First and foremost, my congratulations and best wishes to Sachin "The Master Blaster" Tendulkar for scoring the second most-awaited* century of his test career, the 35th century to take him past another legend Sunil "Little Master" Gavaskar. Not only did that mean a good record and good score for him, it also has put India in a comfortable position after the heart-break loss of Rahul Dravid's wicket.
The century did not come without any hiccups though. This ball from Fernando hit him on the chest.
Was reading The Hindu moments back and this is what I found there:
Behind the composed batting was a burning intensity which was in display when he showed his disapproval when Ganguly turned down a third run.Some folks just cannot change their habits, come what may. Our dada is just one of them. He has been playing cricket for a time too long to be such a bad runner between the wickets. I have long been a critic of his game and one of those who have questioned his role in the team in recent past. Not that Ganguly is a good for nothing man, he is a world-class player with his own problems. Infact, in the current game, he has played a good knock by keeping things down at his end.
This, I am sure, is one of the most important games for Ganguly to prove his mettle specially against (world-class) spinners.
- Go on Sachin, conquer the world.
- Hey Dravid, prove it to the world that you are 'The Best' at whatever you do. I (We) want a 2-0 victory in the series.
- Dada, my best wishes are with you. Let's take Atapattu back to 1999 World Cup :-)
- Pathan bhai jaan, ek Wasim spell ho jaye?
- Kumble Jumbo, remember the 1998-99 seson here? It's the same Kotla pitch. So what are you waiting for?
All the best, Team India!
Go! Go! Go!
Oh boy! Did I mention the match is being played in Delhi, my hometown? Dilli meri jaan!
* The most-awaited one, definitely, was the first one.
December 14, 2005
Congrats Team India, that's the way to go!
We were bound to win, after all it was a brilliant team effort that saw Team India beat the Lankan lions so comprehensively. Keep going!
December 15, 2005
As soon as I heard that Dada had been dropped from the team, I said
"What? Howz that possible?"
After all, he scored a match-saving 40 in the first innings of the Delhi match which also included a crucial partnership with Sachin, and then again in second innings he scored a decent 39 (again a 81-run stand with Yuvraj).
Come on, give me a break. When this guy was performing badly, he wasn't dropped. Now that he has shown signs of getting back into runs, he has been dropped. This is complete BULLSHIT!
Some of the reasons that have been stated to drop him are:
- Does not score runs: Yes. But then you should have not included him for the second test either. Now that he has scored some runs (79 in a test match is not great, but not bad either), you are dropping him?
- Building a team for the future: My foot! Stop telling the lies and tell us what the truth is. How does Jaffer come into picture if you want to build a young team?
- Not a team player: Hullo.. Go and read the newspapers, the press coverages. His teammates were the first ones to protest against his removal from captaincy. His team-management skills were praised during the World Cup 2003, and now all that has disappeared into thin air?
- Arrogant nature: Did you not like his gesture of removing his T-Shirt at Lords, as a reply to some of the most arrogant England players? By the way, don't you like it when Glenn McGrath or Shane Warne cross the limits? Yes I agree he has some issues regarding this, but you cannot drop him for that now. We were the ones who stood behind him when he did that and encouraged him. Not his fault entirely. In fact, in my humble opinion, this is not a fault at all.
- Got any more reasons?
For the past 1 year he had done nothing much, but we had him on the team that too as a captain. Now that he has actually done something good and worth a place, he is dropped. What a pity!
The reasons to persist with him earlier and drop him now seem to be beyond cricket to me. Could someone please explain the reason(s) to drop him?
The selectors, definitely, are a Bunch of Jokers and I am very sad to include Greg Chappel and Rahul Dravid in the lot.
By the way, the Kolkata crowd better start behaving normally. Sometimes, you make us feel ashamed of you when you do that senseless stuff that you did in '96 and again in the match against South Africa recently. Get a life!
For the first time in 2 years, I support you Dada.
