More »
Showing posts with label Hashim Amla. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hashim Amla. Show all posts
How India had South Africa by the balls
Ashwin knows
This was Ravichandran Ashwin’s Test match. It belonged to his mischievous mind as it did to his long spinning fingers. Opening the bowling on the second day, he went round the wicket to his latest adversary, Dean Elgar. With two scores in the 30s in the series so far, Elgar appeared far more adept than most of his mates. He had even taken on Ashwin in the series and earned a rare send-off from the bowler. South Africa was 11/2 in the tenth over. Ashwin bowled the perfect off spinner to the left hander – pitching at that dodgy length, ripping past the bat, thudding into Saha’s gloves. Second delivery: Ditto. Third delivery: more of the same. Fourth delivery: On the money, again.
By now, Elgar and South Africa, if they hadn’t already, crumbled collectively; suspect the stinging precision of those first four deliveries, and the perceived futility of any effort to counter Ashwin did the Proteas in. Elgar fell on the fifth delivery, chopping on to the stumps. In the blink of an eye, South Africa folded from 11/2 to 12/5. Ashwin had removed the ground beneath their feet. They were in freefall. Tom Petty was singing. This was Rock ‘n’ Roll cricket. And an off-spinner was on lead guitar.
Ashwin-2015 version is a bowler with loads of smarts. He’s a man with an awareness of his craft. Ashwin knows. Not just what he can do, but what he should do. When. How. To each batsman. There is the enjoyment that comes more with setting up a batsman than knocking him over. Quite often with sameness as opposed to the variations he would succumb to earlier. Ashwin confessed he had not bowled the carom ball to AB de Villiers in the series. He did in the second innings however. He nailed a hopping de Villiers in the crease. Plumb.
Speaking with Anil Kumble after the match, there was a mutual admiration scarcely seen between two Indian spinners before on TV. A straight shooting Kumble, often miserly with his praise, was impressed and didn’t bother hiding it. How could he, Ashwin had 12 wickets in the match, 24 in the series, and way too many this year – 55 in eight Tests. Oh, and that’s the most by any bowler this year.
Now imagine if Ashwin can sort out this batting. He’s back to batting before Amit Mishra for starters, how long before he adds to those two hundreds? It’s still early days but if the bowling form and fitness continue, an even greater role in the team beckons. Already Ashwin has all the answers, be it during the match or after it. Question is, can he like Zaheer Khan before him, become the bowling captain, lead not just the spinners but the seamers too, and help Virat Kohli set fields? Can he be inspirational to the others as he has been to himself – how far does Ashwin want to take this team? Does he know? Chances are, he has some very good clues.
India’s unsung heroes
The flair starts at four when Virat Kohli walks in, followed by Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma. In dodgy conditions at the VCA in Nagpur, it was the top three that made the ugly runs. In the first session of the first day, it’s sometimes easy to overdo either caution or carefree: the Murali Vijay-Shikhar Dhawan partnership added 50 in 14 overs, and Hashim Amla only brought the spinners on in the eighth over. Vijay’s 40 is part of urban legend, the highest score in the match. Dhawan followed his 12 with a 39 in the second dig; looked so comfortable he even attempted a reverse sweep to be dismissed. Vijay’s match tally: 45, Dhawan’s 51.
At three, Cheteshwar Pujara put a few loose ones from Tahir away and trekked to 21. In the second innings, he treated himself to some long hops from Duminy and made it to 31. His match tally of 52 was the second highest after Duminy’s 54.
Along with the top order, the lower order of Saha, Jadeja and Ashwin served as the perfect bookends for India’s glorious middle order – they scrapped from 125/6 in head-spinning conditions to 215/9. Saha stuck it out for over two and a half hours and 106 deliveries for his 32. He is a veteran of 10 Tests.
The pitch
Did the Hashim Amla-Faf du Plessis partnership overstay its welcome? At 58/4, when AB de Villiers fell, South Africa were still 251 runs behind with over two days and two sessions to go. They had two options in front of them 1) Go for it, self-destruct and wrap up way before tea 2) Defend without a care in the world as you would in the nets (akin to yet the opposite of how tail-enders throw their bats at everything in a lost cause). While the Amla-Faf hermit hut in the centre lasted 46.2 overs, it scored only 72 runs. Even though South Africa lost by 124 runs, they still outscored India in the second innings by 12 runs. They batted nearly 90 overs to India’s 46.
It was that one over from Ashwin which led to a collective South African brain freeze; and a first innings deficit of 136 runs.
Amla has confessed to having a few so far in the series, and du Plessis has outdone himself with his thoughtlessness. When the batsmen best suited to the conditions had given up long before, a pitch that turns from Day 1 can only take so much blame. More than the pitches so far, a clueless AB de Villiers and an overreliance on Hashim Amla cost them the series. Weak opening stands, way too many injuries haven’t helped either, but an unwillingness to bowl Imran Tahir early on has been baffling. When he did come on, he pocketed Dhawan in the 27th over, Kohli in the 29th, Rahane in the 31st and Saha in the 35th. By then however, India was already well over 200 runs ahead and the match was lost.
Regardless of the Feroz Shah Kotla pitch, quite a few things will change for the better; Tahir will bowl earlier, du Plessis will bat higher up, Amla will score runs. Who knows, South Africa could even win a match. But for that they’ll have to go past Ashwin first.
PS: Big difference between ODI and Test series: Ashwin's availability. BEARDS ‘n’ BRISTLES… in Cricket
The good old beard is subtly reemerging in international cricket.
Cricketer turned commentator Dean Jones lost his job by calling the devout South African Muslim Hashim Amla a “terrorist”, while several England fans sported fake beards during a Leeds Test to show their admiration for the Indian Origin Mudhsuden Singh (Monty) Panesar. Not long ago, Harbhajan (Bhajji) Singh was labelled a “patit” Sikh by the SGPC as he trimmed his beard. With his “Patka” (pseudo Turban) and next to no facial hair, Bhajji does look like a young lad… so leave him alone!
There always is some controversy or the other around beards and, as we know, these obviously come in umpteen variations – by true definition, the moment the man hasn’t shaved for more than a day, he is sporting a beard´… or shall we at least call it a bristle?!
And then, for men, there’s the women angle… as always.
Many women like facial hair but most don’t, so what do the cricketing wives/ girlfriends like about their men with beards ‘n’ bristles?
Now, now, I wonder: Does it actually tickle them between the legs when the batsmen come 1, 2, 3 or more down?
Virgin, long haired beards are supposed to be the softest but are they fashionable enough – do women want to be seen walking down Bond Street with a guy sporting one of these “Swamiji/ Guru Beards”?
On the other hand, the constantly shaven, short-haired variety of beards do get rather pokey (yeah, we men do know that too!) but is it this variety that women enjoy more? Are these beards chique [and as useful]?
Whatever, one thing is certain, in the post 9/11 world, the beard is somewhat controversial. Has it become a prominent religious symbol, perceived negatively by many just for that reason?
Pakistan’s Mohammad Yousuf grew one soon after his conversion from Christianity to Islam to underline his devotion for his new Faith. Earlier, his former teammates Saeed Anwar and Saqlain Mushtaq had also undergone such a facial metamorphosis.
Gong further back in time [because there really is a history of beards in cricket]:
There was a time when the beard epitomized Victorian splendour. W. G. Grace, the colossus of English cricket, was as popular for his brilliant game as for his long, bushy beard. Back in the 1890s, Australian speedster Ernest Jones once delivered a ball that went through Grace’s beard. The latter, not at all pleased, asked him, “What do you think you’re at, Jonah?” The apology was prompt: “Sorry, Doctor, she slipped.” One wonders what the burly Grace would have done to the other Jones (Dean) had the Aussie called him a terrorist?!
In Grace’s days, there were other bearded cricketers too, such as England’s Alfred Shaw and Australia’s Harry Boyle and George Bonner.
The beard virtually disappeared from cricket with the death of Grace in 1915. It resurfaced in the 1960s with the emergence of two of India’s finest spinners: Bishan Singh Bedi and Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, the latter lovingly called ‘Chandru’. However, it was in the next two decades when unshaven, rugged looks became trendy again. Several top cricketers grew a beard for a while not because of their religion but only to make a style statement.
England had Ian Botham, Mike Brearley and Mike Gatting, while for Australia there were Greg Chappell and Allan Border. The West Indian “beard brigade” included Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall and Vivian Richards. Pakistan had Wasim Raja and Zaheer Abbas, while the Indian representative was Chetan Sharma (Sikhs Maninder Singh, Balwinder Sandhu and Navjot Sidhu kept a beard for obvious reasons).
In the 1990s, the clean-shaven “Gillette look” became more than predominant. Pacers Courtney Walsh and Curtley Ambrose, however, occasionally preferred to have a short beard. Among today’s Caribbean bowlers, Corey Collymore has kept the “tradition of beards” alive.
Today, Danniel Vettori sports a beard more often than not. Even the little master-blaster from Mumbai, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar always has a 3-day beard because it’s the only thing that makes him look his age!
In contemporary cricket, the beard or bristles are there to stay.
Credits:
We thank Vikramdeep Johal (The Tribune Chandigarh) for the idea. More was added to the article and it was re-edited by Ajoy Eric Lal.
India won… but only just!
Yes, India won -- but actually it almost lost -- the 2nd Test Match (2010) against South Africa at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens because of three reasons:
- a ‘Pundit’
- a major dose of ‘Vitamin C’
- a chaotic, leftist manipulated megacity named ‘Kolkata’ (Calcutta)
Let me explain the above points in some detail:
Point #1 – the “Pundit” angle:
- Ishant Sharma (IS) is a “Sharma” and a “Sharma” originated from a “Shaman”, a “Pundit” (Priest to the Hindus) by definition. He isn’t a born bowler, believe me. He just picked it up along the way like all Pundits pick up things during their lifetime.
- IS, by tradition is not allowed to consume flesh (that said, he may of course inhalate, copulate, consummate women!!). Not eating meat, which we all know is full of proteins and helps power our muscles, is a great deterrent to his bowling. Do note that we do not quite get the same power from eating similar quantities (weight/ volume) of “Daal” (Pulses) in a fully vegetarian diet. This definitely is a disadvantage – do compare IS’s thighs to those of Shoaib Akhtar (The Rawalpindi Express), Pakistan’s beef-eating super-fast bowler.
- IS believes so much in his Hindu Gods & Goddesses that he always has 4-6 “Malas” (Chains) around his neck. Some even are of the “Kavaj” variety, i.e. contain magical mixtures of some “Jari-Bootis” (Herbs) in a cylindrical little container, all in the hope that his performance [finally] improves, which it did not.
- IS almost bowled India out of the match!
- i.) Where IS should have helped build pressure on the batsmen, he bowled balls far too wide and not at all up to the bat. Not inducing, forcing strokes by the batsmen clearly also implied that no mistakes could be made by them. They remained comfortable at the crease and Bored the hell out of the Cricket Crazy Indian fans – the BCC!
- ii.) Where IS should have constrained the batsmen, he bowled no-balls -- one after the other he did just that (9 in all). Yes, India had runs to play with but also not that many and could have beaten South Africa by a much greater margin that the “Innings and 6 Runs” loss of the first test match in Nagpur.
- (Note on Amit Mishra: Mishra’s too are “Pundits” and no surprises here, he too bowled many a no ball – also 9 in all! Ever heard of a spinner doing that?)
Point #2 – the “Vitamin C” angle:
- Hashim Amla (HA) is a muslim for which we love him, just as we would another human being or a fellow Hindu BUT he had Vitamin C[ricket] gunning for him – and that was an unfair advantage for team South Africa against India. Mind you, “Amla” (the Hindustani Gooseberry) is very, very rich in Vitamin C… indeed it is. Whatever, great to see Hashim not hash it up for South Africa but more so, fight like a “Pashtoon” or “Pathan” would.
- (At this stage Pakistan must be wondering why he’s not playing for them!)
- There is also the HA and the “Proteas” angle. I am clearly referring to an Australian conspiracy to get India off the ‘No. 1 Test Team’ spot as soon as possible. You may also call it the ‘Gondwanaland Connection’ between South Africa and Australia. They used powders from the Proteas flowers to almost dope the Indians into submission. Check out more on Wikipedia.
Point #3 – the “Kolkata” angle:
- West Bengal’s politically orchestrated weather almost did India in. It rained and was overcast at the wrong time (Day 4 in particular). Actually, there are no surprises here: The West Bengal Government is behind even this attempt to boycott. They specially sent Jyoti Basu up very recently to organize this, all in an effort to remove even cricket from the state… what with the TATAs having shown the way out?! Let’s just call it an environment not quite conducive to cricket anymore.
- Saurav Chandidas (Dada) Ganguly was seen at this match on Day 3 but not thereafter. Why? Think about it! Contemplate what he was doing there? He had not been seen for over a decade in the stands, amongst the public, at a game where he himself was not involved. What’s the deal? Was this a recce mission of a kind??
- Kolkata’s Eden Garden presented a great pitch and for the first time commentators (Sunil Gavaskar & Co.) even discussed giving the Curator (Prabir Mukherjee) of the pitch the “Man of the Match Award”. You see, all this took away from the game -- the Indians lost their concentration and contemplated for far too long if that even was a possibility. In the end the curator and his workers didn’t even get “Bakshish” (a tip).
Let me note at this stage that it was a good match with many a fabulous century scored (7 in all), a good wicket, excellent umpiring (Ian James Gould) but you see -- it had other angles to it as well. Like all things in India, there’s always another way of looking at what transpired and in that very light let’s look at some of the possibilities:
I hear that India won by bribing someone towards the end of that last drink’s break. It is known to have been initiated with the following line: “Bahoot denge, bass, abh out hojao, yaar!” (We’ll give you plenty but do get out fellas!)
OR
Was it just the Indian Terminator Harbhajan Singh’s killer instincts and his great desire for another 5-wicket haul at the Eden Gardens? Did we just need another “Sardarji” (Sikh man from Punjab) to intervene and get some sense hammered into it all on Bengali soil -- all just to retain the number 1 slot in the ICC (International Cricket Council) rankings?
I say: “Bach gaye, bachoo!” (Got saved this time!).
One will never know!
Watch out for more abstract[ed], insider coverage… visit us often at BCC!
Happy Bored Day O healthy one
Happy B'Day Amla. Just you wait and see: once you score heaps of runs and become a star, the Indian media will claim you, your ancestors and those Guju roots. Don't say I didn't warn you.
bored joke- describe amla's accent in one word: fruity
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
