Team India, believe!

The twelfth month, the last of the year and the month of rewinding the past memories, will commence and end with the African safari. In the last eleven months, we have won many battles and wars too. But most of the battles were fought on the home soil. “Apni gali me kutta bhi sher hota hai”, we have heard it so many times in the cricketing fraternity, especially in deshi discussion.  Now the onus lies with the young, high performing players to erase it with the same high profile performance on the pitch of Africans. Yes! The pitch, the razor sharp, green top, with abundant amount of bounce. And how much difficult it is to play on it can be elaborated with the two figures- 102 and 57 all out, in Durban, 1997, and the 4-0 defeat in ODI, year 2006.

The juggle and struggle

Poking out side the off stump, playing across the stumps, driving away from the body, these are the common and blessed (!) stroking habits of Indian players. Vacant mid-wicket region and open mid-off area add to the temptation of playing these strokes. The more danger is, the lion-alike bowlers in the form of Steyn, Morkel, and Philander supported by the sharp, and friendly 22-yard strip will make the job tougher. Consequently, the result could get described like this, edge… and taken in the slip, inside edge on to the stump, plum in front. Apart from it, the barrage of whirling bouncers will serve as complementary gift!

We have already seen in the just concluded one-day series, how our new lads struggled and juggled to face the Steyns, the Morkels. Considering that the test matches would be more hostile, and the host has cunningly planned it on pace tracks- the Wanderers and Durban. Thank god! Zaheer is in the team, at least for the test series. Hope, he along with Umesh Yadav and new swing Shami Ahmed, will form the formidable pace attack and give a neck to neck fight to S. African speed guns.

“It’s not about the runs, but how you run the game is important.” That is what Dhoni expressed while advertising for star sports. Now we can only say and hope, “Team India, believe!”

Ashes down under

Some cricket lovers say we go to ground to watch Sachin play. Those seeking entertainment say we go to watch Gayle, Pollard in T-20. Those who like a chasing game prefer India-Australia contest, especially on Jaipur and Nagpur pitch. But those who love to listen Richie Benaud, Ian Chappel, Michael Holding explaining every minute details of the game, those who cherish the red cherry whistling past the batsman’s ear, those who love to see the batsmen being intimidated by the bowlers, adore the ashes; the clash between the two classical test teams.

                 
The urn, the coveted trophy, the pride, the Ashes… Australians are deprived to own this prestigious title from the last two years. Frustration, agony, torment, whatever you call it; every Australian player and Australian fans have been engrossed by these terms. They are asking for how long they would get iluded by the ashes? They are asking why the once champion and ruthless team is even begging to catch-up with England? They are questioning  isn’t our bowling strength not lethal enough to shear through England’s batting line-up twice? They are pleading can’t our batting line-up endure strongly against the England attack. They are demanding this time Cook and his troops not be allowed to fly back with the ashes.

As the reciprocal series is being played down under, cricket lovers expect Clarke and his men to show some resilience and be ardent in their efforts to pull back the ashes. Though Clarke has said his team has left behind the scar of ashes loss, that too three in a row, it would demand a high yield strength to fortify his side against the force of vivid England team. It will be a fascinating tussle to watch whether the vulnerable Australian team shows the spirit of phoenix, or the England team again burns the Aussies to ashes.

The hostile spell of Johnson and the uncharacteristic sledging attack by Clarke in the  first test has already spiced up the series. Now task is on England's hand to negate the blow by the super performance with the attitude-
"You hit me once, I hit you back,
you hit me back, I kick your ass."

Ritesh Kadam,
7775924549

Oh my God! Oh my God!

Finally, the day has arrived , I will be no longer seen on the cricket ground as a player. That's how Sachin announced his "ceasefire" against bowlers. Now where to find that straight-drive whistling past the stumps, flick shot from the middle stump, that square cut saying "hi" to the point fielder before reaching to the fence, that transfer of weight on back foot and drive through the covers, dancing down the wicket to spinners and the hit between long-on and long-off, that sweep against -the -spin to leg-spinner.

The last walk

 The day on which you announced your walk, newspaper, media, social media flooded with "Sachin...Sachin".We were in a nebulous state what to write anything else. Your each century, half-century, can be retrieved by the Sachinist on the spot . For the Sachinist you were cricket, they thronged in thousands only to watch you, and as you would be retiring that number would drastically come down. You have such an influence on cricket-lovers that they know each and every aspect of your game, your records, batting, crucial innings. Even those who are weak in mathematics ,remember your test match, ODI, T-20 average up to two decimal. I have even read on FB that a crazy guy put his home on deposit to purchase a ticket of your last test-match! It shows how much devotees adored you.

 In front of these crazies we see ourselves at the bottom of the knowledge pyramid ;However, as a devoted cricket-lover, and affection having for you prompted us to write few sentences about the cricketing-wonder called "Sachin."
"karmanye wa dhikaraste ma phaleshu kadachan" keeping this in mind Sachin kept playing for 23 years and amassed loads of records in all formats. Sachin and records were used to each other. From spin magicians like John Emburey to Shane Warne, then Muralidharan to Saqlain Mushtaq, and along with intimidating Merve Hughes, Mcgrath, Donald, Akram to Steyn, Brett Lee all these bowlers understood what is meant by batting only after bowling to Sachin.
The legendary Bacchhan had a dialogue" hum jahape khade hote hai, line wahise shuru hoti hai", with all your reputation you created " hum jahape khade hote hai, cricket wahise shuru hota hai". You have been known with different terms like God, magician, masiha, the recent being Superman. Every great player is remembered for his remarkable performance- Sir Viv for his innings in the final of WC-79, Botham for the 81-Ashes series. Kapil for his heroic-175 in the 83-WC. Akram's magical spell against England in the 92-WC. Warne's superb ball of the century. But your career itself is exemplary and remarkable performance. Match saving century against England, 1990, century against Australia on the fastest wicket on the earth, WACA, Perth, those two incredible Sharjah storms, that fire-against-fire in the WC-2003, against archrival Pak, and so on... If we keep counting, it will become an encyclopedia. The vivid career, the vivid records...


But every achievement or in that sense shiny career posses dark pages. And you had that impeding phase that contained match-fixing rows, allegations that you play for records, your comparison with Lara and Steve Waugh in the sense of match-winning ability in test matches. Some morally impure players himself even doubted your integrity. But amidst all this, you kept mum, and unfortunately for them you stayed diligent and answered everytime with another century, another record, and another win. The same critic then showered the praise like- "We have seen the God who plays at no 4 for India", Sachin gave me nightmare, I would like to become Sachin etc...
"Sachin" the name itself suggest the purity. Throughout your career you remained pure in your every aspect. Pure play, pure behavior, pure character, pure attitude, pure class. We never observed any extreme reaction, no abusive words like BC, MC after completion of any milestone. You were never involved in any controversy, conflict with the players, non-disciplinary action, that is why people have depicted you as divine God. If the bhagvadgeeta were replaced by your records, people would hesitate to lie. Now that you will be playing your last cricketing innings on Wankhede ground, where you spend your early playing days, devoted cricket lovers would throng the ground to cheer your every move, the stadium shall have only one sweet noise "Sachin...Sachin..." and  in the end they will leave the ground with emotions and tears. Whenever the next generation watch, read, hear about your exemplary career, there will be only one reaction, Oh my god! oh my God!"

That's it!

Note:- It was an honest effort to express my gratitude towards the legend. If anything has remained, pardon me.

Ritesh Kadam
7775924549

ओ माय गॉड, ओ माय गॉड!

अखेर तो नको असलेला दिवस आलाच. १९८९ साली घेतलेलं शिव-धनुष्य सचिननं आज खाली ठेवलं. तू परत बॅट उचलणार नाहीस, परत मैदानावर येणार नाहीस, तू मैदानावर येताना आणि जातानासुद्धा वाजणार्‍या टाळ्या  आता निस्तब्ध होतील. तो स्ट्रेट ड्राइव्ह, तो कट, तो अप्पर कट, तो मिडल स्टम्पवरच्या चेंडूचा लेग-ग्लान्स, डान्सिंग डाउन द विकेट आणि स्पिनरला मारलेला सिक्स, वेट बॅकफूट वर ट्रान्सफर करुन मारलेला कवर ड्राइव्ह हे सगळं आता कुठे शोधायचं...?

तू रिटायर होणार, हे कळल्यावर तुझ्या विषयी रकानेच्या रकाने भरून आले आणि अजूनही चालूच आहेत. मग आम्ही पामर आणखी काय लिहीणार? तुझी प्रत्येक सेन्च्युरी, हाफ-सेन्च्युरी तेंडुलकर-वेड्यांना तोंड पाठ आहे. कुणी तुला देव, कुणी जादुगार, कुणी मसिहा, कुणी कलाकार, कुणी सुपरमॅन, तर कुणी गळ्यातला ताईत अशा अनेक उपमा दिल्या. कुणी तुझ्यासाठी आणि फक्‍त तुझ्यासाठी क्रिकेट बघत होतं, आता तू रिटायर होणार म्हटल्यावर तेच वेडे क्रिकेट बघणं बंद करणार आहेत म्हणे. फेसबुकवर तर मी असं वाचलं की, तुझ्या शेवटच्या मॅचचं तिकिट मिळवण्यासाठी कुणीतरी घर गहाण ठेवलं! गौतम नावाच्या सचिनवेड्यानं तर पूर्ण आयुष्यच तुझ्यासाठी वाहून घेतलं. इतकी क्रेझ तू लोकांच्यात निर्माण केलीस. याला सचिनची बॅटिंग तीन दिवस रोज सकाळ-संध्याकाळ दाखवा, ताप उतरेल, एवढंच म्हणायचं राहिलं होतं.

गणित कच्चं असलेल्या लोकांनासुद्धा तुझ्या टेस्ट, वन-डे, ट्वेंटी-ट्वेंटीची सरासरी दोन डेसिमलपर्यंत पाठ आहे. तुझ्याविषयी लोकांना इतकं माहित आहे की त्यांच्यासमोर आम्ही ढ, अडाणी भासतो. मग तुझ्याविषयी आणखी काय सांगणार? पण आमच्यातला क्रिकेट-किडा, आणि तुझ्याविषयीचं प्रेम आम्हाला स्वस्थ बसू देत नव्हतं. आणि तुझ्याबद्दल लिहायचं म्हणजे थोडी तयारी करायला पाहिजे, 'उचलली लेखणी लावली कागदाला' असं थोडीच चालणार होतं. तशी आमची स्मरणशक्ती जरा कमीच आहे पण, क्रिकेटविषयी जे काही आम्हाला तोडकं-मोडकं ज्ञान होतं ते वापरून, आणि तुझ्या कारकिर्दीचा आढावा घेऊन थोडंफार लिहिलं आहे.

जसा कृष्ण अर्जुनाचा सारथी, गुरु, सल्लागार होता, तसाच, क्रिकेट हाच सचिनचा सारथी, गुरु, सल्लागार होता. 'कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन'… याच उक्तिप्रमाणे सचिन इतकी वर्षं खेळत राहिला. २३ वर्षांच्या कारकिर्दीत अनेक विक्रमांच्या थप्पी त्यानं रचल्या. कुठलंही रेकॉर्ड काढा, सचिनचं नाव त्यावर आहेच. सचिनला रेकॉर्डची आणि रेकॉर्डला  सचिनची सवयच होती. १९९०च्या दरम्यानचे जॉन ऐम्बुरी ते शेन वॉर्न आणि पुढे मुरलिधरन, सकलेन मुश्ताकपर्यंत, सोबतच मर्व हुजेस, मॅग्राथ, डोनाल्ड, अक्रम ते स्टेन, ब्रेट ली पर्यंत सर्वांना सचिननं बॅटिंग म्हणजे काय, याचं प्रॅक्टीकल वेळोवेळी दाखवून दिलं होतं.

'हम जहाँपे खडे होते हैं, लाइन वहींसे शुरु होती है', असा बच्चनचा एक डायलॉग आहे, त्याप्रमाणे, 'हम जहाँपे खडे होते हैं, क्रिकेट वहींसे शुरु होता है', हा पायंडा तू पाडलास. तुला चौपाटीवर भेळ खायला जायचं म्हटलं तरी तिथल्या सुरक्षा यंत्रणेवर ताण यायचा, इतकी लोकप्रियता तू मिळवलीस.

पुन्हा येणे नाही....

अनेक खेळाडू त्यांच्या अविश्वसनीय कामगिरीसाठी ओळखले जातात. सर विव्ह रिचर्डस, त्यांच्या १९७९च्या वर्ल्ड-कप फायनलमधील सेन्चुरीसाठी, बोथम त्याच्या १९८१च्या 'बोथम सीरिज'साठी, कपिल देवच्या १९८३ मधील १७५ धावा, वसिम अक्रमचा तो १९९२ वर्ल्ड-कप मधील मॅजिक स्पेल, वॉर्नने गॅटिंगला टाकलेला सुपर्ब-बॉल... पण, तुझ्या अशा अनेक खेळी आहेत, किती म्हणून सांगाव्यात. करियरच्या सुरुवातीलाच इंग्लंडविरुद्ध शतक ठोकून वाचवलेली टेस्ट मॅच, अब्दुल कादिर या महान लेग-स्पिनरला मारलेल्या सिक्स, पर्थच्या अतिशय फास्ट पिचवर ह्युजेस, ब्रुस रीड, व्हिटने यांच्याविरुद्धची शतकी खेळी, त्यानंतर मग चालूच होतं, ऑस्ट्रेलियाविरुद्ध शारजाहमधील वादळ, चेन्नईमधे पाक, परत २००३च्या वर्ल्ड-कपमध्ये पाक, २००७-०८ मधील सिडने… असं मोजत गेलो तर एनसायक्लोपिडीया तयार होईल!

प्रत्येक झळाळत्या गोष्टीला काळी किनार असते. तू ही त्याला अपवाद नव्हतास. १९९७ हे तसंच एक काळं वर्ष. मॅच फिक्सिंगचा ससेमिरा भारतीय टीम, आणि कॅप्टन या नात्यानं तुझ्यामागे लागला होता. त्यानंतरही कसोटी मॅच जिंकून देण्याच्या तुझ्या ताकदीविषयी तुझ्यावर टीका होत राहिली. परत, तू ग्रेट की लारा, वॉची खेळी चांगली की तुझी, इथपासून ते तू रेकॉर्डसाठी जास्त खेळतोस इथपर्यंत उहापोह झाले. ज्यांनी आयुष्यभर बेशिस्तपणा दाखवला, अप्रामाणिकपणाचा कळस केला त्यांनी तुझ्या खरेपणाविषयी शंका घेतल्या. पण, या सर्व गोष्टींना तुझं एकच उत्तर असायचं - परत एक शतकी खेळी, परत एक विक्रम, परत एक मालिका-विजय! मग हेच टीकाकार तुझी गोड-गोड स्तुती करायचे, कसे? - 'मी देव पाहिलाय, तो भारतासाठी चार नंबरवर खेळतो', 'सचिन माझ्या स्वप्‍नात येतो', 'पुढल्या जन्मी मला सचिन होणे आवडेल' वगैरे, वगैरे…

क्रिकेटनं तुला भरभरून दिलं, तू आम्हाला भरभरून दिलंस, त्या बदल्यात परत क्रिकेटप्रेमींनी तुला भरभरून प्रेम दिलं. फक्‍त क्रिकेटर म्हणून नाही तर, एक सुसंस्कृत क्रिकेटर म्हणून तू स्वतःची ओळख निर्माण केलीस. स्वतःच्या नावाप्रमाणेच तू प्रत्येक बाबतीत 'प्युअर', शुद्ध राहिलास. प्युअर खेळ, प्युअर दृष्टीकोन, प्युअर-क्लास, प्युअर वागणं, प्युअर चारित्र्य. लोकांनी भले तुला मोठं केलं असेल, देवपण दिलं असेल पण तुझ्या वागण्यात कधी 'ऍटीट्युड' नाही आला. शतक पूर्ण केल्यावर बीसी, एमसी हे शब्द कधी तुझ्या तोंडून नाही आले. ज्या क्रिकेटनं तुला सर्व काही दिलं, त्या क्रिकेटला धक्का पोहचेल असं तू कधीच वागला नाहीस. बारमधील मारामारी, पिचवरील लघुशंका, संघातील खेळाडुंसोबतचे तंटे, मॅच रेफरीकडून दंड, बेशिस्तपणासाठी निलंबन या गोष्टींपासून तर तू चार, नव्हे चांगले दहा-बारा हात लांब होतास, म्हणूनच तर लोकांनी तुला देवपण बहाल केलं. कोर्टात भगवद्‍गीतेऐवजी तुझ्या रेकॉर्डवर हात ठेवून जर खरं बोलायला सांगितलं तर लोक जास्त खरं बोलतील. आता तू शेवटचं खेळतो आहेस, त्याच वानखेडेवर जिथं क्रिकेटची सुरुवात केलीस. पूर्ण पाच दिवस स्टेडियम खचाखच भरलेलं असेल आणि सर्वांत शेवटी सगळेजण एकच भावना व्यक्‍त करतील, "आर-पार काळजात का दिलास घाव तू...?" पुढच्या पिढ्या जेव्हा तुझ्या कारकिर्दीचा आढावा घेतील तेव्हा त्यांच्या तोंडून एकच वाक्य निघेल, "ओ माय गॉड, ओ माय गॉड...!"

शेवटी कोल्हापुरी शैलीत एकच वाक्य म्हणेन, "भावा, जिंकलंस तू…"

शेवटची खेळी...

(टिपः- सचिनविषयी जे काही मला माहित होतं, ते लिहिण्याचा एक प्रयत्‍न केला आहे. चूक झाली असेल, किंवा काही राहिलं असेल तर, सचिनप्रेमींनी माफ करावं.)

रितेश कदम
7775924549

Jit jaayenge hum!

The point at which some people give up, actually that's where the good times commence. And that's where the exceptional separates from pessimist/ ordinary.  Perseverance always pays off. "Jindagi, har kadam, ik nayee jang hai, jit jaayenge hum, tu agar sang hai." Team India might have taken inspiration from this lovely song. 4-0 drubbing of Australia, followed by spirited performance to lift the champions trophy, the party continued in the West Indies, and extended to Zimbabwe. Team India is tasting the overwhelming and hard earned success. Rare character of killer instinct, friendship with responsibility, Sir Jadeja alias Rajneekant inching towards lead character from the supporting role, all these material bonded together by Dhoni have helped Indian team to transcend. 

The charismatic captain, though getting critcized for adamant, favoritism, and unfair way of handling players for personal benefit, is getting back to his lucky charm. Khudiko kar buland itana ki, khuda bhi tuzse puche , bata dhoni teri raja kya hai?

After the double century against Australia, Dhoni has made himself so "buland" that even Almighty is fulfilling his all "raja" (wishes). That confidence even reflected in his looks. His luck and look have always been a talking subject. The journey of hairstyle started from the long cut changed to trim-cut, a short period of bald look, and now like Alexander's cap. Well "andaz apna apna".

As India is enjoying the dream run, Australia on the other hand is in contrasting state. It is providing opportunity to every possible player to pull out a rabbit out of the hat, but to no veil. There is no lack in efforts but the commensurate result is very little.Yes, they pocketed the one- day series but that was just the compensation for the Ashes loss. Australia need a solid success to galvanize their team. They would be looking at this India series as a platform to regain the required momentum. The top five in the form of Warner, Watson, Haddin, and Smith along with the fresh blood, Maxwell, Bailey would form the scoring unit.Australian bowlers will try their heart out to get some response from the dry Indian pitches. 

Indian team will embark this series with happy-go-lucky mood. The seven-match series commencing from the eve of Dashera will continue till Diwali festival, which will be a double festival bonanza for the cricket bugs. Fans will also enjoy this feast with no tension and in a relaxed mood, and if tension creeps the song will dissipate it,

"Jindagi har kadam ik nayee jang hai,

Jit jaayenge hum, tu agar sang hai..."

Ritesh Kadam
9011020015.

जिन्दगी, हर कदम , इक नयी जंग है...

"जिन्दगी  हर कदम इक नयी जंग है.

जीत जायेंगे हम, तू अगर संग है.. "हे गाणे गेले तीन-चार महिन्या पासून फार आवडू लागले आहे. आधी  ऑस्ट्रेलिया ४-०, नंतर चँपियन्स ट्रॉफी मधील संघर्षपूर्ण टायटल, आणि लगेच वेस्ट-इंडिजमध्ये सुस्त सुरवाती नंतर स्पीड वाढ्वून शेवट्च्या मिनिटाला जिंकलेली रेस, किमान आंतराष्ट्रीय मॅचेस मध्ये भारतीय संघाचे सुगीचे दिवस चालू आहेत.

विजिगीषु प्रव्रुत्ती, जी जास्त काळ आपल्या टिम सोबत राहत नाही, ती बराच काळ सोबत राहिली, बर्‍याच जणांना जवाबदारी हा शब्द कळालेला दिसला, स्टार रवींद्र जडेजा प्रती रजनीकांत सहकलाकाराच्या भुमिकेतुन लीड कॅरेक्टर कडे झेपावतोय. 

खुदी को कर बुलंद इतना के, खुदा भी तुझसे पुछे , बता धोनी तेरी रजा क्या है? ऑस्ट्रेलिया विरुद्धच्या  द्विशतकानंतर धोनीने स्वतःला नक्कीच एवढे बुलंद केले आहे की सध्यातरी

त्याची प्रत्येक रजा मंजूर होत आहे. २०११ च्या इंग्लंड दौर्‍या मधे मागे लागलेली साडे साती अनेक खड्तर कष्ट देऊन गेली पण, ऑस्ट्रेलियाच्या भारत  दौर्‍यानंतर धोनीने ती उजवुन टाकली. 

धोनी च्या लक आणि लुक बदद्ल नेहमीच चर्चा होत असते. जेवढ्या लवकर त्याचे लक बदलत नाही, त्या पेक्षा लवकर त्याचे लुक बदलत असते. केसाळ, ट्रिम, चमन, आणि आता सिकंदरच्या शिरस्त्राणा सारखे. असो , असते काही जणांना आवड.

इकडे ऑस्ट्रेलिया बिचारी जमेल त्या खेळाडूला चान्स देऊन चांगल्या खेळाडूंचा मटका लागतोय का हे आजमावतेय. ऑस्ट्रेलियाचा खेळ चांगला होतोय पण, साला रिजल्ट भेटत नाहीए. नाही म्हणायला  इंग्लंड विरुद्धची सिरीज पदरात पाडुन घेतली. पण, धाकट यश  मिळत नाहीए,  त्यात आणि टिम-मधला विस्कळितपणा, वादग्रस्त वर्तणूक यामुळे टिम ची फरफट आणखी वाढली आहे.

टेस्ट सिरीज-नंतर फिरुन ऑस्ट्रेलिया वन-डे खेळायला आली आहे. खेळण्यातला तिखटपणा जरी कमी झाला असला तरी, आक्रमकता आणि लढाऊ  बाणा टिकून आहे.

शस्त्रातील धार जरी कमी झाली असली तरी , वार करण्या ची ताकत कमी झालेली नाही/ टिकून आहे. " This too shall pass " या आशेवरती ऑस्ट्रेलिया परत एकदा वॉर्नर, वॅटसन् ,स्मिथ, हॅडिन, फिन्च  यांच्यावर भिस्त ठेवून मैदानात उतरेल. बॉलिंगचा नेहमी सारखा  ३-१-२ असा फॉर्मुला ठेवेल. ( ३-फास्ट, १-स्पीन, २-ऑल-राउंडर). पण आता बॉलिंग किती जरी चांगली असली तरी, "इंडियन विकेट" ऑस्ट्रेलियन  बॉलर्स साठी दिव्यच असेल. टॉस जिंकून धावांचा रतीब रचणे आणि नंतर  बॅटसमन वर  प्रेशर आणने हीच स्ट्रॅटेजी त्यांना जास्त लाभदायक ठरेल असे वाटते ..

इकडे धोनी आणि कंपनी हॅप्पी-गो- लकी या मूडमध्ये आहे. हात घालू तिकडे सोनं मिळतय. त्यामुळे जास्त टेन्शन नाही. फॅन्स सुद्धा रिलॅक्स मुड मध्ये मॅचेस एंजॉय करतील, आणि, थोडं टेंशन आलंच तर हे गाणं आहेच..

"जिन्दगी, हर कदम, इक नयी जंग है.

जीत जायेंगे हम, तू अगर संग है.."

Ritesh Kadam

9011020015.

England: Third in a row!

We are the Champions!

As expected, England protected The Ashes on its home soil and sowed some seeds to prepare for the return series in Australian summer. Before start of the series, England was definitely favourite contender to win the prestigious titan - The Ashes. Australia, on the the other hand, though not considered to reverse the favourable result was expected to clash with the throne-bearers to create an elusive factor, so that there would be at least a positive gain when Clarke again tosses the coin in the reciprocal series down under in few month's time. But England didn't allow Australia to win even a single match. In a game's perspective, it is mandatory to take twenty wickets, if you desire to win test matches. But it is equally important to score a competitive total to lessen the burden on the bowlers. England did it precisely. Out of the three tests it won, two were close encounters which could have favoured any of the teams, but as England's batsmen contributed cumulatively, the victory along with ashes preferred to stay with England.

Though Cook failed to play notable innings in this series, his other mates, particularly Bell, supported by handy and some crucial innings by Joe Route, Pietersen, Trott, Bairstaw ensured healthy score of the team on pitches that generally pamper the bowler.

Australia, a team known for its deligence few years back is facing a steep challenge to maintain even its average performance. The aura has faded away. (Transition-phase, they name it as to the current dubious performance.) Yes, if we look at the leadership aspect of Clarke, he was up to the task, strategically and tactically, but the resources which were expected to implement the plan could not stretch themselves enough to touch the benchmark set by the English players.

How to come back on track??

This series has also put DRS under scanner. Manipulation, or say ambiguity in using DRS marred this series as both the teams received shocking decisions at the key point, but Australia paid a heavy price of it. DRS has to be continued by removing some flaws in it, as it helps to control some errors made by umpires. It should be used just like the third umpires giving their decisions for run out and stumping. Decision should be displayed on the screen independently.

In this series, Cook's defensive approach was also a talking point. His strategy - 'If you can't control the game, don't let the opposition gain control over it', was bit negative. Spread-out field or playing dead overs while batting was indication of go-safe. He had used it in India too, when they toured last year. But ultimately, captain judges the situation and has the onus of extracting the best result.

The proud captain

After every match, Australian supporters and former players kept giving the past Ashes references and hoped for the rise of the Australian team. All this could not prevent the third straight Ashes defeat. But again they can hope and say - come down under Australian summer, we will continue.

To be continued...

Ritesh R. Kadam
9011020015

The myriad WAR: The Ashes!

The British are known for preserving their culture. They have the history of dominance, the history of reigning the world, the history of being the best. One more history they posses, and that is, the game of Cricket. This history has one important chapter, very important; The Ashes. The Ashes is itself a sub-history of cricket battles between two top rivalries, England and Australia. Every cricket lover knows the fundamental of the Ashes. These two teams consider regaining and retaining the ashes as the prestigious battle. The teams disperse and excel, players’ career gets deteriorated or sets on track by the results of this battle.

This ashes journey has provided many players, records, new tactics, and strategies to tackle with the best players of opposition. The thread for England starts from Jack Hobbs, Dennis Compton, Douglas Jordan, Larwood, Fred Trueman, Bob Willlis and extends to Botham, Gooch, Gatting, Atherton, Caddick, Freddie, Vaughn, Cook. Australia’s list starts from Sir Don Bradman, Miller, Richie Benaud, Lillie, Thomson, Border, to the legendary players like Steve Waugh, Ponting, Macgrath, Warne, Hayden, Brett Lee. Such is the importance of this chapter; some of the series have been named after the highlight or notable performance of players. e.g. The Body-Line Series, The Botham Series, The 2005 Series.

History tells that Australia has been the dominant side to control the ashes. But in the recent past, England, with its classical cricket, has outplayed Australia on its home turf as well as their backyard. In the last series, 2011-Australia, we all have seen the gutsy performance of England and frustrated, desperate attempt by Australia. The Victorians were, of course, the England side. This time too, the odds are favoring England. England batting has been performing with solidity, with the Cooks, the Bells, the Trotts, being the genuine test match players, have the capacity to play inexorably with consistency.

The new lad Joe Root has also shown his class during the series, in India. Under the crisis situation, Matt Prior is the man who has saved England more often than not. Under the typical English swinging condition, Anderson, Finn, Stuart Broad could prove lethal. The spell from Anderson in the Melbourne match back in 2011, in Australia, was exemplary, where he showed how to use new ball to get batsmen out with swing and seam movement.

Australia’s current “grahadasha” is only worsening its prospect to think about regaining the Ashes. Considering the recent performances, Australia’s batting looks feeble. It is nowhere near the mighty line-up that used to control the game all the time. Clarke, Watson, Cowen, Warner have to buckle down with the intent to match with the class of the Englishmen. If any chance Australia could create, that would be from their bowling unit. Siddle, Johnson, Pattinson, Starch, the big hearted performance from this foursome can give Australia a glimmer of hope. Nevertheless, it’s a real pleasure to watch the war of test match between two classical and “ancient” sides. The battles would be won by one team or the other, but the fire would be long lasting, the ashes would be ever burning, the war would be myriad!!

Ritesh R Kadam
9011020015

Numero Uno!

"Woh sikandar hi dosto kehlata hai, Haari baaji ko jeetana jise aata hai…" Keeping this song in mind I, and if I am not wrong, every cricket follower stayed awake till 1:00am with the fear of six and hope of dot ball. When the later came true, the surge of happiness flew in our blood and the sense of gratification was enthralling. The vociferous celebration by the team including Dhoni, who is seldom seen pouring his expressions, was indication of the real achievement. Being in a state of positive mind and keeping faith on the available ability helped fight against the adverse situation. That is what Indian Cricket Team showed.

Off the field:

A lot was being talked when Dhoni did not utter a word on the then burning issue of IPL Entertainment Fixing (it is better to name it 'entertainment' only than calling 'cricket'). Speculations were on the high as he was associated with the franchisee whose relative was relishing the bet on his own team. He was being treated as scapegoat for not expressing any views. Many were expressing that he should at least say few lines, the news-starved media was leading this race. Dhoni was aware with the fact, a few lines could be turned into an essay by the media surfing for a 'breaking news', and that could hamper the preparation, distract the players and ultimately halt the team’s prospect. Wisdom lies in silence, keeping it in the mind, Dhoni, with his troops had landed on “the Queen’s land". The alien condition; (the word famously used by Ian Chappel) damp weather, cold waves, moving deliveries, bowler-friendly pitches under which we had lost all the matches during last encounter with the British, had stuck to the tail of the adverse scenario.

The run towards the Championship:

We look at cricket as hedonism, so we were optimistic that Indian team would do well. In most of the ICC events, we relied on the performance of other teams to proceed ahead, but this time we were steps ahead from other participants and marched to the throne, with final battle engaged with The Queen’s Eleven. The reds were preying the blues from all the corners under the worst condition they had faced till date. Ganguly had commented, if India wanted to protect this total, they had to get all ten Englishmen. It looked bleak at 20 runs required in 16 balls with still 6 Englishmen to follow. Under this predicament situation, only faith and motivation of the leader could have helped to transcend. Yes, we had these two with which we managed to transcend and grabbed the throne of championship.

The Stay at the wicket:

For any team to maintain the tag of champions, its top five batsmen need to be consistent in their innings. Under this current lot, Shikhar Dhawan, Kohli, Dhoni, Karthik, and Raina look settled. Rohit, well praised by the cricket greats for his batting style, needs to curb his casual approach. I still feel Yuvraj, Gambhir, and Sehwag would be needed to strengthen the batting. Our bowling unit is progressing nicely to form a reliable attack; just need to sharpen the axe. Sir Jadeja is performing a lot better, at least, for the current period. We have lifted the champions trophy from the United Kingdom, Dhoni needs to keep his kingdom united, if we are to reign for a long period and stay Numero Uno.

Ritesh Kadam
9011020015

The battle of National Jersey!

Vindu Darasingh, Mayieppan, Srinivasan, Jagdale, Shukla, Vyas, interim president, spot fixing, helicopter, model, etc. etc., all these personalities and unusual words had occupied the headlines, news and sports pages in the recent past. Even IPL matches could not receive this much spotlight as these twinkling things managed to attract. These things and the characters out of the ground gave us the lessons how to play (with) Cricket off the field. Hope this episode would be ephemeral. Meanwhile, we came to know the Champions trophy would be commencing from 7^th of June. I checked my mind and with whatever little knowledge available, reviewed the cricketing terms - swing, straight drive, pull, defensive shot, leg spin, off spin. Thank god, I had not forgotten cricket has this core base as its identity.

International cricket, that is what we cricket lovers always loved to watch by heart. IPL might posses the spice and flavor of enjoyment, but international cricket gives the mental gratification. Now, we will be moving from the franchisee pressure to the national commitment, which can be termed as Divided by the franchisee, United by the team. From chhotu entertaining cricket to some serious patriot game. Moving from the batsmen-oriented pitches and condition to the area and environment, which love romancing with the fast bowlers. From the erratic noisy cheer to disciplined, harmonic, synchronized and silent, the British way of enjoying the game. From the game of hard hitting fours and sixes to the battlefield, where we can get some good contest between the quality bowlers and the genuine batsmen.

Australia, S. Africa, England, Pakistan, and N. Zeland posses a bucketful of beautiful fast bowlers who have the charm to romance with the swinging condition. Dale Steyn being the most beautiful shouldered by the others, like Junaid Khan, James Anderson, M. Starc, Morkel and joined by supporters viz.- Wahab Riaz, Faulkner, Stuart Broad,  Franklin. For India, apart from young Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav, other bowlers had to improve their skills to impress the moody British weather. Barring some respectable bowlers, the 22- yard strip of British grounds behaves like a step mom with the spin bowlers. Here, main role would be played by the fast bowlers, with the spin bowlers acting in a supporting role; unless, the directors like Dhoni come up with out-of-the-blue idea to accommodate the fringe players. He has the skill to “manage” few players with the “fringe” benefit.



Predicting who will win the series has always been like predicting when the monsoon will arrive. Speculations, team strength, weather condition, weak link, fast pitches, etc. etc. would be added like terms and conditions for the favorable results. We are destitute and inaccurate in predicting the outcome of the match, set aside the series. We believe in parity and respect the efforts of national jersey holders; be it blue, red, green, black, or yellow. One thing is sure, when these jersey holders battle in the middle, the rainbow of cricket will add to the joy of monsoon.

Ritesh R.Kadam
9011020015

IPL, Fixing, and Gangster!

Napkin, wrist band, forehead band, caps, and golden locket were once considered as on field cricketing gears for controlling the sweat, and the fashion icons respectively. Recently, it came to light that these are being used to earn the money between 20 to 80 lakhs. Courtesy, Sreesanth and company. Only thing you have to do is, keep it visible and give away only fourteen runs in an over, which is very much possible in the run-feast series, IPL T-20.

Honey.... it's a trap!!!

Just few days before the spot fixing episode took place, I had read a post on FB: "We are 100 percent confident match fixing does not exist in the IPL, it is a pure and very good entertaining soap." At that point I also agreed to it, because the way things were progressing and games were becoming exciting, there was very little doubt for the scrutiny to be put. Just three days later, the SCC group of three stooges (Sreesanth, Chandila, and Chavan) proved us wrong. Spot fixing, then over fixing, no ball fixing, match fixing, honey trap, mafia involvement, sex video, black money, all this valuable(!) information spilled out during the “AmrutManthan” of investigation.

Guess, what this signal means!!!

The IPL always remained a soft target for the tampering, the reasons: It had the mass appeal, over glamour by the association of bollywood ke sitare, undue number of matches, and lack of control as it is a domestic league. It was considered only as an entertainment tool; by that means we could call it as a three hours live crick-movie. The environment in the stadium was also decorated for the entertainment; in fact the terms were also being used as an IPL match than the cricket match. In future, it would not be surprising, if we saw a notice before the match “All the characters and incidents in this match are 'fix'itious and imaginary, resemblance to any live match is purely coincidental.”

That's called as fair play!!!

As always, BCCI took some time from its busy(?) schedule and conducted a long meeting, though the output of the meeting was futile. We can not control the bookies, a committee will be formed to investigate the episode, if the players found guilty, we would take stringent action on them, etc. The answers were hypothetical, similar to the last years; in that sense similar to the probe they had conducted during the year 2000, the Cronje episode. We all are aware, BCCI does not show any interest in the event from which there is no revenue. But if there were sponsors for the meeting, a short India- Pakistan series to reveal the action plan on how to control match fixing, a tri-series to inaugurate the annexure explaining the sentence for the guilty players involved in the match fixing, BCCI would definitely embrace these things.

The "New jersey"

This entire episode was more depressing, as the players who dared to manipulate their play were captained by the most gentleman player of the game, Dravid. Considering the way things are happening, the length and the depth of this iceberg has been getting broad, day by day. The issue having different names like spot fixing, match fixing, tampering, line and length fixing etc. etc. has been increasing the entropy of Cricket. One reference can be drawn from the movie OMG, where Mithun Chakroworthy delivered a beautiful dialogue: “Ye aastha, shraddha afeem ki tarah hoti hai, ek baar lat lag jaaye na, toh woh aasanise nahi chhutati...” This fixing fiasco has been acting like afeem and the players are getting addicted to it, the means are either the mafia or the money.


Ritesh R. Kadam
9011020015

Merry IPL festival...!

India is no short of festivals, events, melas, and carnivals. We need a reason to engage ourselves, we need a reason to express ourselves, we need a reason to hedonism, and we need a reason to speak and write about. In the month of August, there is Dahi-Handi, September brings Ganpati, October is devoted to Navratra, November shines with Diwali, December provides X-Mas, New Year, Janaury sweetens us with Sankrant, February loves us with lovely Valentine, March baths us with Holi.

But, what about April and May? A notable festival was missing. What to do in these two months with vacation on?

Thanks to God (and BCCI), the biggest festival got introduced in the months of scorching heat - April and May..... yes, The IPL Festival! It has colours of Holi, fireworks of Diwali, Jagran of Navratra (day-night matches), worship of idols, "Merry" of Christmas (I hope you understood what "Merry" stands for), and party of Valentines. It filled the void of our appetite for the festival. Such is this festival, we don’t even realiase that the heat is on. Like other festivals, Government should include the IPL in official holiday calendar and on the IPL final, there should be public holiday.

No one can claim that it is a festival of Hindu, Muslim or Isaai. Whole cricketing world including players, audience, spectators participate in and cherish this festival. In that sense it is a secular event.  Here, there is no me or you, mine or yours, people say it is ours. Genuine cricket lovers, seasonal cricket lovers, filmstars, politicians, everyone loves this festival for their "own" reasons.

Those who are devoted, enjoy this festival on the festival ground, the likes of us belonging to poor class participate in the event through TV sets.

Some social workers, activists, and matured politicians are questioning about the wastage of water and electricity. It is part of their professional life, but these people too check the status of this festival on their android cells. Like Shri Shri Ravi Shankar says "Life is a festival, enjoy every bit of it". Similarly, IPL is a festival, enjoy every match of it.

So, Merry IPL to all…





Ritesh Kadam
09011020015

The Nightmare v/s The Dream

Some news, events, results give us joy. What if petrol prices slashed to Rs.50 per litre, company declared 40% salary increment, share market index crossed 25,000 mark... Don’t know whether it would happen or not, but one thing has really taken place - India conquered Australia in the Test series by 4-0. Most important feature of this victory was “an innings in need, is an innings indeed”. In all three matches, two to three players contributed collectively, either with the Willow or with the Leather. In the first Test with Australia scoring 380 runs and India struggling under predicament situation, Sachin and Kohli played the required solid innings and Dhoni stretched it from nowhere to winning position. In second Test match, the youngsters Pujara and Vijay paved the way for victory, scoring “the Tendulkar” (I had read a post on Facebook that '100' has been replaced by 'Tendulkar' in the mathematics term...).

“You have been suspended for one Test match for not preparing presentation on how to improve the performance.” No, this so called disciplinary action had not been sentenced by any match referee, but the coach Mickey Arthur. There is a phrase in Hindi “Apne Pairon Pe Kulhadi Maar Lena”. It implies, asking for trouble by self. So despite of rain and scoring over 400 runs, Australia could not avoid the defeat in the series-decider third test. The debutant Dhavan took full advantage and scored a fluent century (...his innings reminded of the 100 scored by Warner in the Perth Test against India). In all three matches, our spin charmers attacked Australian 'fresh' blood which looked destitute to handle the turning leather, and put them on the descent (...even Sir Jadeja got more than the required wickets.)

If this series is to be named, it would be “The Nightmare v/s The Dream Series”. Looking at the way this series had routed, white-wash looked expected, if not inevitable. Winning array of four test matches always gives a satisfaction and it’s also a healthy sign for the required balanced team. Australia, a prominent force in the world cricket, can not be termed as a mediocre team looking at its current performance. But it is imperative for them to reinforce its fragmented strength to show the sign of resurgence. On the other hand, though India has won this series convincingly, it has to look ahead for strengthening the fast bowling department. The grit and Virat compressive strength in the batting, much required in the test cricket, looked strong in this series. To cement it properly, it needs the water of consistency. The incumbent Dhoni should now more focus on the rational thinking than the favouritism, especially for building the Test team. Winning all the time is not what all the cricket lovers expect, but we do expect consistency and vigilance in the performance, and approach to make cricket a joy to watch and satisfaction to enjoy...

Ritesh R Kadam
09011020015

Australia " The stubborn Test"

No, till time Dhoni has not demanded for special requirements like “I want rank turner pitch, don’t want Sehwag, Piyush Chawla should be included.” “ Two different pitches for India’s batting & Australia’s batting.” At least he has not cried it before media.

New rejuvenated Australia with some exciting players has arrived.  On target missiles in the form of Pattinson, Starc, Siddle with experienced AK-47 Mitchell Johnson combined with guns like Lyon,  Doharty, and new  billion baby Maxwell are eager to target Indian batsmen. On the other hand, commander Michael Clarke with loads of success in the recent past in association with his other soldiers Warner, Watson, Cowen, and Hughes is ready to confront with his counterpart & enigmatic Mr. Dhoni. (No intention to grovel Dhoni but his recent behavior & tactics on the ground especially in the Test matches has earned him the title “enigmatic”.)

War of words, specific strategy, ground tactics to pinch the opposition players; Australian players learn these things before acquiring the batting & bowling skill. Be it batting or bowling only way Australia know is attack. They uses the strategy of  “resource versus output.” When they are bowling, they focus on depleting the resources than the output. They know if the resources are depleted,output can be controlled automatically.  Here resource stands for batsmen & output stands for runs. And when they are batting it is optimum utilization of available resources. Even their last two three batsmen scores 50 to 60 to stretch the run lead.

Under the current lot of Indian batting Sehwag, Pujara, M. Vijay, Kohli have the caliber of scoring big runs but lacks the ability of taking the advantage of their good start & get out at the critical juncture in maniac fashion. At this phase of their career they need to understand not to throw it against the feisty opposition like Australia. ( The legend Dravid retired by showing the path how to play & stay on the wicket.). “Tendulkar” the emotional factor of all Indian cricket lovers. Considering his last series against the loveable opposition Australia he would be eager to make a big impact. If Dhoni focus on his batting than the pitch it would give some support to the scorecard. (Thank god, IPL auction has already completed.)

    

Our fast bowling department has been discrete in this last year. Right now, it looks decent for the Australia series. Hope  the temperamental Shreeshant, new swing sensation slim trim Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, hard working Ishant & Donald admired Dinda would handle the red cherry to good effect. Our traditional strength spin department has the upper hand compared to Australia. Australia’s beloved friend (!) Harbhajan, Dhoni’s team mate Ashwin, and Ojha has the capacity to trap the batsmen in the so called spin web, if they spun it strongly.

We do like to watch the tussle of India and Australia, be it one day or five day Test. And this time also, it would be hotter and hotter as the series progresses. Let’s see how our Special-11 fare against the Aussies.

Ritesh R. Kadam,

Cell:- 09011020015.

ऑस्ट्रेलिया... "आत्ता खरी टेस्ट!"

चला, अजूनपर्यंत तरी “मला टर्निंग पिच पाहिजे, फ्लॅट पिच हवं, सेहवाग नको, पियुष चावला पाहिजे, ऑस्ट्रेलियाच्या बॅटिन्गसाठी वेगळं पिच, इंडियाच्या बॅटिन्गसाठी वेगळं पिच” असा बालहट्ट धोनीनं धरला नाही. नाही, तसं मिडियासमोर तरी हे रडगाणं धोनीनं बोलून दाखवलेलं नाही.

नव्या दमाचा ऑस्ट्रेलियन संघ आला आहे. सिडल, पॅटिन्सन, स्टार्क या तोफा घेऊन, जोडीला जोन्सन नावाची अनुभवी एके-47 आहेच, सोबत दिमतीला लायन, दोहार्ती, मॅक्सवेल या नवख्या गन्सही आहेत. स्वतः शस्त्रसज्ज होऊन मागील काही मॅचेसमध्ये भीम-पराक्रम गाजवून क्लार्क आपल्या पराक्रमी सैन्यासोबत टेस्ट क्रिकेटचं युद्ध खेळण्यासाठी संपूर्ण रणनीतीने सज्ज आहे. आता बाकीच्या गोष्टी म्हणाल, जसं की शब्दांची कूटनीती, वाक्बाणांच्या चाली, मैदानाची रणनीती, या गोष्टी तर ऑस्ट्रेलियावाले क्रिकेट खेळण्याआधीपासूनच शिकलेले आहेत.

बॅटिन्ग असू  दे नाहीतर बॉलिन्ग, आक्रमण करत राहणे हे ऑस्ट्रेलियाच्या रक्तातच आहे. बॉलिन्ग करताना त्यांचा एक फंडा असतो - "रिसोर्स विरुद्ध आउटपुट". ते आउटपुटवर जास्त लक्ष देत नाहीत, तर रिसोर्स कमी करण्याकडं जास्त लक्ष देतात. म्हणजे, आउटपुट आपोआपच कमी  होतं. (इथं आउटपुट म्हणजे रन्स आणि रिसोर्स म्हणजे बॅट्समन!) हाच फंडा बॅटिन्गसाठी - आहे त्या रिसोर्सेसचा जास्तीत जास्त उपयोग करून जास्तीत जास्त आउटपुट काढतात. अगदी शेवटचे दोन-तीन गडीसुद्धा नाही म्हणत म्हणत पन्नास-साठ रन्स जोडतातच.

इकडं आपले गडी सेहवाग, रायडू, पुजारा, कोहली आहेत दमदार, पण चांगलं खेळत असताना मधेच काहीतरी उरफाटा शॉट खेळायची हुक्की येते त्यांना आणि नको त्या वेळी विकेट देऊन बसतात. निदान ऑस्ट्रेलियासारख्या संघाविरुद्ध तरी त्यांनी थोडं शांतचित्तानं खेळावं. (द्रविड बिचारा विकेट टिकवायचे धडे घालून गेला, थोडंफार तरी शिकावं की...) तेंडूलकर! जिव्हाळ्याचा विषय. आपली ताकद आणि अनुभव या सिरीजमध्ये त्याच्या कट्टर संघाविरुद्ध तो दाखवेल याविषयी मला आशाच नाही तर खात्री आहे. (कदाचित ही त्याची शेवटची सिरीज असेल...) धोनीसाहेबांनी थोडं आपलं लक्ष पिचपेक्षा बॅटिन्गकडं दिलं तर टीमला तेवढाच हातभार लागेल. (बाकी 'आयपीएल'ची बोली आधीच झाली आहे, हे नशीब!)

आपली फास्ट बॉलिन्ग इंग्लंड सिरीजपेक्षा थोडी ठीक वाटते. (आपल्या स्वभावामुळे!!) मैदान गाजवणारा श्रीशांत, नवीन, हातभर बॉल स्विंग करणारा स्लीम-ट्रिम भुवनेश्वर कुमार, जीव तोडून बॉलिन्ग करणारा आमचा इशांत आणि उंच उडी मारून बॉल टाकणारा दिंडा, सुरुवातीला 'रेड चेरी' (इथं मला नवा करकरीत लाल चेंडू म्हणायचंय) सांभाळतील असं वाटतंय. तसं आपलं वंशपरंपरागत स्पिन डिपार्टमेन्ट जरा वरचढ वाटतं. त्यामध्ये ऑस्ट्रेलियाचा जिवलग मित्र(!) हरभजन, धोनीचा खास मित्र आश्विन, आणि ओझाभाऊ स्पिनचं जाळं का काय म्हणतात ते टाकून कांगारूंना जाळ्यात ओढतील अशी अपेक्षा आहे…

पण काहीही असलं तरी, ऑस्ट्रेलियाविरुद्ध क्रिकेटचं द्वंद्व पाहण्याची वेगळीच मजा येते...

आता प्रत्यक्ष मैदानावर आपले स्पेशल-11 काय करतात ते पाहूच...!

तमाम क्रिकेटप्रेमींसाठी एक छोटासा लेख,

रितेश कदम

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