Apocryphal Stories !!!

Tendulkar has finally become the most decorated player in World Cricket. After having the hefty tag of ‘God’ attached to him for close to a decade now, World Cup was the only thing that was missing from him. If it was him who carried the hopes of the cricket fans in India, then today it was payback time for him. The generation of players that were inspired by him bought home the cup. Nothing encapsulated this better than what Kohli said. He said “ He carried the burden for 21 years, now is our time to carry him” The match itself started off in a misleading manner as the captains were not sure of what the other meant to do and were steadfast in the belief that they won the toss. In the end, the referee wanted the toss to be conducted. In what has been a superb turnaround from 2003 final, Zaheer started this final in a superb manner- he bowled three maidens on the trot. On the other hand, the surprise selection for final, Sreesanth endured a tough time- exactly the way he started off t...

The moment is here. Australian hegemony over World Cup has ended after a 11 year 11 month reign and which better team to do it than India. Looking at the match it seemed as if India became Australia and Australia became India. India played perhaps their first perfect game in the World Cup The reason behind India playing the perfect match was their much improved fielding display. The combined front of Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina did well to stop atleast fifteen runs on the field. Ashwin too did some stellar work in the outfield Australia started the quarter-final cautiously as Shane Watson and Brad Haddin took their time in adjusting to the variations of the pitch. Dhoni wasted no time as he bought Ashwin into the attack in the very first over itself. After settling in, Watson was good at picking the line and was actually looking at attacking Ashwin. But he played one attacking shot too many and was bowled looking to play a sweep across the line At his dismissal came Ponting and ...

The West Indies decline has come a full circle. There has not been a standout performer for them this World Cup in any of the departments. Although the crowd has been egging them on, the defeats against England and India did them no good They came to the quarter final clash against Pakistan on the back of those defeats against England and India. So it was highly surprising that they dropped Andre Russel, who played well against England. Considering the batting strength of Pakistan, it was thought that a total in excess of 230 would be winning one When Smith latched onto the first ball and cut it to point boundary, it seemed that West Indies were on course but he struggled with the next few balls as Gul consistently beat him with length and movement. As has become the norm from the time Botha snared Gayle in the first over, a spinner was bought into the attack with the new ball. After defending a few deliveries, Gayle flicked a ball over midwicket for a boundary Gayle further displ...

A couple of days ago, Swann said that England were the Newcastle United of Cricket. Today after the nerve-wracking match, he said they feel like they are the Pakistan of 1992. Going by the six matches that they have played in this edition, they are carving a separate identity for themselves Chennai has proved to be the lucky pitch for England as they have won both the matches that have been played here. Today too, Strauss had no hesitation in batting as soon as he had won the toss. Both the teams were nervy to begin with as Strauss saw off a maiden by Roach and then saw Smith not making an effort to take catch, running back from midwicket. In between Prior made a good start by driving Benn to cover boundary. He further attacked the same bowler by going for the square cut and a slice. Strauss got into the stride by driving a fuller ball wide of the cover fieldsman With Benn gifting a few deliveries that Prior was feasting on, Sammy thought it wise to replace him with Russell. Strau...

After watching them in 2007 and now in 2011, there seems a joie de vivre in the way that Ireland go about the things. It is this joy that makes them a crowd favourite wherever they play. When a quarter-filled Eden Gardens is shouting hoarse for Ireland, you can be sure that Ireland has come a long way. Exactly what is it that makes people root for them Its not just being the underdog but also the visible effort that they put in competing with others. They have punched much above their height here and ICC would do well to ensure the development of Irish cricketers. In the run-up to this match, it was expected that they would give a tough fight to South Africa When Docrell took a catch sliding to his left at third-man to dismiss Amla, it was clear that Ireland would not go down by putting a lion hearted effort. When Smith was run-out to a brilliant piece of fielding by Mooney, South Africa seemed to be trouble. It took the hard-hitting batting of Van Wyk to stop Ireland from bull d...

The millennial babies would have felt that this was a throwback to their childhood. Watching Sachin bat and to see the rest of the team making a hash of it is nothing new to them. To put his longevity in perspective, he played two World Cups before Ganguly played in one. Ganguly has played in three World Cups and is now a part of the commentary panel There is something dynamic about Sehwag. In the early years too, he played in the same fashion but now his batting has acquired the additional dimension of demoralising the bowlers. The flick that he played off the very first ball of the innings speaks volumes about his mindset Where Sehwag was all violence in getting his runs, Sachin was silk. He drove, flicked, crunched, came down the track and deposited the ball into the stands. The array of the shots that he played delighted crowd, connoisseurs, and common man alike. The pick of the shots he played were the crunchy cut shot past the covers and off drive past Morkel When spin was in...

After the match and the presentations ended, Naseer Hussain, made a passing remark about England. Never will his words ring more truer than they did then. He said the performance of England in Cricket World Cup 2011 went a long way in not only elevating the tournament but also the format. A little exaggerated but not off the mark at all England have played five matches in all and they have taken all their matches to the boiling point. These matches will either be remembered by their own fans or the fans of the opposition they faced. Close win against Netherlands, followed by a tie against India, loss against Ireland, win against South Africa, loss against Bangladesh. That they still have a chance to qualify to the knock-outs, if they defeat West Indies not only sets up a tantalising prospect but also more heartbreak for one set of fans After their dismal performance against West Indies, Bangladesh were hoping to avoid the repeat. They immediately chose to field as soon as they won t...

Murphy’s law can be simply put forward in these few words “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong”. Pessimists and disappointed would seek solace in those words but not Dilshan. Today he turned the law on its head and came up with a law of his own “Something that has to go right , will go right” Once Zimbabwe won the toss and chose to field, the writing was clear on the wall. Sri Lanka were expected to post a huge total and make Zimbabwe buckle under the pressure. The way Dilshan started off by savaging Panyangara suggested that they will have a tilt at fair number of records on the way Not so long ago, Dilshan was considered as an equal of Sehwag. Where Sehwag accelerated to greater heights, Dilshan was found questioning himself. Today the Dilshan of the yore came to fore with the first three balls of the Panyangara over. He on-drove, pulled, and cover-drove continuous deliveries for a four, six and four The bowlers fed the batsmen in the middle with the deliveries of their l...