His impact outside offstump!

"On the off side, first there is God and then there is Ganguly", said Rahul Dravid. I am not quoting it here to begin my  review like a school essay, but to begin with the best thing anyone has ever said about Sourav Ganguly, the prince of  Calcutta. That is the thing he should be the first known for - his elegant batting. Over 7000 test runs and over 11000 ODI  runs is a phenomenal achievement. But, Ganguly's legacy is much more than that.

There are only two kinds of cricket fans - Dada lovers and Dada haters. But when it comes to his retirement, people are of  only one kind - the saddened ones. He would let the ball through his legs for a boundary and would also take a stunning  backward running catch. He would look silly against every short ball and would also come back to score a mesmerizing century;  He made me write '5 good reasons to drop Ganguly' in one of my earliest review and now he makes me write that he will be  missed. Such is his personality. He is easily the most indeterministic and pulsating personality to have played for India.

There are many things one could speak of Ganguly - his batting, his leadership abilities, his contributions to Indian  Cricket, etc. But what stands apart in Ganguly is his incredible inability to flinch. Right from the fast bowlers to the  media, everyone has kept bowling bouncers at him; and everytime they threw him away, he only came back to make stronger  statements, not just at the press conferences but with also his performance. 

What stands apart in Ganguly is his incredible inability to flinch

Pre-Ganguly era of Indian cricketers were tacticians, but were known to be fragile. Ganguly showed the Indian team how to  play the sport with fire. India has had equally passionate, popular and angry men like Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev. But no  one could rub off their attitude on to the other players as Ganguly did. When he was ecstatic, the entire team was ecstatic.  When he was down in mood, again, the entire team was down. His influence was immense. In a sense, he was a true leader. 

It was nice to see Ganguly finish on a winning note. It was a terrific and great gesture when Dhoni asked Ganguly to captain  the side for some 5 overs in the final test. And to see Sourav, wearing coolers and dictating the field, commanding was such  a sight. A sight that would make every Sourav fan nostalgic and delighted. That final few moments will remain in my heart  forever. On records, he is the best captain for India so far and would remain that way, for his impact is a lot more than  just record wins. He created that spark, that infectious 'attitude' which intimidated even the strongest of oppositions. He  will be remembered for his perosnality, he will be remember for being 'Dada'.

Why Cricket is life

My friend had forwarded me an article from Cricinfo:
http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/376791.html
Everyword is such a truth in that it reflects perfectly the state of mind of the 20-25 year olds around. It was a sensational read and a nostalgic one

I was shell shocked when Kumble announced his retirement. There was a turbulance that I could not explain to myself. I was speaking with my friends and colleagues that it felt really sad to see Kumble leave; This day when I saw Ganguly for the last time playing for India, the feelings got a lot worse. I would have cried if it wasnt for the "grown-up" cover on me. True, if it wasnt for cricket and MY generation of cricketers, the child in me would have gone. I cannot explain what I would feel when I see Dravid, my favorite cricket, go. Just the anticipation of it is terrible
Whoever said that cricket is a religion, I realize now that has not said it to make a quotable quote; but it is just ground truth. Cricket has been everything in life. Cricket on streets, cricket with soft ball, cricket with cork ball, cricket with cricket ball, cricket with a stick and plastic ball inside home, and book cricket. Probably movies came close to such a passion, but when Rajinikanth and Kamal Hassan got older, it did not matter. It would not matter if they do not act anymore as well.

I have not seen India's struggle for independence against the British. But if I can draw an analogy to Cricket, the Sachin-Sourav-Dravid-Laxman-Kumble era was that, an period of cricketing struggle to make India a strong team. Just Sachin, Dravid and Laxman are still around. But it is obvious that they are just clinging on. When they leave, India might become a dominant cricketing team we have always dreamt off all these years. But without them it is hard to cherish that dream-come-true.

India has found Dhoni to lead Indian cricket. Transitions have happened even during the Sachin-Sourav-Dravid-Laxman-Kumble days. But this, is a clear mark of a new Cricketing era. When these oldies are retiring one after the other, the child in me is slowly dying. Cricket might still be fascinating; but it is not the Cricket I have known, I have seen and I have grown with.

Not the way Mr. Dhoni

As posted by me as envyram @ mouthshut.com

Dhoni has this incredible gift as a captain - to make things happen. He made it happen yet again on 3rd day of the final test match between India and Australia. From a position of 189/2 at close of play yesterday, Australian side just managed few more but lost 8 wickets on day three to finish at 355 all out. I just happened to read this comment from an reader at Cricinfo "Dhoni can walk on water". That summed it up

However, it takes us back to couple of cliches ... the cliches of debates and the cliches of Cricket .

The Cliche of debates - Does the end justify means?

There is no answer to this in general, but when it comes to sports it does have an answer. Sports is all about playing the game "fair". When you do not give a chance for the opponent to win, you have not been fair. As a cricket fan, I do not mind seeing India end up losing in a quest for victory; A victory in a fair way. Now, even if India happens to go on to win, I am not too sure if I would be entirely proud. There would be that lingering bitterness of not having played fair cricket.

Indian writers have been equivocal about Dhoni's tactics. They have also criticized Australia for not taking the game ahead! We have not been fair to them on field, let us be fair to them atleast off the field! The boring day's cricket can be attributed to none other than Dhoni.

Few even claim that India was not negative, but only Defensive! Such a thin line between the two. Whatever the terms used, it was evident that Cricket was played as it should not be

The Cliche of Cricket - How to make test matches interesting?

One of the funniest remarks I have heard with respect to test cricket is the comment by Richie Benaud. When Geoff Boycott said "Test matches are boring", Richie replied,"Well ... who made it boring?!". The state of test cricket is not discussed only recently after the advent of T20, but it has remained since the days of 1950s when anything bowled at Boycs was well ... left.

Those looking for the answer for - how to make test cricket better, would have found the answer today. It was such a boring days cricket to see bowlers bowl wide of offstump and batsman not using their bat. Any rule ICC brings to halt an 8-1 field or anything the governing body tries to do will not make test cricket interesting. It is up to the players to play for a win and make cricket intersting.

Dhoni's defensiveness could have been justified if the bowlers had bowled at the stumps and still managed to keep the runs in check; trying to choke the runs is OK as long as it is done the right way.

It is so strange to see such a defensive tactic from Dhoni, who was at his aggressive best in the 320 run massacre of Australia at Mohali. Those who justify the tactics are definitely the ones who did not watch the match, but just the score. Those who would have seen would know, the tactics used by India today is not good for both the spectators and for the spirit of Cricket