A decision that took the whole cricketing fraternity, players and fans included by surprise, some sad to see him go and some relieved that he is "gone". The "relieved" group is the cricket teams that have suffered badly challenging him on the field to very little success. The bigger group that is "sad" is the millions of cricket crazy fans who have enjoyed his exploits against all teams.
He is probably the "greatest" entertainer the cricketing world has seen in the last 10-15 years. There has been no one before and there might not be anyone else to match his achievements in future. Above all, he stands out as a fantastic human being too. I am sure any cricketing fan irrespective of their nationality would have enjoyed Gilchrist's display.
He single handedly changed the way the cricketing world looks at wicketkeeper batsman. Every team now wants to have a Gilchrist but in my view, no one can come close to another "Gilly" as he is affectionately called.
Its indeed a loss for cricket that he chose to retire but he chose the right way a sportsman should retire...i.e when people ask "why" rather than "why not". You chose to quit when you would still have been a champion cricketer for atleast another year or so
Thanks Gilly for the absolute entertainment you have provided cricket fans all over the globe. You were not only a great cricketer but also a "great person and a great great ambassador" for the sport. You had the tough uncompromising Aussie spirit but also had the "champion qualities in a sportsman".Cricket will be poorer without players like you.
January 26, 2008
January 20, 2008
Welcome Back!!
It has been ages since I have posted anything on my blog. So welcome to my first post for the year 2008. The best news, sports-related, has to be India's convincing win over the famed Aussies at the WACA, Perth. Yes, Perth. I would not have dreamt to type that we won in Perth...yes even in my dreams, but here we are to face the reality. When the entire world dismissed India's chances at Perth, there was a bunch of 15 people who decided to prove the world wrong. This bunch, led by a great, aggressive and a true match winner, answered the critics in fine style and made millions and millions of Indians proud. As my friend GK wrote in his blog http://whowrites.blogspot.com/ it gave us all a feel good factor for the rest of the day.
The concept of teamwork was very visible in the entire game. We were expected to struggle on a fast and bouncy track, with one guy wanting to bowl at 170kmph. A man on return to the testfold decided to attack the fast bowlers and gave us a solid platform. A fabulous cricketer, who recently has struggled to get going, decided to battle it out in the centre for an all important 93, ably supported by our Little Master with a beautiful 71. We should have scored about 400 but we folded in for 330. The next effort from team India was what gladdened my heart. A bowling trio, who would have a rating of 5 on 10 from most experts, plus a champion in our skipper decided to prove all of them wrong once more. It was the finest exhibition of swing bowling seen in a long long time. You do not have to bowl at 150kmph+ but all you need to do is pitch the ball in the right areas. Thats what India did better than the Aussies and had an impressive lead of 118.
Although we had a shaky start to our second innings, another very very special cricketer decided to release his script along with an up and coming w/k batsman. A target of 413 is going to be difficult for any team, even if you are a champion team like Australia. Day 4 will be etched in any cricket crazy fan's memory for years to come. A tall lanky 19 year old (reminded me of another called Mysore Express) gave one of the best batsman in world cricket a thorough workout for nearly 45 minutes and finally nailed him with an absolute beauty. This is what is exhilarating about Test cricket. Yes the T20 can get quick results and so can the ODI but this test cricket is what is the "real" cricket. You do not play over 20 or 50 overs but play by sessions. And this is where Team India played exceptional in all sessions. They deserved to win. Yes, it has finally sunk in that India beat Australia at the WACA, Perth.
After the controversy surrounding the Sydney test, where supposedly there were issues relating to "racism" and some absolutely "shocking" umpiring on display, the test match at Perth was a breath of fresh air and it ended up with the sweet smell of victory for India. In hindsight, we should have been 2-1 up, but if everything is looked up in hindsight, we tend to lose the importance of the "present". Let us enjoy this awesome feeling for the time being.
Hats off "Team India". You made every Indian very very proud for beating the Aussies at WACA, Perth. Yes, at Perth!!!!
The concept of teamwork was very visible in the entire game. We were expected to struggle on a fast and bouncy track, with one guy wanting to bowl at 170kmph. A man on return to the testfold decided to attack the fast bowlers and gave us a solid platform. A fabulous cricketer, who recently has struggled to get going, decided to battle it out in the centre for an all important 93, ably supported by our Little Master with a beautiful 71. We should have scored about 400 but we folded in for 330. The next effort from team India was what gladdened my heart. A bowling trio, who would have a rating of 5 on 10 from most experts, plus a champion in our skipper decided to prove all of them wrong once more. It was the finest exhibition of swing bowling seen in a long long time. You do not have to bowl at 150kmph+ but all you need to do is pitch the ball in the right areas. Thats what India did better than the Aussies and had an impressive lead of 118.
Although we had a shaky start to our second innings, another very very special cricketer decided to release his script along with an up and coming w/k batsman. A target of 413 is going to be difficult for any team, even if you are a champion team like Australia. Day 4 will be etched in any cricket crazy fan's memory for years to come. A tall lanky 19 year old (reminded me of another called Mysore Express) gave one of the best batsman in world cricket a thorough workout for nearly 45 minutes and finally nailed him with an absolute beauty. This is what is exhilarating about Test cricket. Yes the T20 can get quick results and so can the ODI but this test cricket is what is the "real" cricket. You do not play over 20 or 50 overs but play by sessions. And this is where Team India played exceptional in all sessions. They deserved to win. Yes, it has finally sunk in that India beat Australia at the WACA, Perth.
After the controversy surrounding the Sydney test, where supposedly there were issues relating to "racism" and some absolutely "shocking" umpiring on display, the test match at Perth was a breath of fresh air and it ended up with the sweet smell of victory for India. In hindsight, we should have been 2-1 up, but if everything is looked up in hindsight, we tend to lose the importance of the "present". Let us enjoy this awesome feeling for the time being.
Hats off "Team India". You made every Indian very very proud for beating the Aussies at WACA, Perth. Yes, at Perth!!!!
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