Yesterday seems to have been a day of victories. Well! If someone won, someone lost. So I shouldn't be gloating like this, I guess. While Australia had its revenge for the Ashes loss last year with a thumping victory (and looking forward to a whitewash, I must add), India posted its first victory in South Africa. The two test matches were almost parallel; low-scoring and with an achievable fourth innings target which the losing team almost got and would have, for they had enough time in their hands. Unfortunate for them they did not have enough men to wield the bat.
We haven't exactly been successful outside the subcontinent and any victory, however small, and mind you bowling out the South Africans for 84 is never small, is very special and needs to be toasted.
Some random notes:
Looking forward to Warne's 700 in the Boxing day test. With 699 in his bag, he is truly blessed by the Gods of cricket.
I am disappointed that Ganguly and Laxman are back in the team though I quite understand that their contributions were important for our victory. It was Greg Chappell's stand all along that for long term benefits for the team we must go with a young side and that multiple talent was a pre-requisite. To see his position undermined by some fathead (literally) who doesn't know which end of the bat to hold, is sad.
I applaud Damien Martyn who had the guts to retire when he could have clung on. I am not sure if there was any arm twisting involved but if he did what he did, of his volition, I salute him. Darren Lehmann did the same a year or so back to give room for Andrew Symonds. Sourav and Sachin should take a lesson from them. What if we don't have matchwinners amongst us for a while.
There is a rumour making its round that Hussey is a cyborg sent from the future to maintain Australian supremacy in cricket. I am tempted to believe it.
To more victories!
Time whizzes by and I, I write of glimpses I steal
4 comments:
Stumbled upon your Tam Bram post. Pretty funny:) Thanks for quoting me!
Looking forward to Warne's 700 in the Boxing day test. With 699 in his bag, he is truly blessed by the Gods of cricket.
ROFL!
p.s: New Year's Eve will be quite dull without you :P
Don't agree with you there Ram. Australian has shown what experienced cricketers can do for a team. They have 5 players over 35. Its not the age, but the experience that matters most when the going gets tough. And it was evident in the way both Ganguly and Laxman batted in the first test.
The same wouldn't have been possible if we had someone like Kaif and Raina there in the team, infact the middle order looked very dodgy without the presence of both Ganguly and Laxman since the openers werent firing.
And you cant compare a mediocre player like Martyn to Ganguly and Tendulkar. Martyn was never an extra ordinary batsmen, he was one of the average players and cant be compared to champions like Tendulkar (hello 35 test centuries ???) and Ganguly (22 one day hundreds!)
Thats exactly the problem with us Indians. The grass is always greener on the other side. Instead of celebrating the test win, we are talking about being "Disappointed that Ganguly and Laxman were in the side and that they should learn from Martyn"
SIGH!
My 20000 cents for the day!
Lets hope India Fires tonight
Ridhish
I don't, for one second, doubt that Laxman and Ganguly were important for our victory in SA. And I AM glad that we won. But as I said, I am more disappointed tht Greg Chappell was overruled.
Martyn may not be a classy player like Ganguly or Sachin but he was quite the workhorse. Come on, he averages over 40 in both forms of cricket.
But having said that Ganguly n Sachin must retire, I hope they do play for a few more years and help India win some more.
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