© 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 team sport, there is a fair and close to accurate prediction of who will emerge the champion. The basis of the prediction being - quality of players, their form, recent results and playing conditions. However, if one was to look at T20 history (whatever little we have), whether in previous worldcup or the two IPLs, the champions were hardly a team which fulfilled the above criteria. India started as underdogs in the WC in South Africa, who thought Rajasthan Royals will bring glory in IPL1... Deccan Chargers?? Need I say more...
The argument is that, well there is indeed some trend... unlikeliest team is likely to win. Now if an unlikely team is likely, then it is not a unlikely team! Isn't it? Or have I managed to confuse you...?
But the fact of the matter is that in a game of cricket which is as short in length as chhaddi, one really can't predict. One player out of 22 on field in a given match can win (or for that matter loose) a match for you. He doesn't necessarily be in the best of form lately nor does he have to be a star in his own right (ask Joginder Sharma). So if anyone claims to predict the winner accurately, he/she may do it at his/her own peril. No doubt that one would want India to win, but without a prediction.
Various aspects of this shorter version of the game are hugely debated. A purists may feel that this is not cricket at all and that the rigour and persistence of a test match is the real test of supremacy. The others may feel the shorter version is more enjoyable, guarantees a result and respects time. All arguments and the counters thereof are accepted and respected, to each his own! But the amazing thing is that Cricket has always existed in multiple forms. The game of bat and ball, where runs are scored and wickets fall, exists in much more varied forms than probably any other sport. Consider this...
A toddler grows a little, barely having learnt to walk, is gifted a plastic bat and a plastic ball (which makes more sound than bounce). His loving father hands over the bat to the kid and rolls the ball towards him on the ground. Almost instinctively, the little one tries to hit it with the bat, preventing the ball to hit an invisible wicket behind him. At times the ball does roll behind him and a father smiles silently within for having taken a wicket. It is cricket in one form.
Then, once this kid gets a little older, he plays with the bouncy rubber ball and make shift wooden bat... probably the tool used for washing clothes in good old days. The ball too, spins like a serpent with a tiny tweak of fingers while bowling underarm. This cricket is played on terraces without a team. You contest alone, score your individual runs trying to beat four others. Basic rule is same, you stop batting once you are out... although the manner in which you can get out are far too many than the conventional cricket. One tip and one hand catch is out, you hit the ball outside the terrace is out, the ball hits you three times on your leg is out and many more. This is another form of cricket for you.
Then there is one form of cricket which we played much to the annoyance of our Mothers. Cricket was played inside your bedroom or drawing room, usually when it was raining outside, ironically keeping your thirst for cricket unquenched, or in summer vacations when it was too hot for you to step outside. You hit the bed and it is four, but if you hit the glass table you are out. You hit the TV and you stop playing. There you go... that was cricket, wasn't it?
Of course you would remember your school cricket, which in itself was played under various formats. Those games in the recess for which you happily skipped your meal, or the one played in the 'games' period. Format & rules adjusted for time, number of players, availability of a bat... so and so forth.
Around this time, you get inducted to a leather ball and other equipment which becomes necessary with it. There is a giant leap in the way you start playing now. The format now is more of T20 that we see played internationally. 20-25 overs matches, players from batting side doing the umpiring, the just-unjust decisions and the scoring fiascoes. This format is usually same (or rather similar) unless you go on to play professionally with a club, state, country etc. The corporate tournaments also follow the same format...
One cannot imagine any other sport followed in so many different formats. The most popular sport in the world today is football (or soccer as it is called in some parts) and the only variations that are possible in the game is adjustment of duration and number of players... that's it! Now how's that!
Today, as another chapter in the newest form of international cricket is added, I feel great to be a proud follower of this game, in each of it's shade. The nuances attached with the rules, conflicts associated with use and lack of technology, the differences acceptability of formats at top level and all those controversies which are integral part of this game, which invokes nothing but passion.
Long live Cricket!!! I love this game!!! And may the best team win!!!
Varun Khanna
Friday, June 5, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
India demolish Pakistan in a World Cup yet again
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 just a great reveler.
Even though this was a warm-up match, nothing associated with this game would suggest so. The tickets for the entire stadium were sold out 2 days in advance. The crowds donning their country colours, cheering and jeering with mad frenzy on every boundary & wicket, made it seem like the final before even the first ball is bowled in the actual tournament. And the intensity with which Pakistan batted in the first inning, surpassed by India in the second inning, hinted that this was not just a friendly warm-up match, but a battle which both sides wanted to win under any circumstances. So much so that when Harbhajan dropped a catch early on, there was genuine sorrow being seen on his face and his compatriots, and the Indians amongst the crowds were groaning and the Pakistanis celebrating. The whole atmosphere was electric to an extent that even the final would be proud of.
With the kind of response this match generated, guess England would want to become the neutral venue for all Indo-Pak matches – it’ll ensure capacity crowds and great television earnings in a country which fathered this great game, but where football is pushing this into the background. But then which country won’t like to play host to an Indo-Pak game? The rivalry has become bigger than the Ashes, and I think it is time that this also is given a commemorative name – how about “Clashes”? (…No pun intended).
158/6 that Pakistan scored, after winning the toss and electing to bat first, was by all means a decent score, and one that should not have been too difficult to defend. At least, one would have assumed that the match would have been a cliff-hanger, going to the last over if not the last ball, before either side emerged victorious. The bowlers were not entirely effective, and India had to employ 7 of them. The fact that 5 of them did snare a wicket each and kept giving crucial breaks meant that India were able to stop Pakistan at a chase-able, under 8 target. And with 158 on the board, even Pakistan would not have been too unhappy going in to bowl in the 2nd innings.
When Gautam Gambhir & Rohit Sharma walked out to open the Indian innings, many would have felt Sehwag’s absence, who is out because of injury. However, the two openers were out on a mission and ensured that there were no twists in the tale, and went on to score at will, marauding the Pakistanis. Incidentally, Pakistan too employed 7 bowlers, but only 1 of them could get the sole wicket to fall – Rohit Sharma who scored a brilliant 80 off 53 balls. When he departed, the score stood at 140/1 with 4 overs still to go to chase the balance 18 runs. Undoubtedly, Pakistan’s fate was already sealed. Gambir & Dhoni completed the formalities of hammering in the last nail in Pakistan’s coffin in the very next over, and India romped home in front of a 23,000-capacity crowd in style, with 9 wickets to spare.
For us Indians, the final has been played, even before the first ball being bowled in the actual tournament, and India has once again crushed Pakistan on the world stage to emerge victorious. Whatever happens hereon in the tournament is not so very relevant.
As I finish writing this, a thought has just drifted into my mind - why can’t we settle all disputes between India and Pakistan peacefully through a cricket match once and for all? Condition being, it is played at a world cup tournament.
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 just a great reveler.
Even though this was a warm-up match, nothing associated with this game would suggest so. The tickets for the entire stadium were sold out 2 days in advance. The crowds donning their country colours, cheering and jeering with mad frenzy on every boundary & wicket, made it seem like the final before even the first ball is bowled in the actual tournament. And the intensity with which Pakistan batted in the first inning, surpassed by India in the second inning, hinted that this was not just a friendly warm-up match, but a battle which both sides wanted to win under any circumstances. So much so that when Harbhajan dropped a catch early on, there was genuine sorrow being seen on his face and his compatriots, and the Indians amongst the crowds were groaning and the Pakistanis celebrating. The whole atmosphere was electric to an extent that even the final would be proud of.
With the kind of response this match generated, guess England would want to become the neutral venue for all Indo-Pak matches – it’ll ensure capacity crowds and great television earnings in a country which fathered this great game, but where football is pushing this into the background. But then which country won’t like to play host to an Indo-Pak game? The rivalry has become bigger than the Ashes, and I think it is time that this also is given a commemorative name – how about “Clashes”? (…No pun intended).
158/6 that Pakistan scored, after winning the toss and electing to bat first, was by all means a decent score, and one that should not have been too difficult to defend. At least, one would have assumed that the match would have been a cliff-hanger, going to the last over if not the last ball, before either side emerged victorious. The bowlers were not entirely effective, and India had to employ 7 of them. The fact that 5 of them did snare a wicket each and kept giving crucial breaks meant that India were able to stop Pakistan at a chase-able, under 8 target. And with 158 on the board, even Pakistan would not have been too unhappy going in to bowl in the 2nd innings.
When Gautam Gambhir & Rohit Sharma walked out to open the Indian innings, many would have felt Sehwag’s absence, who is out because of injury. However, the two openers were out on a mission and ensured that there were no twists in the tale, and went on to score at will, marauding the Pakistanis. Incidentally, Pakistan too employed 7 bowlers, but only 1 of them could get the sole wicket to fall – Rohit Sharma who scored a brilliant 80 off 53 balls. When he departed, the score stood at 140/1 with 4 overs still to go to chase the balance 18 runs. Undoubtedly, Pakistan’s fate was already sealed. Gambir & Dhoni completed the formalities of hammering in the last nail in Pakistan’s coffin in the very next over, and India romped home in front of a 23,000-capacity crowd in style, with 9 wickets to spare.
For us Indians, the final has been played, even before the first ball being bowled in the actual tournament, and India has once again crushed Pakistan on the world stage to emerge victorious. Whatever happens hereon in the tournament is not so very relevant.
As I finish writing this, a thought has just drifted into my mind - why can’t we settle all disputes between India and Pakistan peacefully through a cricket match once and for all? Condition being, it is played at a world cup tournament.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Welcome aboard!!!
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 showcase this blog onto their website or blog, simply by adding this widget through a simple download. Link is: http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/cricketcetera.
And yes, before I forget, I've also added a new poll, for which votes are invited - "Who do you think will win the ICC World Twenty20 2009 Championship?" Just go to the poll section & check the team you think will win, and finally we'll see if together we got it right.
I've also added an automated mailing list of friends who will automatically get an e-mail whenever a blog is added here. All the usual suspects are on it... so no missing a blog ever! Cool, eh?
The action is hotting up in this stadium. Hopefully, together we will team up to play an exciting inning that everyone will enjoy!
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 showcase this blog onto their website or blog, simply by adding this widget through a simple download. Link is: http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/cricketcetera.
And yes, before I forget, I've also added a new poll, for which votes are invited - "Who do you think will win the ICC World Twenty20 2009 Championship?" Just go to the poll section & check the team you think will win, and finally we'll see if together we got it right.
I've also added an automated mailing list of friends who will automatically get an e-mail whenever a blog is added here. All the usual suspects are on it... so no missing a blog ever! Cool, eh?
The action is hotting up in this stadium. Hopefully, together we will team up to play an exciting inning that everyone will enjoy!
Look Ma... I turned a co-blogger!!!
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
Slash, thanks for inviting me to contribute on this wonderful blog. Looking forward to sharing Cricket ecetera on... hmm... cricketcetera...
Cheers
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