tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30426109467323232412012-02-02T19:32:37.687+05:30Cricketcetera (Cricket Etcetera) is my attempt to bring the world of cricket to your desktop. With my views on cricket and other things around the sport. But there's lots more here - live cricket scores, current cricketing news, an opinion poll & a flash game of cricket that you can play right here, right now. Hope you enjoy coming to this new stadium of hot cricket action!Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.comBlogger571100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-51452269419775993602012-02-02T19:30:00.001+05:302012-02-02T19:32:37.702+05:30

The Indian team has had a consecutive drubbing and whitewash in tests, first at the hands of England and now Australia. An 4-0, 4-0 score-line doesn’t look good in any sport, and especially in cricket – given our best-ever batting line-up, arguably – this is shameful if not downright disgraceful. With legends like Sachin, Dravid and Laxman leading the charge and other greats-in-the-making like

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-6258401320706200772011-04-08T15:10:00.002+05:302011-04-08T15:29:36.469+05:30

Basking in the glory of having won the World Cup, we soon found ourselves amidst the biggest mass movement that I have seen against corruption. One 72 year man has brought the mango man (Aam Aadmi) to the streets in support of a burning cause in a typical Gandhian way. The pent up angst in people against the corrupt, fuelled by recent multiple expose needed just a little light to ignite the fire,

Varun Khannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15211795190990816120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-86527968462414750182011-04-03T14:29:00.002+05:302011-04-03T16:22:30.475+05:30

It is the day after. The euphoria has settled but make no mistake, it has not reduced even by a millimeter. 45 days ago it all started with a few question marks - Will team India live up to it's expectations? What about the format? We are the best team on the paper, But? Will India be able to handle the expectation of a billion people? Will they do it for Sachin? Mercifully, it has all ended

Varun Khannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15211795190990816120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-6914846931741207972011-02-16T22:56:00.002+05:302011-02-17T00:55:11.549+05:30

Two teams (India and Pakistan) out from world cup running in the league stage and One dead coach. The headlines pretty much summed up the disaster that ICC World Cup 2007 in West Indies was. The lesson was learned, and before the fans could say "What the 'duck' was that?", ICC WC 2011 edition format was redressed and the Life Insurance premium for coaches had hit the roof. To ensure that (at

Varun Khannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15211795190990816120noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-9994778766096603102011-01-04T14:20:00.010+05:302011-01-04T15:37:44.127+05:30

My son Shaurya, just 10 years old, is a great cricket fan. Amongst his 3 most favourite players are Sachin Tendulkar (no marks for guessing it right), Shane Warne (Shaurya is a leggie, and who other than Shane could be his idol) and Brett Lee (a cricketer and a gentleman thoroughly loved by India, who my son also reveres). Ask him who my favourite all-time player is, and pat will come the answer

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-25131092772900139872010-09-04T00:02:00.006+05:302010-09-04T00:21:17.688+05:30

There are some days. Some days which do not begin as normal days. And the normalcy never returns. The most coveted moment was closing in and the anticipation was brimming. The expectations, the ecstasy, the reverence… everything was palpable as I took off this morning to a function where the Lord of Cricket, (now) Group Captain in the Indian Air Force, Sachin Tendulkar was to interact with a

Varun Khannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15211795190990816120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-1275938240753450472010-08-17T17:22:00.002+05:302010-08-17T17:33:17.404+05:30

Yesterday, during the 3rd ODI in the tri-series being played amongst India, New Zealand and Sri Lanka, an ugly incident happened on the last ball of the match. The scores were level, and India, chasing, needed just one more run to win the match. Virender Sehwag, the man on strike was on 99 and needed just one more to reach his century. Suraj Randiv, a new-comer in the Sri Lankan side, bowled a

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-75898386672332965172010-07-22T20:09:00.003+05:302010-07-22T20:17:38.057+05:30

I think it’s got something to do with the month of April. The two cricketers at the summit of all records were born in that month – Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar and Mutthiah Muralitharan. Today I, much like the whole world, will focus on the latter – the person who had announced a week ago that he will retire from test cricket after the first test between India and Sri Lanka.It does take courage to

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-83827784022832139652010-07-09T15:25:00.005+05:302010-07-09T15:57:40.767+05:30

It's been a long time since I've written. Not for any reason but for the fact that there was nothing worthwhile to talk about.Today, I came across a video link about the making of a cricket bat. Got interested and found some more links that explained the process in excellent detail. Thought this would be pretty nice info for all us cricket buffs. So, posting the same herewith.There are 3 videos

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-7837388523465083152010-05-13T15:18:00.002+05:302010-05-13T15:21:44.377+05:30

Dhoni thinks the parties that come with the IPL are to blame. The other experts feel that the timing of the IPL was a massive blunder in the sense that it gave the Indian team no prep time for the World Cup. And Arnab Goswami, a host on one of the Indian news-channels kept reminding everyone yesterday that this was a national crisis of sorts. The last might be excused as a TRP generator, and the

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-43118262273702056812010-05-11T11:07:00.001+05:302010-05-11T11:10:48.042+05:30

Started this note last night after listening to cacophony on the news channels about how India have dug themselves into a hole in the T20 World Cup.As far as the use of the short ball is concerned, the strategy was not a shock. Steyn, Kallis and Nannes amongst others, were using them regularly against Indian batsmen in the league with some success. The deficiency is an old one, and is compounded

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-32113842347430274662010-05-10T17:04:00.003+05:302010-05-10T17:24:42.553+05:30

A loss to Australia followed by a loss to West Indies in the pre-semi-final stage has led India to a curious situation. All but out, and praying for a miracle.Theoretically, India can still make it to the next stage. What they have to do is win against SL either with a margin of 20 runs if India bats first, or with 14 balls to spare if they chase. And then, pray and pray and pray that Australia

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-59203051505125920292010-04-02T00:12:00.003+05:302010-04-02T00:15:17.536+05:30

Kolkata, Kolkata... don't worry Kolkata; hum hain tumhare Kolkata. KKR were in a must win situation, as Varun had pointed out in his pre-match update, and this song would probably have been going through the entire team's mind. The Korbo-lorbo-jeetbo spirit had to come to the fore, and where else but in their home town. Dada started doing the right thing by first winning the toss, then electing

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-73965360042336428522010-03-30T01:25:00.001+05:302010-03-30T01:27:33.162+05:30

Varun Khannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15211795190990816120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-52598724212578454032010-03-30T01:10:00.006+05:302010-03-30T01:25:16.469+05:30

Varun Khannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15211795190990816120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-49103435450866734262010-03-12T18:25:00.001+05:302010-03-30T01:03:28.307+05:30

© Shailesh Nigam, Varun Khanna (for respective articles)Only hours to go! Battle lines are drawn! Another five hours to see who draws the first blood! The tension is palpable... First of all, many thanks for all of you for sending your teams in time. A few afterthoughts resulting in few changes received before the cutoff time and have been duly updated. As expected, most teams are circumspect and

Varun Khannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15211795190990816120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-39984759958790874972010-03-08T21:41:00.000+05:302010-03-30T00:54:55.894+05:30

© Shailesh Nigam, Varun Khanna (for respective articles)Less than 100 hours to go before the first ball for IPL 3 is bowled at Dr D Y Sports Academy in Mumbai where last year's champions 'Deccan Chargers' take on the Knight Riders from Kolkotta. If results of the last two seasons are anything to be referred to, Kolkotta Knight Riders are the likely favourites - that is because the least

Varun Khannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15211795190990816120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-8461193211313087832010-02-25T00:21:00.001+05:302010-03-30T00:39:55.091+05:30

© Shailesh Nigam, Varun Khanna (for respective articles)Many thanks for the overwhelming response. As of now, we have the following nine confirmed participation for this amazing contest:1. Varun Khanna 2. Shailesh Nigam 3. Lloyd Ireland 4. Kartikay Krishan 5. Ramnik Mehra 6. Mohit Pandey 7. Manjunath Vishwanath 8. Adrian Ross 9. Manish Gupta There are some additional tweakings in the format -

Varun Khannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15211795190990816120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-26619309237610957522010-02-24T22:40:00.003+05:302010-02-24T22:52:43.540+05:30

© Shailesh Nigam, Varun Khanna (for respective articles)Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar creates history by being the first human on mother earth, to ever score a double hundred in a One Day International Cricket match…Is it the first time he has re-written history books? Did anyone have any doubt that he had the ability to do it? Will this record never be broken by anyone anytime in future? To me the

Varun Khannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15211795190990816120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-55000416169456872942010-02-24T18:55:00.002+05:302010-02-24T19:19:40.514+05:30

200 runs in an ODI match - that's what teams used to score... and not just in a 50-over match, in the earlier avatar of the ODI, which was 60 overs long. And at times it was good enough to win the match. Why, India won the 1983 World Cup Final against West Indies scoring just 183, before being all out in 54.4 overs (of the allotted 60 overs), and just when everyone and their mother believed that

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-27022721008032244952010-02-24T18:06:00.000+05:302010-02-24T18:07:07.715+05:30

The highest 4th innings total by a team winning a test match is 418/7 by West Indies against Australia at Saint John’s in 2003. There are only 3 more instances of teams scoring 400 plus runs in the 4th innings to win the match. South Africa’s 414/4 against Australia at Perth in 2008, India’s 406/4 against West Indies at Port of Spain in 1976, and Australia’s 404/3 against England at Leeds in 1948

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-6256448787955688982010-02-20T13:19:00.002+05:302010-02-20T13:33:36.283+05:30

Growing up playing club cricket, one would watch the team's resident left-hander bat, and listen to the grey hairs of the team talk about something called 'left-hander's grace'. I would resent it, being a fairly cavalier strokeplayer myself, and that too against the new ball. But almost immediately, the teen-age green monster in me would nod its head at the irrefutable fact that there was indeed

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-8128612475008259602010-02-11T11:57:00.001+05:302010-03-30T00:18:52.819+05:30

Controversies, Celebrities, Passion, Money, Betting and bit of Cricket too - that is what IPL is all about. The madness is set to begin all over again and the cricket freaks like us can't wait to be part of it. Well, IPL is back and so is the magical Cricketcetera Masters - in it's new Avatar - hope James Cameroon doesn't sue us for this. Who cares anyways!!!This year's CM will be the one as

Varun Khannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15211795190990816120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-90551750449980380252009-12-16T14:33:00.000+05:302009-12-16T14:34:39.013+05:30

The 2011 Cricket World Cup, scheduled to start in February, is just about an year away. The cup is going to be played in the subcontinent on pitches in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh & India. Spread over 6 weeks, this is going to be a long & tough tournament, where defending team Australia would be trying to go beyond their hattrick of wins against others. They have defeated 3 subcontinent teams in 3

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-60335835497103447062009-11-20T13:11:00.001+05:302009-11-21T11:53:17.375+05:30

Two incidents happened yesterday, across two continents and across the world’s two most followed sports – football & cricket – that made me wonder what the role of the referee or the umpire really is. How important are they really in determining the course of a match, and how important is it for them to have the final say.In the first incident, Thierry Henry, the captain of France, in a play-off

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-19478933257574612112009-11-17T19:00:00.002+05:302009-11-18T10:32:46.063+05:30

Rahul Sharad Dravid was born on 11th January, 1973 at Indore in Madhya Pradesh, 103 days before Sachin Tendulkar was born. However, he made his debut 6½ years later than Sachin in Singapore against Sri Lanka in April, 1996. His initiation into test cricket happened at the Mecca of cricket, Lord’s in June, 2006 against England, during the second test of the series. In his debut innings, he came

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-55139828888632619532009-11-15T03:54:00.002+05:302009-11-15T16:37:07.229+05:30

Today, it’s 20 years to the day the man we all adore wore the India colours for the first time. Playing his first test match against arch-enemy, Pakistan, in the 1st test match starting on 15th November, 1989, the man who will eventually hold almost all batting records, actually had his first initiation as an Indian player as a bowler – bowling a solitary over in Pakistan’s first inning for 10

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-24265696329521584452009-11-14T13:59:00.011+05:302009-11-15T17:29:03.851+05:30

In the last one month, and much more in the past one week, there has been a huge wave of euphoria in India. And, while the character & origin of the wave is pretty much Indian in all aspects, it touches not just India, but goes well beyond its shores to every single continent – Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia, America.What’s this huge euphoria all about? Don’t ask as if you didn’t know and didn’t

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-69577133957574304882009-11-06T18:03:00.001+05:302009-11-06T18:06:57.120+05:30

© Shailesh Nigam, Varun Khanna (for respective articles)Dear Sachin,Yes Sir, we are the devils in garb of the devotees. Our so called elation on a wonderours batting displays that span two decades suddenly turns into one 'huge dissapointment' because India loses one match closely. Afterall what are 45 hundreds, 91 fifties and over 17,000 runs worth if you cannot single handedly take

Varun Khannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15211795190990816120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-53847232415195610812009-11-06T16:33:00.001+05:302009-11-06T16:45:41.424+05:30

Sachin Tendulkar became the first man in the history of cricket to hit 45 ODI centuries. And, in the process, also became the first man to hit 17,000 runs. And, as if that was not sufficient, he also became the first man to hit almost 3,000 runs (he’s just 5 short) against a single nation. Surely, signs of greatness that is unparalleled. As one of his greatest fans, I am elated. However, as one

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-32242027784297999492009-10-06T10:52:00.005+05:302009-10-06T14:40:48.398+05:30

Aussies are the world champions, and there's no denying that fact. New Zealand would have loved playing against their frenemy in the finals, but they were clearly outclassed in the game. Sure, they would have missed Vettori and many others who could have contributed, but for their injuries. But that does not take anything away from the victory that Australia etched out.Teams like South Africa,

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-4807986554135861242009-08-04T17:54:00.004+05:302009-08-05T18:21:34.902+05:30

Sachin Tendulkar is arguably the most popular cricketer in the world. He also is the most threatened. He enjoys ‘Z-class’ security, provided by the Indian government to leading politicians, a chosen few business leaders and a very few select others, who are considered extremely valuable for the nation and are also on the target list of terrorist groups. M.S. Dhoni is another cricketer accorded

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-55625136253657641652009-07-30T12:01:00.002+05:302009-07-30T12:06:31.038+05:30

Shaurya, is a nine year old little boy who has developed a passion for Cricket as a sport at very early age. Akin, to many boys of his age he loves playing cricket with his friends and takes pride in being part of his class team. But unlike his peers, he has keen eye for watching the game closely and has strong favorites and beliefs about the sport he loves. Shailesh, his father, has confessed

Varun Khannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15211795190990816120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-20254027261622643912009-07-17T11:16:00.001+05:302009-07-17T11:19:26.408+05:30

© Shailesh Nigam, Varun Khanna (for respective articles)Gautam Gambhir topped the ICC test ranking two days ago, becoming the first India batsman in over four years to head the batting rankings. In an era where T20 & ODIs are ruling the roost, this comes as the most beautiful feather in cap of this Delhi batsman, who has till now lived in the shadow of another Delhi bat who is most feared the

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-17763694015048468822009-07-03T16:35:00.002+05:302009-07-03T16:39:46.014+05:30

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I am the ultimate Test of resilience, strategy and skills. I demand a lot, but I deliver even more. I have ruled for centuries in hearts and minds of my followers. I was God once, but now I am dying. I am TEST CRICKET!!!A few decades ago my son was born. They lovingly called him ODI. I saw my son grow and prosper. Which father doesn’t like his son to do better than

Varun Khannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15211795190990816120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-22061465053158616792009-07-01T12:05:00.003+05:302009-07-01T12:51:46.155+05:30

© Shailesh Nigam, Varun Khanna (for respective articles)Michael Vaughan, one of the most successfull England captain and definitely Engaland's most successfull test captain has called it a day in his 34th year. He has more than 50% win record in tests, most prestigeous of his feats being bringing back the elusive Ashes to England after 18 years in 2005 under his captaincy. His small but

Varun Khannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15211795190990816120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-56062304588858389192009-06-22T18:20:00.000+05:302009-06-22T18:19:54.018+05:30

© Shailesh Nigam, Varun Khanna (for respective articles)So, Pakistan are the new world champions of T20 cricket (or chaddi cricket, as my friend & co-blogger Varun would call it).Did they deserve to win? I think they did, despite my being an Indian who would be the most unlikely supporter of anything Pakistani. Though I can also have a last laugh by saying in the same breath that India beat

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-80801032934888618902009-06-17T10:28:00.003+05:302009-06-17T11:14:16.443+05:30

© Shailesh Nigam, Varun Khanna (for respective articles)The forgettable Super Eight stage for India ended last night and T20 World cup enters the final knock out stage. South Africa and Sri Lanka with their undefeated run will continue to be favorites for the grand finale on 21st at Lords. What a match it would be if it happens! Pakistan and West Indies, on the other hand are the two teams which

Varun Khannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15211795190990816120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-39047544520839727572009-06-15T00:44:00.001+05:302009-06-16T11:26:54.649+05:30

© Shailesh Nigam, Varun Khanna (for respective articles)There are billions of followers of cricket the world over, many of them self-confessed fanatics. Yet, very few know about the origin & evolution of cricket. In this article, I try to put forth what I learned based on my own knowledge & some research over the Internet.While a lot has been done to trace cricket’s origins, there is no final

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-32523387651705404802009-06-11T13:18:00.002+05:302009-06-11T13:25:19.551+05:30

© Shailesh Nigam, Varun Khanna (for respective articles)The T20 Worldcup tournament moves to phase two today. The first phase was largely to accommodate upcoming nations, to allow them to show what they are made of and stake their claims to be amongst the elite. These preliminary rounds are bound to throw some surprises and this time there was no exception. Netherlands almost created an upset but

Varun Khannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15211795190990816120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-39618857055385574542009-06-06T11:16:00.003+05:302009-06-06T11:28:15.610+05:30

© Shailesh Nigam, Varun Khanna (for respective articles)Dutch courage – what is it exactly? The term has its origins in naval warfare. In the old days, the Dutch navy was feared by all other navies because of the courage it demonstrated in fighting a sea battle. This was especially true during the Anglo-Dutch wars of the 17th & 18th centuries, when Netherlands & Britain were bitter rivals, and

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-65874397888427143922009-06-05T16:06:00.004+05:302009-06-05T17:45:47.430+05:30

© Shailesh Nigam, Varun Khanna (for respective articles)If the ODI was termed as Pyjama Cricket, Chhadhi cricket seems to be an appropriate title for the T20 format. And the biggest tournament to celebrate this form of cricket begins today at the mecca of cricket...Conventionally, at the start of any tournament of this stature, in any sport, there are bound to be a few favourites. Specially in a

Varun Khannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15211795190990816120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-22194463884392889382009-06-04T11:36:00.005+05:302009-06-04T11:58:36.398+05:30

Yawn! Yawn!So, what’s new guys? History repeats itself, and every single time, whenever India & Pakistan clash in a world cup cricket tournament. For the past 34 years, ever since the very first World Cup, Pakistan has never been able to beat us, and I am sure they will not be terribly happy about this at all. Pakistanis would wonder, who says cricket is a great leveler? As for us Indians, it is

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-31432993752270228812009-06-02T17:22:00.003+05:302009-06-02T17:50:41.519+05:30

Hi Varun,Welcome aboard mate, on what promises to be a journey full of excitement.As the saying goes, "two is always better than one". And so, here we go hand in hand writing about a common passion... cricket, what else?I have also added a blidget (now, what's that?) on the site. For the uninitiated, a blidget (blog + widget) is a blog turned into a widget. Which means that others can now

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-70055792915221165482009-06-02T17:12:00.003+05:302009-06-02T17:16:29.629+05:30

Another cricket lover on the net...Slash, thanks for inviting me to contribute on this wonderful blog. Looking forward to sharing Cricket ecetera on... hmm... cricketcetera...Cheers

Varun Khannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15211795190990816120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-24676684078264144142009-03-05T09:52:00.000+05:302009-05-07T01:21:04.995+05:30

Yesterday, in Lahore, The Sri Lankan cricket team was attacked by gun-yielding, and even rocket-launcher equipped terrorists, and many players were injured in the attack. That they are all out of danger and safely back in their own country is a relief, to say the very least.This attack once again reminded me of precisely what I, and many others, have been saying for the past so many years.

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-37823110914096667982008-03-06T07:11:00.000+05:302009-05-07T01:31:32.535+05:30

India won a historic one-day series down under yesterday, finally getting the monkey off their back by beating Australia 2-nil in a best of 3 finals. That there was no need for the third match to played, demonstrates how India dominated the Aussies in the finals totally. But the world is talking a lot about that already, and I shall refrain from doing so this one time. Instead, I am going to

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-82866597510188674252007-09-26T03:37:00.000+05:302009-05-07T01:26:15.388+05:30

India are the World Champions of Cricket!!!India are the World Champions of Cricket!!!India are the World Champions of Cricket!!!Well, it still hasn’t sunk in, and therefore the twice-repetition. Just when nobody expected them to win, Indians have finally emerged as the well-deserved suitors of this new, lively, nubile 20-only bride of cricket, and the honeymoon has just begun.What a match? If

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-85164785820128484292007-09-13T14:43:00.000+05:302009-05-07T01:30:22.842+05:30

The ICC Twenty20 World Cup began yesterday in South Africa amid grand fanfare. A new form of cricket that is meant to provide wholesome entertainment to spectators – does it sound like Bournvita (wholesome nourishment for kids)? Who cares – so long as it tastes good!So, what are the ingredients of this bottleful of wholesome entertainment? A bagful of pinch-hitters – javelin chuckers who can hurl

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-36707396593973233672007-03-21T17:30:00.000+05:302009-05-07T01:33:38.884+05:30

India lost to the minnows Bangladesh in their first match. Well, I was disappointed but not distressed. After all, in 1983, India were the minnows who beat the world champions and brought the trophy home. Why did we cheer them then? Because it was us who were victorious, and David had beaten Goliath. But now, when the tables are turned on us (by the way, we're not even the world champions for a

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-45549678502794036592006-11-09T15:10:00.000+05:302009-05-07T01:35:58.739+05:30

Punter and Martin have, to use a cricketing phrase, swung their bats a bit too wildly this time. But will they be given out or even warned, I doubt - given that the umpires (the Australian Board, Cricket Australia, who are going to investigate this incident) are very vocal supporters of all Australians and all their unsporting acts, specially when such acts are against the subcontinental teams -

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-61741141932609994272006-07-04T14:27:00.000+05:302009-05-07T01:37:22.958+05:30

The first non-Indian cricketers to sing the Kingfisher Beer song “Ula la la la, vey o” (I hope this is correct – I have no intention of getting Vaughan try to correct me) were the West Indians. In fact, Kingfisher was the official sponsor of the West Indian cricket team almost half a decade back, and this Indian sponsorship gave some decent funding to the impoverished game that every man, woman

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-53783733430760630102006-05-23T17:27:00.000+05:302009-05-07T01:39:33.571+05:30

Okay! Records are meant to be broken. And also, a record is a milestone that has a certain limit at that point of time – though this limit can be extended to whatever limits by the record breaker. However, the limit does exist and it is never infinite.Who would have thought a decade and a half ago that the 100-meter dash can be run in under 10 seconds? Carl Lewis certainly did not, but he did it

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-67644968333894828052006-04-12T21:09:00.000+05:302009-05-07T01:40:46.236+05:30

Bangladesh, yes Bangladesh, have taken a 158-run lead against Australia in the ensuing test match. And had Gilchrist not played the innings of his lifetime to score 144 runs in a team total of 269 in reply to Bangladesh’s 427, Australia would have been forced to follow-on (though if I were Bangladesh captain, I would play my second inning without enforcing follow-on, and make Australia play the

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-45832517169033422002006-03-21T16:52:00.000+05:302009-05-07T01:41:44.500+05:30

It is extremely sad to see a God being disgraced. That is what happened at Wankhede this Sunday. And while I outrightly condemn the incident, in more ways than one, Sachin had it coming to him sooner than later. The fact that this happened in his hometown is in fact much better than it happening elsewhere in the country, specially Kolkata – had it happened there, then the entire Maharashtra would

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-90795437752162611772006-03-14T21:34:00.000+05:302009-05-08T23:09:47.729+05:30

The word impossible, as Napoleon Bonaparte said, is found in the dictionary of fools. And South Africa more than proved this Sunday that if anybody considered them fools, the thinker was living in fool’s paradise.Wow! What a match? Though I missed all the live action as I did not remember that this match was on. It was only my best friend Varun’s ecstatic phone call after the match got over, that

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3042610946732323241.post-8063044101636954982006-03-04T14:33:00.000+05:302009-05-07T01:44:06.096+05:30

What a beginning to the England tour of India! They lose their very astute captain Vaughan, and their vice captain Trescothick – both leading batsmen, well respected the world over for their devastating skill with the willow – even before the first ball is bowled in this series. And let’s not forget Simon Jones, England’s sultan of swing. So, what are we left with – a hastily cobbled up team

Shailesh Nigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209009019920779356noreply@blogger.com0