded in keeping pressure on sa. Zaheer & Yuvraj bowled superbly as usual. Also looking like India will win this match. Last 2 overs were remaining & there was 17 runs needed. Then Zaheer bowled second last over superbly & gave just 4 runs in that. Now there was 13 runs needed in last over & if India could bowl well , they could win the match.
Biggest Blunder Of Dhoni

And in this crucial time, Dhoni did himalain blunder. He gave last over to Aashish Nehra. I don't think this over dhoni & nehra both can forget! There is also a news like dhoni wanted to give last over to bhajji, but be refused to bowl bcz of pressure. I don't know how to react about it, because hw can u reject this & if u don't have tough mind, how will u play?
Anyways, Aashish Nehra bowled three deliveries like this :4,6,2 runs conceded on his 3 deliveries. & needless to say, Sa won the match.
Organizers gave man of the match award to steyn. Somehow I didn't like this.Sachin was really deserving it. He batted brilliantly, also helped in fielding. Is this any rule to give man of match , just to player who is from winning team?

Action replay - two matches vs. Ireland & Holland

The two matches of India vs. Ireland & holland was action replay of each other. Why, let me explain :

Vs. Ireland

In the match vs. Ireland, Dhoni won the toss & made the foolish decision of fielding first. Needless to say, it was a very foolish decision. also very negative minded. May be dhoni thought , as our week point is bowling, so it will be easy to chase down.

Again poor bowling done by all of our bowlers. Harbhajan was just trying to stop runs & not to take wickets. Zaheer bowled brilliantly again in beginning overs. But piysh chawla is just a waste bowler. Why, Dhoni not taking ashwin? big question.
But then Yuvraj bowled amazingly. 5 wickets. Part time bowler has now became full time !!! Hero of England match, Kevin Obrian couldn't do much here. He got out at 15. Actually India could out ireland below 200 , but it didn't happen bcz of poor bowling.
In India's batting , India batte very slowly. May be because there was a tension of Ireland's win over england. But too slow & boring batting of Indians & that's why run rate increased, & trying to increase it our 5 batsmen got out. All spectator felt that India lost the match. But then again yuvraj came & rescued India. If u ask me, he didn't done any extra special. He just batted aggressively & unexperienced bowlers of Ireland couldn't do anything. If same Sachin, Sehwag would done earlier, India would win the match very early.
But still India won the match & earned 5 points. Yuvraj declared as man of the match for his performance with both bat & ball.
India Vs. Holland
India's next match was vs. holland. And it was 80 % action replay of Ireland's match. Holland won the toss & decided to bat first. The flop show of bowlers continued in this match also. It was just better than against Ireland match. Again Zaheer bowled brilliantly .Yuvraj again good piece of bowling picked 3 wickets. Bhajji & piyush again showed poor piece of bowling &fielding. It was a time now to drop piyush & take ashwin.
Anyways, so Holland got out on 196 runs. & nw it ws easy job for India to win.

Flop show of batting

India batted very carelessly. It was not boring & defensive play like Ireland. But just opposite to it. It was over aggressive play. May be to increase net runrate. But half team got out playing attacking & careless shots. Dhoni's idea to promote yusuf also failed . In fact, dhoni should understand that, Yusuf is no. 7 batsman & not no.3. Meanwhile anoter recored of Master took place:

2000 runs in world cup.
Sachin completed 2000 runs in world cup. He is the one & only batsman to do so. ZReally proud to be his fan & belonging to his era. TAKE A BOW MASTER!!!

Yuvraj came to rescue
After 5 batsmen got out on less than 100 score, again Yuvraj came to rescue. He again scored a fantastic half century & India won the match & earned 7 points. Yuvraj received 2 back to back man of the match awards for his back to back match winning awards.

Sachin's day & Zaheer's night (India vs England-thriller of this world cup!!!)

Sachin's day


India won the toss & elected to bat. no problem with that. very right decision. Then Sachin & Sehwag started the innings. Sehwag was like taken a luck with himself on that day. He was batting very carelessly. Still 4 catches of him were dropped by england. But he was not showing commitment at all!He was like a typical viru. This viru can maximum score in thirties. same happened. He got out on 36 with a very careless shot.
But on the other hand Sachin was playing very, very slow. But he was knowing the status of the match. He was knowing that if he stays there, he can easily blast later on. same happened. Sachin scored 28 in 53 balls at one stage. But he took a jump. He blasted boundries one after another. I can't forget his sixes to swan.! his one six was 96 meters away from the stadium, which was in top 5 sixes of this world cup! I can't describe his batting in words & how he treated the swan & anderson. He made partnerships with gauti & yuvi & made his century no. 47.He scored 120 in just 110 balls. On the other hand Gauti & Yuvi also gave good support to him.Both made half centuries. But other batsmen threw there wickets carelessly & we couldn't score even 350. Because at one stage we were 220/3 in 32-33 overs. But We got out in just 338 runs in 49.5 overs. Zaheer ran one run short & this run troubled us in the end. But no fault of zaheer. We made very poor bowling.




Zaheer's night

What is the problem with our bowling, I really can't understand. We just can't aim.In batting We scored 338 runs, & why this huge score we can't defend? Andrew strauss made the century & england reached on 283 for 2. & then there was a sure win for england. India's fielding also played a major role in gifting run to the oppositions.Fielders gave away free runs to england.
Two misakes made by dhoni also. st mistake was defensive field set. Second was he didn't made appeal when Ian bell was out.

Controversial referral system was also part of this match. Dhoni was right. Why human interference in technology? Why billi bowden made england batsman not out, when holk- eye showed him out?

Anyways, It was really zaheer's night. somebody will argue with me, why I written this. bcz andrew straus was man of the match. But zaheer changed the force of the match, by talking crucial wickets & putting pressure on england.
Because of zaheer's 2nd spell match changed. It went on India's favor. But bcz of Piyush chawla, match again turned in england's favour, & at the end it ended in a tie thriller.
Piyush - Real Villain
Piyush chawla was the real villain for India. He gave 74 runs in 10 overs & took just 1 wicket. Dhoni should think really hard about piyush. Where Zaheer turned match in India's side, Piyush again turned it back to England. In 49 th over Piyush gave away 21 runs with 3 sixes in it. Piyush was bowling again wrong line,i.e. on the leg stump where england batsmen were hitting sixes!


Conclusion of the match
The match was a tie thriller ! Full Paisa Vasool ! But if we think about India, the match was as good as lost! Because limitation of Indian bowling was noticed by all. And at the end, the real fact is dhoni should really think of bowling, fielding & more of Piyush Chawla !!

India's First Encounter vs. Bangladesh

START WITH A SMASH !!

The 10th Icc Cricket World cup started after big advertisement.Also this world cup started after a long hangover of 2007 world cup, Which was a biggest flop! Just few days after starting of 2007 w.c., India & Pakistan got out from the tournament.& Bcz of that, West Indies Board & Icc suffered a heavy loss.
Icc still remember this & that's why, this time Icc created format like 1996. Because of this format, pool matches will be for almost a month. & that'y country like India, whom Icc depends highly (bcz 70% profit Icc gets frm Indian consumer only!!),will 100% be in the game & meanwhile Icc will manage to get profit.But still,to be this w.c. a hit, this world cup needed a good start.
India's 1st match was against Bangladesh. also it was world cup's 1 st match. This match was having a backdrop of 2007 where Bangladesh defeated India & India could not even reach in a final. Here also Bangladeshi captain given a statement , "we have many hpes about this match & we will repeat 2007. Where in India, sehwag was saying he will take revenge . he aLSo said, he will bat till 50 overs. all were eager to see what will be, in actual match.
Wrong decision of Bangladesh captain & Smash!
What was in the mind of Bangladeshi captain, only he can say! May be he was thinking that, in 2007 when Bangladesh fielded first & won, that'y he wanted to field first here too! this can be only reason! Because what he did, is totally foolish. After winning the toss, he decided to field. Why? He should have took a note of 1 important thing, that is due factor. Bcz of this spinners can't grip the ball perfectly. & after 1st innings, due will automatically get vanish & ball will turn. still he took this foolish decision.Dhoni too done a mistake.Why he didn't go with two spinners? can't say, forget!
So, Indian openers took the field. & 1st sehwag took guard. & smash! He struck 1st ball of this world cup too boundary. This clearly showed the revenge in the mind of sehwag & also that this world cup will be RUN-CUP.
Later this rain of runs continued as 8-9 runs per over, bcz of Bangladeshi bowler's aimless &poor bowling. All fast bowlers bowled on a foot of sachin & sehwag. & this type of ball is 7 course meal to both batsmen. Especially for master! Run rate took a very nice take off. Sehwag ws on 36 & Sachin on 28. All fans were praying for Master's century. But...
Viru, At Least Obey The Master.
Sachin hit one ball & gave sehwag call for running. & Sachin started running. What ws sehwag doing? he ws looking elsewhere. but not looking to master. Why? 1st of call ws of sachin. So as being a non- striker, sehwag should obey too him. It ws completely Viru's fault. Why He ws looking at the ball, when he should look at sachin?If he didn't wanted to run, he could easily say "No". but... anyways! at least from now on, Viru must improve his running between the wickets.
Viru's Show & Gambhir out
But sehwag's mistake of causing sachin to lose his wicket, he himself rectified. Sachin's loss to team , affected the team for sure, but sehwag didn't took tension. He started dealing in boundaries. he was really destructive.
After sachin's wicket , gambhir came. but he was not at all playing up too the mark.May be his one - down position is troubling him. but he soon bowled on the score of 39.
Viru &Virat show

After gambhir , kohli came & stayed there all the way. It ws complete Viru- Virat show all the way. Sehwag scored century & also got passed 150.All expected him too break sachin's record of 200 , but he couldn't. He got out on 175. Not till 50 overs, but sehwag batted till 45 overs, which is a huge achievement by Viru.
Huge Score
Because of Viru- Virat , India managed to get a huge score of 370 in 50 overs by loss of just 3 wickets. Virat Kohli also completed his century in last over. One thing , was really nice. That in second last over's, kohli could make his century by keeping the strike to himself. but he didn't do that, he ran more &lost the strike for team's sake. which is really nice.

Bangladesh batting & Poor Indian bowling
All thought , that it will be easy to defeat Bangladesh after such a huge score. But Bangladesh batted very nicely. & managed to reach till 287 for 9. Agree that in today's world batting has became very easy, due to powereplays & all that. But Indian bowling ws also responsible for this. especially Srishant's.

Srishanth's Poor Show
Srishanth bowled really poor. he gave 57 runs in just 5 overs. after watching this, dhoni didn't gave a single ball to him after that. Srishanth, please concentrate on bowling,rather than players!!!

First Stroke
Anyway's India's First stroke in this world cup is very nice & timed correctly. Let's see, What happens in next matches.!!

mumbai marathon

सळसळते चैतन्य , उत्साह, जोश, थ्रिल असेच मी मुंबई मेरेथोन चे वर्णन करेन.!!! ८ व्या मुंबई मेरेथोन मधील व्हील चेअर इवेन्ट चा स्पर्धक असतानाचे सारे अनुभव डोळ्यासमोर तरळत आहेत.
मेरेथोन मध्ये भाग घेण्याची हि माझी पहिलीच वेळ. खरं तर गेल्या दोन तीन वर्षापासून भाग घ्यायची इच्छा होती. पण परीक्षा आणि अभ्यासामुळे वेळ मिळत नव्हता. शेवटी या वर्षी कुठल्याही परिस्थितीत भाग घ्यायचाच असे ठरवले आणि रजिस्ट्रेशन केले.
१३ जानेवारी ला एक्स्पो सेंटर ला जाऊन बेच घेतला. तिथल्या सोयी उत्तम होत्या. माझा वेग तिथे तपासून घेतला. तिथल्या पूजा शर्मा यांनी अतिशय उत्तम रीतीने मार्गदर्शन केले. पार्किंग कुठे करायचे, हे हि समजावून दिले.
शेवटी १६ जानेवारी ला तिथे पोहोचलो. पूजा मादाम आणि इतर सहकार्यांनी आमचे छान स्वागत केले. खरे तर तिथे खूप स्पर्धक एकाच वेळी आलेले होते. तरीही सर्व छान मेनेज केले.
सर्व स्पर्धकांचा उत्साह वाखाणण्यासारखा होता. माझ्या जुन्या शाळेचे विद्यार्थी आणि शिक्षक तिथे आलेले होते. सर्वाना भेटून खूप आनंद झाला. आपल्या व्यंगावर सगळ्यांनी मात करून एक नवा आदर्श घालून दिला होता ..अजून एक बेंगलोर चा गात आला होता. त्यांची व्हील चेअर फारच फास्ट होती. तिथला एक स्पर्धक खूप छान वाक्य बोलला, '' life is a celebration. we should enjoy every moment of it" तेव्हाच जाणवले की हेच मुंबई चे स्पिरीट !!!!
ठरल्याप्रमाणे रेस सुरु झाली. बरेच सेलिब्रिटी सुद्धा आम्हाला चीअर करत आमचा उत्साह वाढवत होते. मी सुरुवात मोठ्या उत्साहात केली. पण थोड्याच वेळात माझे हात दुखू लागले. घरात किंवा कॉलनीत व्हील चेअर चालवण्यात आणि रस्त्यावर यात खूप फरक असतो याची जाणीव झाली. लगेचच तो बेंगलोर चा ग्रुप फास्ट पुढे निघून गेला. खरे सांगतो, माझ्या मनात रेस तिथेच सोडण्याचा विचार आला होता. पण पुन्हा मुंबई ने मदत केली. मुंबई च्या स्पिरीट ची पुन्हा प्रचीती आली. ठिकठिकाणी मुंबईकर उभे राहून माझा उत्साह वाढवत होते. तेव्हाच ठरवले, हरलो तरी चालेल, रेस सोडायची नाही. !!
त्यात माझ्या वडिलांनी आणि मित्र हर्षद याने मला खूप मदत केली. त्यामुळे रेस पूर्ण करण्याची सुद्धा जिथे शंका वाटत होती. तिथे मी चौथा आलो !!!
रेस संपल्यावर आयोजकांनी लगेच फळे आणि प्रोटीन बार ची व्यवस्था केली. times group ने माझी मुलाखत घेतली. आणि लगेच दुसर्या दिवशी महाराष्ट्र times आणि times of India ने ती प्रसिद्ध हि केली.
इथे एक मात्र सुचवावेसे वाटते. आमच्या या व्हील चेअर इवेन्ट ला बक्षीस नाही. जर पुढच्या वर्षी आयोजकांनी काही बक्षीस ठेवले तर आमच्या कष्टाचे चीज होईल.
शेवटी हा मेरेथोनचा अनुभव १ अविस्मरणीय अनुभव होता हे मात्र नक्की!!!