Author Archives: Bala

A Missed Opportunity by Sehwag

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When India was asked to follow on in the second test against New Zealand, I thought Virender Sehwag would set up and intriguing final two days of the match. We all remember how Sehwag pummeled 83 runs off just 68 balls, giving India a great start in their chase of a daunting 387 against England in Chennai last December.

I was expecting him to play a controlled innings this time.  Instead Sehwag, the skipper of the India side in Dhoni’s absence,  fell cheaply once again, playing an ugly shot.  Sehwag went for a big swing over midwicket on a bent knee and missed. The ball floated on the off stump line and hit Sehwag’s back leg.

Since Sehwag took himself out during an important juncture of the game, he has positioned himself to be criticized by many people for his shot selection. I know his fans will say that that is how he plays, refusing to let any bowler settle. But as a captain, he has to be more careful.

It is very frustating to see a player of Sehwag’s caliber attempting such atrocious shots without concern for the match situation. Luckily, because of the efforts of Gambir, Dravid and Tendulkar, India managed to escape on the fourth day, but they may still have to pay for it on the last day. As far as I am concerned, Sehwag missed an opportunity to prove his mettle.

[Photo Credit: NASA]

Hand Cricket

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One more form of cricket that is played in schools is “Hand Cricket“. I played Hand Cricket during the years from my 6th grade till my 10th grade. Hand Cricket is a lot of fun and is very popular in schools in India. There is no need to carry the cricket bat, instead we use the hand as a bat. The rules are friendly to batsmen aiming to score more runs.The game is usually played on any play area. As Krishna bloggged earlier in “Reminiscences of Childhood Cricket“, different forms of street cricket allows you to create your own rules in any conditions and hand cricket is no exception.

Below are some of the rules we followed during our school days.

  • Only rubber ball or soft tennis ball is allowed.
  • Only spin and slow bowling is allowed.
  • Balls should be bowled with a minimum of one pitch, i.e., no full tosses are allowed.
  • Balls should be pitched at least 4-5 feet before the “handsman”.
  • The ball is usually played only on the leg side; no off side shots are allowed.
  • There are six to eight members per team.
  • Generally it is 5 overs game, but varies depending on the time availability.
  • Some runs are granted automatically based on hits and there are different rules for 4′s and 6′s.

Typically my school days always began with hand cricket. We always played hand cricket during the Lunch interval and also during the evening interval. We were crazy about playing during the free periods. The once a week ‘PT/games’ periods were also awaited occasions.

When I remember my past cherished memories, Hand Cricket will always have a place.

[Photo licensed from Jay Khemani]

Ravindra A Jadeja deserves the call for Indian Team

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Saurashtra all-rounder Ravindra A Jadeja, who was in excellent form in the 2008-09 Ranji Trophy Series has caught the attention of the national selectors. Jadeja has been selected for the Indian Team for the short tour of Srilanka. His all-round performance in the current Ranji Trophy (scoring 739 runs and taking 42 wickets) has been rightly recognized by the national selectors.

Jadeja who bats left-hand and bowls left-hand orthodox spin, can play the role of an allrounder in the Indian team. He has the ability to score a quick 40 runs in the middle order and take a few quick wickets in the middle overs.

Jadeja was also part of India’s World Cup-winning Under-19 squad and the IPL champions Rajasthan Royals last year. I saw Jadeja’s performance under pressure in the Rajasthan Royals’ game against Kings XI Punjab in the IPL. Jadeja walked in when his team was down 4 wickets for just 99 runs on the board. His unbeaten 36 and valuable 69-run partnership with Watson helped in Rajasthan’s first victory. Jadeja appeared to be a very patient & cool-headed player when he took an important catch at long on in the IPL championship final against the Chennai Super Kings team.

I am sure that Jadeja will start with a bang and play with positive attitude and enthusiasm.

Longest First Class Innings

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In the current Ranji Trophy Series ( 2008-2009), Uttar Pradesh reached the Final because of the spirited innings by Shivakant Shukla. Shukla played the 4th longest in the history of Cricket. Shukla batted for 821 minutes, faced 529 balles & scored unbeaten 178 to take Uttar Pradesh through to the final. It is very difficult to play such a long innings without giving a chance or a half chance. Hats off to Shukla for all his concentration and Disciplined innings. Incidently when I looked at the statistics about the record longest innings,  Rajeev Nayyar, the Himachal Pradesh batsman holds the record for the longest first-class innings. Nayyar has announced his retirement very recently ( 2 weeks ago).  Nayyar batted for 1015 minutes , faced  728-balls and scored 271 against Jammu & Kashmir  in 1999-2000 for the record innings. Nayyar played only the domestic first class matches & his career spanned for 20 years.

Unnoticed Domestic Performance

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Cricket followers often miss to notice the great performance by players in domestic circuit. In India there are lot of players play for many years in domestic clubs , represent for state in Ranji Trophy. I have seen some of gusty performers play at domestic level & retire.  Very few players get chances to play for India at International Circuit. Even if they get a chance, some are unlucky to retain a spot in the Indian Team because of failure in few initial matches & injury .

Let us take consider the smiling fast bowler Lakshmipathy Balaji.  Based on his consistent bowling performances in Ranji Trophy matches during 2002/2003 season, Balaji was selected to the National Side in both ODI/TEST.  Balaji had a horrible one day debut in 2002 against West Indies in India. He only bowled 4 overs and conceded 44 runs in his first match. L.Balaji was selected to play for Indian team during  2003/2004  Home Test Series against New Zealand. Balaji was unable to convert all his domestic successes & failed during the New Zealand Series.  But he performed very well in the historic Series against Pakistan during 2003/2004 (in Pakistan).  Unfortunately he had a serious back injury & never played for Indian team  since August 2005.  Let us  dedicate few posts for the gusty performers in domestic circle & current Ranji Trophy Series

Watch out Australia !!!

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Australia is losing their supremacy.  Their bowling & fielding is not up to the mark.  Most of the key batsmen are struggling. No longer can they sledge & demoralize the opponents.   JP Duminy’s well crafted, outstanding & gusty innings , the  final three partnerships of South African first innings is evidence that Australia is no longer World Number One.  Watch out Australia !!!!