DECADE DOSSIER

With only couple of days remaining in this decade, it is time to look back a decade which changed the cricketing world. This decade revolutionized the mindset of the cricketers as well as the cricket loving people around the world. Whether this revolution will bring progress to the game or not , it is still unsure. But one thing is sure that the game is not the same as used to be in the earlier years.With all those money involved it is to be seen that how much passion is still left for the game.Cricket is not merely a game these days, it is a super selling marketing product.Only time will tell that this product survives or we will kill it on our own.

This decade started with match fixing controversies of the last decade looming large on it. But we got through that tough period with some dignity & responsibility back to the game again.It started with an incredible series in India 2001. Before the start of the series Australia were runway favourites. They brutalised India in the 1st test as well as in the first 3 days of the 2nd test. On 4th day of that test at Eden Gardens two gritty yet artists Laxman & Dravid had some other idea. Those who witnessed that 376 run partnership wont forget it ever.India won that test after following on. It was remarkable to witness that epic encounter. In that series the world saw another two stars rising on the horizon, one who terrorised bowling attacks all over the world, Mathew Hayden and another was the sardar from Jalandhar, Harbhajan Singh. Both of them made debut in the previous decade but established their supremicy in this decade.When Harbhajan hit the winning runs at Chepauk , it wasn't only the victory for India but it reignited the spirits of good old test match cricket.

There was another enthrolling saga waiting for us in 2005 Ashes series. After a long long time England was looking to challenge the mighty aussies. But 1st test at lords opposed that idea when the aussies roamped home with athumping win.The next test at Edgebaston was a drama to the core with so many twists and turns providing a scintilating climax.It was heartbreaking for kasprowicz getting out with just 2 short of the target but it was a marvellous day of cricket ended with the picture of Andrew Flintoff consolating dejected Brett Lee at the non-striker end.Australia fought hard but couldn't cope with the reverse swing of the English Pace Quartet of Hoggard, Harmisson,Flintoff & Simon Jones. The 3rd test at Old Trafford saw another heroic from Australian Captain. Punter scored a fighting 166 on the final day to save Australia from the blushes. It was something very best from an exceptional batsman called Ricky Ponting. When the intruiging battle reached at The Oval , England were leading 2-1 with their hand in Australia's neck but nobody can count out the Aussies. England had their share of scares when on the final day an wonder cricketer of South African origin Kevin Pietersen stumped his authority in world cricket with his brilliant 158 to take england the Ashes series after 18 long years. It was a series which rejuvinated a dead Ashes rubber. It was a series when the world saw some gruelling contest. In the end Shane Warne's 40 wickets couldn't save the Aussies but the game won many hearts.

This decade also saw the birth of "Fast Food Cricket", the T20 format completely revolutionised the sport.This was done to confront with the decreasing crowds at the ground as well as spreading the game beyond the old powerhouses. It completely changed the conventional thinking of cricketers and cricket loving spectators. T20 is fun for the audiences and to some extent cricketers.A member of the ECB, Stuart Robertson came up with this idea that is heading the TRP ratings everyday.Another revolution came up with glittering extravagenza of T20 cricket with the emergence of IPL. Money galored in the sport. Suddenly from primarily a nation based sport IPL threw a new light of franchisee based cricket. It was a completely new experience to watch cricketers of all over the world turning up for different clubs. As an Indian the most proud moment of this decade came when our Men In Blue triumphed over arch rivals pakistan in the T20 world cup final 2007. This also helped in the growth of the shortest format of the game in the worlds biggest cricket market,India.Still t20 is not accepted totally by the purists like me but one thing is sure whether you love it or hate it, you just can't ignore it.

With so much money galored in cricket , this decade also had its fare share of controversies. The most critical of them is the future of test cricket and one day cricket. For me, I strongly believe that test cricket will survive because it is completely different to T20 and all the cricketers still feel proud to play test cricket. But the situation is somewhat different in one day cricket. It has to tackle the monotonous nature of it. I am sure that ICC will do their every bit to the survival of one day cricket.Another problem is with the players choosing IPL over playing for their country. Many of them contemplating the idea of early retirement to earn more money in the cash rich tournament like IPL. It is a big threat to the game and we have a great fight on our hand if we want to keep the heritage .

Indian cricket reached some highs during this period.After the match fixing scandals, Ganguly and his men took us into greater hights. One of the most memorable achievement was reaching the world cup 2003 final in South Africa after a disastrous tour of New Zealand.It was pity that we lost to the invincible aussies at Wonderers but likes of Yuvraj, Zaheer with senior pros like Sachin,Dravid,Srinath gave us exhillerating display of their cricketing acumens.In 2007, in the same ground ghosts of 2003 world cup final buried by Dhoni and his young brigade in T20 world cup final.Yuvraj Singh hitting 6 sixes in an over of Stuart Broad etched in our memory forever.Finally in the last month of this decade India rose to the top of test cricket.With so many highs , there are few lows also. The Kotla Pitch fiasco was a capital shame. That shows the flaws with not only idiotic DDCA but for the whole administrative part of Indian cricket.But purely based on cricketing matters, this decade promised to bring new dawn of Indian cricket in the forthcoming years.

This decade also saw the retirements of great cricketing legends like Anil Kumble, Shane Warne,Brian Lara, Steve Waugh, Glenn Mcgrath etc. Their cricketing display will be ever lasting. Also some of the greats are no more in this world. None bigger than the Sir Donald George Bradman who left this world on February,2001. We have lost a great custodian of the game , David Shepherd. We will miss "Sheph" whenever the scoreboard Will show 111.This was a decade with lots of promise and battles which lies ahead. This was a decade of changes in cricketing world with true sense of the term. With old warhorses like Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya still going strong and birth of young prodigies like Virat Kohli,Umar Akmal, Mohammad Aamer, we can hope for "Aal Izz Well" in the forthcoming decade.

LORDS TO BRABOURNE--A ROMANTIC JOURNEY TO THE SUMMIT

Well many of us still remember the dialogue that Abhisekh Bachchan uttered in GURU," Bapu kehte the sapne mat dekho. Sapne kabhi sach nahi hote par maine sapna dekha aur aj hamara sapna pura hua". On a chilly morning of the English summer of 1932 at Lords Col. C. K. Nayudu must have dreamt about 6th December, 2009 when Mahendra singh Dhoni and his boys rose to the top of the most traditional format of our beloved game.It took us nearly 8 decades, 77 years to be precise. 31 test captains with 261 test cricketers have given their heart and soul over 433 test matches to reach the summit.That is why this journey is something to cherish for all the Indian cricket fanatics even more so because this happened in the home of Indian cricket at Brabourne Stadium.

When Murulidharan was caught by Dhoni off Harbhajan Singh, we all were ecstatic so were the cricketers. It was very apt that the side was captained by a man under whom Indian cricket has been phenomenal. He lead India 10 times in tests out of which won 7 and drew 3 which is a world record shared with former Australian captain Warwick Armstrong for remaining unbeaten for most no. of tests at the start of ones captaincy career. Under him India won test series at home against Australia,England,Sri Lanka and an away series in New Zealand. So you can see there were no freebies for him. Simply for that reason Dhoni and his team demands a huge credit for the domination they have shown over other sides in the last couple of years.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni may be the cynosure of all eyes right now but we have to look deeper to see that with every success there is a history attached to it. India have been served by 3 fantastic captains over the last decade. The first blue print of this result was drawn under a guy who changed the face of Indian cricket in 2001, Sourav Ganguly. Under his leadership India thought that winning overseas was also an option. We started winning test matches in Australia,England,West Indies which was unthinkable few years back.He brought us the belief in our ability. He was aptly succeded by a man who is totally of different character from Sourav, Rahul Dravid. We somehow seem to have a notion that Dravid was an average captain but results tend to disagree. Under him we won a test series in England after 21 years and in West Indies after 35 long years. I strongly believe that despite having a good team you need to have a good leader because very few good teams win with inadequate leadership. In 2008 during a very crucial juncture of Indian cricket Anil Kumble guided us with his strong yet cool demeanour. Winning a test match at Perth amidst all the stupidity around was not at all a mean achievement. Under him with Gary Kirsten & Paddy Upton, the final phase of our glory started.

During the last couple of years India played some breathtaking test cricket be it the victory at Perth or in Chennai.Ishant Sharma's spell at Perth was one of the best ever spell of fast bowling i have seen in my life from an Indian fast bowler. Virender Sehwag's thunderstorm at chennai and later on Sachin Tendulkar's ton in the same match spoke for the quality of this side.But test match cricket is not always about winning , sometimes saving a test worths like gold. Gautam Gambhir battled it out in Napier for 11 hours to save us from inevitable defeat. Zaheer Khan was stupendous with his bowling in last couple of years.Gautam Gambhir was bradmanisque with the willow.

It is sometimes pretty disturbing to say the least that many still doubt the ranking saying India still have not won test series in Australia and South Africa. I dont see any problem having a fantastic home record. South Africa, Australia also have been great in their own backyard. There is always this sense of devaluating India's success at home. I will like to remind those critics that even those 2 sides have struggled against us playing here. I think like all the successes this should also be celebrated. It is better to remain at the present rather than thinking too much ahead.

As they say that it is very hard to reach the top but harder to sustain it over a period of time. We should build up the future of Indian cricket, likes of Cheteswar Pujara, Manish Pandey etc as well as to see that the talents of Muruli Vijay, Sreesanth, Rohit Sharma do not go waste. The job in our hand is tough but the journey from Lords 1932 to Brabourne 2009 shows that nothing is impossible.

PIT---------CH FALL

What is the essence of a good, masaladar,entertaining Bollywood movie? The answer is very simple.It should have some catchy lines ala Salim-Javed script of the mid 70s, few melodious tunes with some "Monica Oh My Darling" kind of numbers, Romance, a Gabbar Singh or Mogambo like villain with some heart pumping brutal fight sequence involving a handsome Raja Harischandra like hero and last but not the least a Rekha or Hema Malini or even a Katrina Kaif. But if someone removes one of these factors for example taking Rakhi Sawant as the leading lady , I can bet that he is in the process of making his black money into white. Preparing a Cricket pitch also involves various factors. As Shashi Kapoor said "Mere paas Maa hai", I must say that Indian cricket pitches these days are missing their "Maa".

Comparisons most of the times dont reflect the truth but sometimes they are very much instructive.Over the past 5 years if we look at test records in Australia only 2 tests have been drawn out of 27 tests, in South Africa 29 tests have been played and only 3 tests did not end decisively whereas Sri Lanka hosted 22 tests with 4 tests going the full distance. In the same period till the end of the Sri Lanka series this year out of 26 test matches 11 ended without any result which is a massive 42%.If we consider the fact that after advent of T20 & ODI, the mindset of the cricketers towards the mantra of playing test cricket changed, yielding higher percentage of matches ending with a result, than it was back in the 70s, 80s or even early 90s, then this statistic is a big worry for the indian cricket fans as well as the future of test cricket in India.

There is nothing nailbiting, heart pumping as the exciting draw. The Oval 1979 when India ended at 429 for 8 chasing 438 or Old Trafford 2005 when last wicket pair of Australia survived the England's barrage of reverse swing or Cardiff 2009 which was just the reverse of Old Trafford. Sadly as an Indian cricket fan these 11 drawn games have been some of the worst games i have witnessed. With all those mindless exhibition of batting ,the bowlers have been murdered in a Talibani way.For example Ahamedabad 2009 where as many as 7 hundreds, 1598 runs were scored over the 5 days whereas only 21 wickets fell. Batsmen like Mahela jayawardena,Rahul Dravid, Prasanna Jayawardena etc lodged in there for bed, breakfast, lunch and dinner. But even when teams mercifully shook hands after the match, the pitch was good enough for another 10 days of cricket.

There is no problem about the surface being batsmen friendly as long as it deteriorates over the course of the game for example Chennai tie test 1986 or Chennai 2001 when India defeated the Aussies by 2 wickets with a nailbiting finish.People often talk about declining crowd in test matches. Back in the 70s and 80s despite some dull draws people went into the ground to watch test cricket but the difference is that back then people had much less scope for any entertainment. Most of the houses did not have any TV. So in that scenario you take whatever you get. But nowdays with so many forums of entertainment available, people wont take any mediocrity.

With the emergence of the T20 format & IPL, cricket is being treated like prostitute where test cricket is just a 200 Rs hook-up customer in a damp old room with a bulb.Authorities must realise that cricket is not just hit and giggles. Its high time that the board officials from the BCCI address this problem.

THE TENDLYA FROM BANDRA

Well 1989 was an eventful year both in indian & world politics.Just a week before 15th November,1989 Berlin Wall was demolished and Germany reunited, Rajiv Gandhi lost his first ever parliament election, V. P. Singh emerged as the hero of the Indian middle class, Nelson Mandela was still behind the bars in Robben Island, Harsha Bhogle didn't have hair;The world saw glimpses of a curly haired 16 year old genius at National Stadium , Karachi.

For the past twenty years that curly haired genius is still giving hope and joy to the 1 billion Indians and people from other countries too. He may not possess his trademark curly hair these days but the child- like enthusiasm, passion for cricket and foremost the hunger of getting runs is still there which is the most admirable thing. With 88 international hundreds, 30065 international runs, highest run getter and century maker in both form of the game and many more records, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar's feats have been remarkable to say the least. But there is more into it when someone speaks or writes about Sachin Tendulkar.

If somebody analyses the journey of this genius, it is nothing short of romanticism. From the days of Sivaji Park to Mumbai Ranji Nets to Playing for India at the age of 16 to the man completing his 20th year at the highest level, one would get the feeling that it is not only about a romantic journey that is typically associated with poetry rather with the romantic part, there is the grit, fight, discipline which is the essence of a blockbuster bollywood movie and indeed Sachin's journey is quite at par with box office hits made at the tinsel town.

The most amazing part of his personality is his grit, determination, discipline, work ethic. Other than cricket he teaches everybody these things that is ought to be learnt in practical life if someone wants to prosper . It is always fantastic to hear him saying how he prepares for a game, his focus & concentration while facing bowlers. There is a marathi word "Kharoos" often said in maidans of Mumbai which means mental toughness . Sachin Tendulkar is the prime example of that "Kharoos" mentality.One such incident was when Sachin was hit on his nose by a Waqer Younis bouncer in his 4th test at Sialkot. He was bleeding and Navjyot Sidhu who was batting at the other end came up to him and the little kid said to him"Main khelega".That shows his mental toughness,courage and love for the country as India was struggling at 35 for 4 to save that test.That day itself promised that this kid was there to stay and serve Indian cricket for a long long time. If we research about world of sports there has always been numerous number of young prodigies hogging the limelight in the newspapers , TV channels and everywhere but very few make the cut because it is very easy to get distracted at that age but Sachin Tendulkar didn't and that sets him apart from the others. Other than the liitle master- blaster credit must be given to his coach Ramakant Achrekar and his family specially his elder brother Ajit Tendulkar without whose influence we may not have got the genius.

On the personal front, I started following him in 1991 India's tour to Australia where he scored that mindboggling 114 at WACA, Perth which is still according to me his best ever test knock, closely behind is the hundred he got in Chennai last year against England. With so many runs, hundreds it is hard to pick my favourite Sachin Tendulkar moment but if at all I have to pick one that should be the innings of the desert storm in Sharjah. This is the journey of the little Tendlya of Sahitya Sahabas,Bandra East to the man of good hopes for India Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. As for me I will see God when I die but till then I will see Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.