500 Tests, How did we?

22nd September will be marked as the day the Indian Cricket Team plays its 500 test. A lot of key players are already on their way to Kanpur and BCCI has planned out a lot of festivities around the 5 days. This occasion has already motivated me to blog about cricket again. I am sure it will motivate the players as well against the Kiwis.

Let's start with my favorite section, some numbers.

2,35,337: Runs

7,030: Wickets

1,832: Pairs of Batsmen

499: Matches

285: Players

129: Wins

84: Years

32: Captains

25.95: Win %

1: Tie


I decided to not do a All-time Top 11 because that just doesn't seem fair to me. I have not seen most of them playing and I am in no position to form views about them.

India has played a 169 matches since 2000 (33.87% of total) and won 68 of them (52.71% of total). We have won more than 50% of our total wins in the last 16 years. That is why I have decided to limit my Top 11 between players who have featured in at least one Test Match for India since 01-01-2000

1. Virendar Sehwag: Test Cricket was never the same the day he retired. With a strike rate of 82.23, his name became synonymous with hard-hitting. Almost every Indian cricket fan cherishes that day in Multan when he scored a handsome 309 to set up India's first ever win in Pakistan. Positions: 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9 

   

   Sehwag, Multan

2. Gautam Gambhir: I feel he is the perfect foil to Sehwag. Call me old fashioned but another reason to include him is because he is a left hander. There has always been a rarity of them in the test side at least. He always had the right temperament to go on about with the game. Had a couple of years around 2008, 2009 before he finally started to fade out. Centuries against Australia and England in India followed by a ton in New Zealand. Positions: 1, 2, 4, 8, 9
3. Rahul Dravid: Who else? The classic test batsmen. Still remember how easily the day used to pass when Dravid was there dealing with bowlers after bowlers. Missed out on a debut Lord's ton by just 5 runs. He proved that conditions never mattered to him by putting in performances in New Zeland, South Africa and Australia whiling domination the guests at home. Who would forget the magical Eden Gardens Test. I always get a smile thinking about Dravid's fist bump into the air in Adelaide 2003. Positions: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

   

   Dravid, Adelaide 

4. Sachin Tendulkar: God. 200 matches. 15.921 runs. Countless Memories. I still remember the double ton in Sydney as one of the most gracious things I have ever witnessed happening. I remember getting up in the wee hours of the morning and not regretting that. Positions: 2, 4, 5, 6, 7
5. VVS Laxman: Australia and Laxman went hand in hand. A hero in disguise. He formed the backbone of the Indian batting along side his good friend Dravid. We all know what he did in Kolkata. I also have fond memories of his gusty effort in Mohali. Chasing a mere 216 in the 4th innings, India slumped to 124/8. What followed was a rare mix of magic and emotions. Positions:  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11

   

   Laxman & Dravid, Eden Gardens, Kolkata

6. MS Dhoni: People who know me are very well aware of my endless love for Ganguly. More than what he offers as a batsmen, he is always a captain for me. Leaving him out was a very difficult decision. At the same time, it says the trust that I have on Dhoni. He brought that never-seen-before calm to the Indian dressing room. We had that confidence to back our ability and we executed all of them gracefully. 294 dismissals in tests says a lot about his multi-tasking skills. His match saving 76 at Lords says a lot about his determination. Positions: 3, 5, 6, 7, 8
7. Irfan Pathan: My trump card. I still remember being completely blown away by the swing he produced in Karachi. I still think that if he could have avoided injuries, he would sitll have been in the Indian side. Another reason to pick him up is that he can bat and he is a lefty. Will always remember him as extremely talented and blessed with natural swing and a little bit unlucky. Positions: 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
8. Harbhajan Singh: I think we forget that he has a massive 417 wickets to his name. He broke the Australian back in 2001 with 32 wickets in 3 tests. The impact is a bit misleading as he took 13 in Kolkata and 15 in Chennai - 28 in 2. Partners in crime with the amazing Anil Kumble. He even managed couple of test tons in back to back matches against the Kiwis. Positions: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

   

   Harbhajan, Eden Gardens, Kolkata

9. Javagal Srinath: Reminded everyone that India still has fast bowling left. Played a perfect mentor to the upcoming pacers. Positions: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
10. Anil Kumble: Broken Jaw. 10 Wickets in an innings. King of Kotla. 619 wickets. There is not much that remains to be said. Captained the time during a difficult phase and proved to be the perfect transition to future captain Dhoni. Positions: 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

    

    Kumble. Antigua

11. Zaheer Khan: Led the Indian pace regime for many years. Almost always delivered and had the confidence about him which you would like to see in your lead bowler. Ended with a 5'er in his final tests to finish with 311 wickets. 6, 8, 9, 10, 11

I wanted to include Ganguly. So so bad. I wanted to include one of Rahane or Pujara. I also wanted to include Ravi Ashwin. I never even thought about Kohli. This goes to show how strong a side we had in the recent past. This also leaves me to ponder whether we will be able to scale back the confidence and talent that we had once amassed.

I am excited for the start of this test season, It is kicking off with the right occasion. Let's hope that it is a great campaign. #weAreReady.

Horoscope, What is?

Today, I had a major #throwbackThursday moment when I suddenly remembered the horoscope that came in the newspapers. It was star-studded with lucky number, lucky colour and such fancy stuff. Back then, we did not give much attention to it, we had no financial worries, no family troubles, no major health issues as well. It did not matter that much as half of the things were not relevant. At most we used to get excited if we were wearing the same colour as the lucky colour that the newspaper said. We also tried to integrate the lucky number in some manner or the other. 

It is about the interpretation

Anyhow, that is the story of the past. After having this #throwbackThursday moment, I got this urge to read my horoscope for the day. I launched my favourite site for all things zodiac, Zodiac Mind. I navigated to the daily horoscope section, and this is what I got: 

Unresolved turmoil bubbles to the surface today, stimulating questions about your future. You might think it’s best to ignore your gut reaction so you can avoid upsetting yourself or someone else. However, the hidden cost of burying your feelings now will only become more apparent over time. Dealing with your emotions as they arise could reveal practical resolutions to your problems. Fortunately, you have more support than you realize, making the present moment the best time to face the music and change your tune.

Being the difficult person I am I decided to break it down and analyze it down to every single bit. Because why not? All my life I have faced major repercussions because of overthinking situations. So, I decided to do an analysis for myself, because that would be a safe thing to do. Jotting it down is just another #throwbackThursday moment because of the love I had for blogging once upon a time.

So this blog post: Horoscope, What is? = #throwbackThursday for newspaper horoscopes + #throwbackThursday for blogging.

Unresolved turmoil bubbles to the surface today, stimulating questions about your future. 

Personally, I hate an unresolved situation. I always want to deal with a situation when it arises. 3/5 times this approach fails. Someone I admire once told me that 'Smart people ignore' - maybe it is true but somehow I am never implement it. I always fail to ignore a situation which shows some relevance. Maybe I am not smart enough (yet). Generally, I stretch the situation to it's limit, over analyze every bullet point and end up falling on my face by the end of it.

You might think it’s best to ignore your gut reaction so you can avoid upsetting yourself or someone else. 

Like I said above, I can never do that. I have this little battle with myself where I try to ignore a situation but then in the end I politely give up and over analyze it anyway. 3/5 times, I do end up upsetting myself for someone else because of this wonderful ability that I have developed over the years. I like to think that behind this is my eternal quest to know why people do what they do. Needless to say, I am far from perfection in this regard.

However, the hidden cost of burying your feelings now will only become more apparent over time. 

Now, this is getting ridiculous. In the previous sentence they tell you to ignore stuff and avoid upsetting anyone. Now they are telling you that burying your feelings will just blow up later. This is in way is symbolic to the confusion and the little battles that I have in my head. It is always a tricky decision to bare yourself out in front of someone. Either you are setting yourself to get absolutely battered or you are in for episode of redemption, which is very rare. 

Dealing with your emotions as they arise could reveal practical resolutions to your problems.

In what I have seen, emotions very rarely lead to resolutions. You generally end up doing some impulsive action which you regret 342 seconds later.  At least for me, it never works out. Whenever I am high on emotions, I am more liking to wreck the flow rather than fix it. This also has to do with the fact that I think I am always in extremes, either too high or too low. Middle Way or Middle Path is an important concept in Buddhism, Gautama Buddha used it to describe the character of the Noble Eightfold Path. It apparently leads to a better quality of lie or what not. Well.

Fortunately, you have more support than you realize, making the present moment the best time to face the music and change your tune.

If I have learnt one thing it is that you cannot face enough music in your life, there is always something new round the corner. Exception being if all your band members are dead. Okay, I agree bad joke. Support is a very tricky domain as we don't know how it will end, you can upload all your shit to the person who is trying to help you. How they react is a different ball game. For all you know, the whole upload will just make them blast. Sigh, life is tricky. So is taking help from other people and changing your musical tunes. *soft cries*



Your whining,

Aakarsh

Of Wrath and Warmth

I have been wondering why the worst fights or arguments that we have are with the ones that are closest to us. How easily the people, we otherwise protect, become safe targets of passing by aggression. More often that not these are temporary stupid fights which sort themselves off on their own in some time. For the time when this train is derailed though, you are caught in the two states, one where you want to be aggressive and the other where you keep asking yourself whether you really want to be in this argument.

I read an article the other day about aggression, which said that there are two types of them, direct and indirect. Direct aggression is when you are expressive and direct in showing your displeasure. Indirect aggression is when you avoid the person and use the cold shoulder to indicate that something is wrong. The latter is generally seen in a group where there are many people and you wouldn't want to upset the whole setup.

We only express direct aggression to people very close to us, the easy targets, the people who we will rather protect. So the question that was bugging me was why do we do it? Why do we keep contradicting ourselves by these little derailment episodes. 

The first reason I thought was that we feel safe around them. Safe to express ourselves. Safe from judgments. So when your emotions had a bat-crap crazy day, you just blurt it all out without any alterations of anything.

How stupid this make sound, you actually want to stay there and argue rather than walking away. Walking away is not ideal. Walking away is never ideal. You don't want to cold shoulder them. Even though these are negative episodes, these do help in some manner or the other (maybe).

The honesty also kicks in, you don't need any masks to behave around them. You are pretty honest and that also doesn't help in stopping yourself to save the train from derailment. 

Maybe they are the people you go to when you feel down about everything around yourself. More often than not, these results in the conversation going south. But then again, maybe you wanted to do it only with them.

Lastly,  I think these little fights don't really mean much because you know at the end of them, you will swing back to the same comfort level no matter what.

All those episodes of wrath that happen between Brother-Sisters, Mummy-Daddys, "best friends" - maybe they are only because of the warmth they share at the end of the day.

Cricket 2015, What was?

I saw the top cricketing moments of 2015 on hotstar.com and on bcci.tv . They did not look satisfactory to me, majorly because they were limited by the amount of footage that Star and the BCCI must have access to. So here is my take on cricket that was in 2015. 

(In no particular order)

The Year of the Tiger

Dumping England out of the World Cup and ending as Quarter Finalists. They followed it up with a 3-0 drubbing of Pakistan in the ODI Series, a 2-1 win over sub-continent heavyweights India and the main  highlight came against South Africa, a 2-1 ODI Series and drawing both their test matches. They clean-sweeped the ODI Series against Zimbabwe to make it four in a row for 2015. They won 13 out of the 18 ODIs they played in the year. A win % of 72.22, only Australia (78.94) have better.

A New Hero?

Among great batting performances from the likes of Mustafizur Rahman became the first Bangladeshi Player to make it to the ICC ODI Team of the Year alongside names like Trent Boult and Mitchell Starc. He picked up 11 wickets against India in his first two matches and followed it up with a displicned performance against the Proteas. After 9 matches, his ODI tally reads at 26 wickets at an impressive average of 12.34.

Bangladesh ODI Bowling, 2015

India's new Test Dawn

2015 Tests Breakdown

2015 saw a heavy weight change at top for the Indian test team, as MS Dhoni stepped down and Virat Kohli took up the reigns. A tense draw at Sydney followed by a rain-hit draw in Bangladesh did not give us enough to judge Kohli yet. When India lost the first test in Sri Lanka after a batting collapse chasing a total of 176. Questions were raised whether this fearless approach by Kohli is justified or not. What followed was some good counter-attacking cricket backed by good bowling and dependable batting, for once. First test series victory in Sri Lanka for 22 years (2-1) and an end to South Africa's nine-year away run (3-0). India won all 5 matches by bowling out the opponents in the fourth innings. Two main talking points that came out of these victories were Kohli's captaincy and Ashwin's growing dominance.

Recent Indian Captains at 10 Test Matches

Kohli is second only to Dhoni, who won 7 and lost none of his first 10 matches as Test Captain. Kohli lost his first match against Australia, when he was substituting for Dhoni. Kohli has shown that he can lead the side and he refuses to give up. India got 130/130 wickets in the 7 matches against Lankans and Africans. 52 of these wickets are credited to Ashwin, who has shown that he is clearly the best bowler for the sub-continent. After 32 Test matches, he is level with Sehwag (103 Matches) and Tendulkar (200 Matches) for most Man of the Series awards in Test for India. Kohli has not been shy of giving the new ball to Ashwin, who has not disappointed. Ashwin has 152 wickets in Asia in 23 Matches, the next best after the same number of matches is Waqar Younis at 130 wickets.  

Test Wickets, 2015

Wahab's Moment

Bullying an Australian done right

In a World Cup which saw record number of 300+ scores and couple of double hundreds, it was a bowler who provided the most memorable passage of play. Shane Watson taunted Wahab Riaz while he was batting and asked him "Are you holding a bat?"  When he got the ball in the hands, he let it do the talking. He got rid of Warner and Clarke early and when Watson came out to bat, he made sure he knew what Wahab can do with a ball, he did not let Watson at ease for over four overs. He bowled over 150kph. At the end of it was a tale full of Bouncers, Mouthfulls and a rattled Watson. Even thought Pakistan lost the game and Watson got some runs at the end, this fired up spell will go done as one of the most combative moments of ODI cricket. A spell that deserves to be retold.

http://www.icc-cricket.com/cricket-world-cup/videos/media/id/4968/wahab-riaz-spell-to-shane-watson-cwc-quarter-final

The Pink Tales

Lunch replaced by Tea, Tea replaced by Dinner and the iconic Red replaced by Pink. In one of the major cricketing experiments of recent days. The first day-night Test went underway in Adelaide. Even though the test was wrapped up in three days, a nervy finished with Australians successfully chasing 187 after losing 7 wickets. Earlier, Hazlewood made sure that the Kiwis were bundled out for 208. The bigger picture though, the experiment can be dubbed as a rather successful ones. The crowds did improve as the opening day saw over 47,000 people. In last few tests at the Oval, some of the attendance figures were: 38,615 (England in 2010); 21,480 (India in 2011); 33,943 (England in 2013); 25,619 (India in 2014)

A Pink Affair

The Broad Face

With the series fairly poised at 2-1, the 4th Test at Nottingham could either seal it for England or set the series for a thrilling finale at The Oval. The answer to that was clear after just 94 mins and 18.3 overs of play. Australia stumbled to a total of 60, with the extras top scoring at 14, followed by Johnson at 13 and Clarke at 10, all other scores were single digits. Reason behind this wreckage was Stuart Broad. 8 for 15 in 9,3 overs meant that the Ashes were all but secured by England. 

Too good to be true?

Two sides of AbD

How do you judge a batsman? By the number of runs he scores? How quickly he scores them? How much he scares the opposition? Or how adaptable he can be? 

AB de Villiers seems to tick all the boxes. Two of his innings stood out in particular for the year.

The 2nd ODI against West Indies at Jo'burg on 18th January where he reached the century in 31 balls bettering Corey Anderson's 36 ball effort. He went on to make 149 off 59 balls, a strike rate of 338 in an innings which saw 16 sixes and 9 fours. The final scorecard read 149 (59m 44b 9x4 16x6) SR: 338.63

Arms of Carnage

The 4th Test against India at Kotla in December where India had already won the series. India set a target of 481 runs with six full sessions to play. Through the series, outh Africa was guilty of throwin away the wickets and easily going down against India's spin attack. But this last innings was batting at the best in an effort of epic proportions. AbD scored his first runs on his 33rd ball. His first boundary came off the 89th ball. He was 12 off 100 balls. When Ashwin got him out, the scorecard read 43 (354m 297b 6x4 0x6) SR: 14.47

Arms of Resilience?

The 90's Show

The All Stars Series to promote cricket in USA provided a window into the past as people went nostalgic over the stars of yesteryears. Sachin lead his Blasters which had Ganguly, Sehwag, Jayawardene, Lara, McGrath, Murali, Pollock, Akhtar among others. Warne had Hayden, Ponting, Sanga, Kallis, Akram, among others. Even though Warne got the better of Sachin's team. The whole tournament had a feel-good factor about it. Sehwag humming a famous Hindi song while casually hitting Allan Donald for a six should sum up the tournament for you. 

Old Times!

Co-ed Hostels, What are?

"A guy and a girl in one room"

While this sounds pretty fancy and bold, if you may. We need to sit back and talk about the whole setup in terms of our Indian Society. The Indian Society as I see it is roughly segregated in two sections. A section which is progressing and adapting to the changes around us. People who are broad minded and don’t shun away these bold ideas. The other section is left behind and is still stuck in the olden times. They are far from adopting to these changes around us and in a way poison any change they see around them. They will shrug at the mere thought of even talking about these things, let alone try to implement it.

"One bad apple spoils the whole bunch”

This saying is too old and has been overused. But it still perfectly fits the situation here. We all know how easily can people get influenced these days, try to sell something to them by saying the right things and they will easily be swayed. This applies to the human nature as well. We are all aware of the mishaps that are happening around the country. Straight from the National Capital Region to the remote villages. I don’t think I need to go into the details here. We have all read enough about them.

A possibility? 

I'll take my college, MIT, Manipal, for a case study here. We have most of the girls hostel blocks on one side and most of the boys hostels on one side. The Guards blow their whistles at the boys as soon as the clock strikes 2230. These whistles are a sign that it is time to leave the space and go back to their own marked space. This geographical division is important for something as huge as the MIT Campus to function. It gives the authorities a few lesser things to worry about. They don’t have to worry about whatever happens inside the hostels. They just make sure that the right people are in the right sectors after the right time and that is it.

Let’s assume that we had co-ed hostels on our campus. Straight off, we might see a dip in the amount of PDA on the streets. Jokes apart, I think the authorities will keep doing rounds and they will in the end result in creating geographical barriers inside the hostel as well. Because that is the only way the authorities can keep themselves satisfied. There are too many things to doubt here. A real life example will help in explaining why these boundaries will eventually come into play. IIM Calcutta is one of the premier institutes in India to have co-ed hostels. They have something called the Old Block. But they also have different wings for the girls. Essentially in our country that is the only way to make this thing work. You might have a co-ed hostel for the sake of it. Inside it, the story will be same. 

In most Indian schools, the girls are made to sit on separate benches than the boys. They are told to maintain a safe distance at all times. While the modern thinkers might argue against this. I think that this is hard truth that is in effect in India. We have a different high school structures from the West and it is inevitable that we end up with having a different policy up through the ranks in the universities as well. In a country where the modern thinkers are forced to conduct gatherings like the “Kiss of Love” to prove it to people that boys and girl can co-exist safely and intimately. We are far away from hostels which allow random and unrelated boys and girl to live under the same roof, let alone in the same room. The country is not ready for it. The sad truth is that we might never be ready for it. 

Being Sachin, What is?

This is more of a sentimental post. I wrote this for manipalthetalk.net - This was my very first article. Published on the 24th of December, 2012. It was written after Sachin's retirement from One Day cricket. I am re-posting this, memories sake.

Being Sachin 

 Twenty-three years, countless memories  

When you think of Sachin Tendulkar, your mind is filled with so many instances of pure cricketing genius, it is actually very hard to pick one out. For me those three famous deliveries in the World Cup of 2003 stand out. Because it perfectly defines Tendulkar’s brilliance. A perfect balance of controlled aggression and flawless technique. First came a six, then a four, then divine magic – pure cricketing genius. You can never grow old of watching that. India facing Pakistan at cricket’s biggest stage, Akhtar versus Sachin being the battle everyone was looking out for, some even labeling it as the most crucial. India chasing a stiff 275. The stage was perfectly set. Shoaib shared the new ball with Akram, but these three strokes, the sheer intensity with which they were delivered, shook the Pakistani camp. Shoaib was taken out of the attack after that one eventful over. You don’t expect such a fate to one of the most terrifying bowlers of the modern age. The menace called Shoaib Akhtar had been neutralized in spectacular style. But, that is what Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar does to you. He intimidates you. And then he delivers, all of which seems effortless at times, cricketing comes naturally to him - as if he was born to do this. Day in day out, he has set up so many victories for India. And all that with impeccable elegance.  

Today he retires from the shorter version of the game, which he has dominated in an unprecedented manner. Amassing over 18000 runs, keeping the ‘fame’ monster at bay. For having a career spanning over 20 years, you need to have special qualities. And he seemed to have them all: Mental Strength, Dedication, Ability to bat in different gears, Adaptability, Planning, Execution, Discipline – you name them, he has it. 

2670, these are the number of official ODIs that chanced during the time Sachin played his first and the last. He played started playing with some of the players from the 1983 winning squad and he went on to be a part of the 2011 winning squad. It has been quite a journey. We can talking about the statistics – the numbers, but everyone is aware of that. And there have been heaps of them – Runs, Hundres and Records. But, Sachin is much more than that, inspiring a whole generation of kids to go out and follow their dream – eventually making them realize that if you have the will, there is a way. He touched so many lives, with his politeness and his kind words. Think of all the young cricketers he ever spoke to, and told them that ‘Yes, you can do it’ - we cannot even start to think how much it would have meant to them – how much it would have lifted them. See him in the light of the burden of expectation he carries – the expectations of a mad about cricket nation – and numbers just seem to be the least of his achievements – Such is his aura. Because the lives you touch eventually goes on to define what a person you have been. And he has touched millions of them. All around, without doubt. 

Some Moments:  

18 Dec 1989: His ODI debut. He becomes the 74^th player to be ever capped for India (119 players have been capped ever since) – Tendulkar didn't had a dream start to his one-day career against Pakistan at Gujaranwala was out for a duck off Waqar Younis. Humble.

November, 1993: With South Africa needing six runs to win off the last over of their Hero Cup semi-final against India, bowls a sensational over, giving them just three, and India victory. Talking about it, he said that there was no plan for him to bowl – but he was feeling confident and asked for the ball. Golden Arm.  

March, 1994: Opens in an ODI for the first time - against New Zealand. Goes on to make 82 off 49 balls. The story behind it is that the then regular opener Navjot Singh Sidhu woke up with a stiff neck. Sachin requested Captain Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajit Wadekar (coach) to "just give me one opportunity and I am very confident of playing some big shots. And if I fail, I'll never ever come to you again". Confidence.  

September, 1994: His 79^th match, his first ODI hundred – against his favourite opponents Australia. Long time coming, notched up 16 fifties in the meantime. Beginning.  

1996 World Cup: With 523 runs at 87.16, is the highest scorer in the World Cup held in the Indian sub-continent. Scores two centuries and three half-centuries. Big Stage.  

April, 1998: Scores two blazing, back-to-back hundreds against Australia at Sharjah to help India reach the final and then win it. It was Warne versus Tendulkar. And Tendulkar got the better of him. Destroyed.  

1999 World Cup: Tendulkar's father, Ramesh Tendulkar, a reputed Marathi novelist died in the middle of the tournament. Tendulkar flew back to India to attend the final rituals of his father, missing the match against Zimbabwe. However, he returned with a bang scoring a century (unbeaten 140 off 101 balls) in his very next match against Kenya in Bristol. He dedicated this century to his father. Fighter.  

March, 2001: Becomes the first player to score 10,000 runs in one-day cricket in the course of his 139 against Australia in Indore. Milestone.  

2003 World Cup: Scores 673 runs at 61.18 in the World Cup, taking India to within a win of the world crown. His 98 against Pakistan is one of the best knocks played by an Indian at the World Cups. He is named the Man of the Series. Paramount.  

November, 2007: The last time he came out to bat with the other half of the most succesful pair in ODI cricket, Sourav Ganguly. With Ganguly, Tendulkar added 8227 partnership runs at 47.55, with 26 century stands - the runs scored and the hundred stands are the highest. 50% more than Marvan Atapattu and Sanath Jayasuriya's 5462. Tendulkar also put together 4000-plus runs with Virender Sehwag (4387 runs at 39.16) and Rahul Dravid (4117 runs at 44.26). Teamwork.  

March 2008: Going into the first final of the CB Series, Tendulkar has not accomplished many things: an ODI century in Australia, a century in 37 innings, a chase-winning century since 2001. He marks them all off his list with a brilliant 117 off 120 balls and leading India to the 240-run target just about solo. He scores 91 in the second final. And India lift the CB Series. Achieved. 

November, 2009: Crosses 17,000 ODI runs during his 175 off 141 balls in a run-chase of 351 against Australia in Hyderabad. It is a chanceless innings that ends 19 runs short of the target, but India choke after his wicket and lose. One of the best.  

February, 2010: A stunning display in Gwalior makes Tendulkar the first player to score 200 in a single innings in a one-day international. It comes off just 147 deliveries, with 118 runs coming off boundaries. The ultimate ODI innings. Age no bar.  

2011 World Cup: After five unsuccessful attempts, Tendulkar finally gets his hands on the World Cup trophy as India win the tournament in style. He contributes handsomely scoring 482 runs at an average of 53.55 – including two centuries. During the course the tournament, he also becomes the first batsman to score 2000 runs and six centuries in World Cup matches. The Indian players lifted him during a victory march around the ground, how fitting – after having carried the expectation of a whole nation for over 20 years, he gets an appropriate gesture. Champion.  

March, 2012: Finally, 34 innings and more than a year after scoring his 99th international hundred, Tendulkar reaches the landmark that might never be equaled, scoring 114 in an Asia Cup match against Bangladesh in Mirpur. Century of centuries, if anyone could have done it, it was him. 100 reasons.  

18 March 2012: His last ODI innings. 52 off 48 balls in a match in which Kohli demolished the Pakistani attack with a splendid 183. His career started with Pakistan and ends with Pakistan. He got the better of Pakistan in the end. The king must have the final word anyway. Alas. 

  

Some Numbers: 

18426: The most runs scored by any batsman in one-day cricket. 15,310 of these as an opener. 11,157 of these in a winning cause. Almost 35% more than the next-best (Ricky Ponting's 13,704) 

9234: 2016x4 + 195x6 – The runs scored in boundaries. 50.11% of the total runs. An exact 50, make it a happy co-incidence. The most balanced batsman of our times. 

463: The most number of one-day internationals played by any player.  

154: Number of ODI wickets, which puts him in 11th place among Indian bowlers. 

96: The most number of half-centuries by any batsman in the ODIs.  

62: Most player-of-the-match awards. 

49: The maximum number of centuries scored by any batsman in the ODIs. 63% better than the second-highest (Ponting with 30). 34 of these in winning cause. Nine of these coming against the best team to play during his time, Australia. He scored more than 3000 runs against Australia making him the highest run getter against them.

1: One man. A champion run getter, immensely respected by opponents, loved by team mates, feared by bowlers, idolized by a country and above all a humble human. To stand out among the crowd, you need to have that extra special something and Sachin seemed to be blessed with these qualities. The ability to be able to touch a million lives and inspire a whole of generation while being the best at what you do is something very rare, we are very lucky to have seen him play in person, the generation to come will only get to hear the stories. A whole generation is witness of his rise and rise in the game he loved. A whole generation see their hero hanging up his boots in a format, over 23 years, he made his own. You will be missed. Farewell!!

The United Road, What is?

This is our last embrace ... This is our last goodbye

If rumours are to be believed Louis van Gaal is set to be the next United manager. He will be the first manager outside the United Kingdom to manage the club, yes the FIRST. This season has been dismal one and where I agree Moyes was not showing progress. Maybe he could have had the first half of next season and the summer for squad building. Lets just agree Moyes was sacked for the good of the club.

I fear that van Gaal will come in and change a lot of things about the way we play, about the way we go on about things, about the 'United Way' - we have always played football a certain way, not just during the Fergie era but before that during the 60s and the 70s after the Munich disaster. "All those lads you see going to the factory in Trafford Park, they come to watch you on Saturday," Busby told Charlton. "They have boring jobs, so you have to give them something they will enjoy."

Today, we saw a lot of things that are resonant with this so called 'United Way' - a star is born in 18 year old James Wilson who scored a brace on his first team debut, a 19 year old Belgian Adnan Januzaj dictated proceedings on a emotional night at Old Trafford and our caretaker manager came down for a stroll assisted Persie and almost scored himself.

"It is my philosophy and it is Manchester United's philosophy" Giggs said in his first presser. What will happen to this philosophy, what will happen to the certain way we play football, what will happened to the 'United Way'

The times are changing and I don't know where are we gonna go from
here. The future is uncertain and it is scaring me.

The United Road no more?

#MUFC