Runs : 94
Balls : 41
Fours : 10
Sixes : 6

Poor old Andrew Symonds went for 30 in an over. This was certainly SOME innings. I beg your pardon if I am not articulate enough. Its just that….well….I am excited. The IPL has just begun.

Laters

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Viru You Little Beauty!

I missed it. Darn it. I’ve to get back to cricket!

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Reliving Sachin’s 100

I have a secret to share. I have been following the tennis over this week. And not cricket. Don’t worry. Cricket is still my first love.

Anyway, Roger lost. That happens every once in a while, but it usually doesn’t in a Grand Slam. Djoker got the better of him. Good for him. He’s in his prime, and there’s a peak time in every sportsman’s career, however mediocre he may be, when they knock off the greats even. I’m not writing off Djoker, but I still believe he’s no threat to the King. King is slightly out of the zone, I suppose. He’s had to fight his way through the Open, rather than breeze along, which is customary of him. But  it’s good to see new kids take away trophies every once in a while. Kind of keeps the game from getting too predictable.

Djoker meets Tsonga, a young Frenchman, the surprise package of this tournament. Tsonga hits hard, and I’m amused by his motivation. On the ladies front, Sharapova will claim her third Grand Slam on Saturday. When I saw her against Henin, there was absolutely no doubt in my mind who’s going to claim the title. Tell you what, this kind of speed and power comes only after weeks of sweating exactly before a big tournament. This is a totally different Maria from the 2007 US Open.

On to cricket and Sachin: It’s a delight to see another one of my heroes taking the reins this time. Didn’t watch him, but compels me to say again: Old is gold.

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Sachin and Federer: My Two Heroes

Rahul Dravid is a giant.

He has close to 10, 000 runs in both the versions of the game. That’s a lot of burden for someone aged 35.

Yes, folk, Rahul Dravid just turned 35 on Januay 11th. So here’s wishing him a very happy birthday (belated, of course)

India’s best No. 3, he’s a player of many shades. More on him later.

Post from: EveryJoe

How old are you, Rahul Dravid, India No. 3?

Give him five more years, and this headline might be doing the rounds of newspapers one day.

Anyway, we knew this had to happen. The question was, when would it happen? Stand up boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen, and let’s give Muttiah Muralitharan a big round of applause on his 709-wicket haul.

Shane Warne, one of Murali’s biggest sporting rivals and who’s record he’s just broken, had to say this about him in his autobiography:

I have got to know Murali better since the tsunami. In my time I don’t think one player has been as important to his team as he is to Sri Lanka. There will be a big gap in the side when he retires. It is understandable that people will compare us because we are both spinners and we are the leading wicket-takers in Test cricket. I have been lucky to play in a side with excellent pace bowlers so I don’t have to carry the attack in the same way as Murali. True, Chaminda Vaas can be dangerous, but he is not in the same league as Glenn McGrath. For as long as he plays I can see Murali continuing to bowl nearly half of Sri Lanka’s overs and therefore take half of their wickets. My guess is that he will finish with about 1,000 Test wickets, for what that is worth.

To commemorate this great occasion, a portrait of Murali, painted by Phil Hale (see image), will be put up at the Lord’s in his honor.

–

For some of you the world came to an end, I understand. (Now, don’t give me terrifying glances, ohkay?) Take heart, folks. You’ll get over it.

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Murali takes 1000 wickets

King, as he’s known over here at Six and Out, gets our Hero spot this week, above all the Phils, Husseys, and Yuvrajs, for his could-have-been match-winning 192.

I’ve posted this before, but I am going to post his sledging video again, which is a classic in itself.

When Panesar & Co. walk out to the fields this winter, Sangakkara is going to be one man they would want to beat.

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Hero of the Week: King Sangakkara

Hero Turned Loser # 1 Andrew Symonds aka Roy:

The guy with the brown (or is it golden, or golden+brown, you better judge) streaks is one of the most active players on the field despite his size. He’s ran out more batsmen than I have seen any other player do. And I share Shakespeare’s philosophy:

Let me have men about me that are fat;
Sleek-headed men and such as sleep o’ nights:
Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look;
He thinks too much: such men are dangerous.

I like plump folks; most of them have good humor in them.

But what’s with saying T20 is crap “since you can lose to the lesser sides” and slamming India’s post-victory celebrations as “over the top”. I didn’t rant about that, because I guess it’s okay to exercise your freedom of speech, but I don’t like players locking horns with each other on the field.

Hero Turned Loser # 2 Shanthakumaran Sreesanth

When I saw him dancing in SA, I was like, “Here is an Indian cricketer who isn’t shy, who isn’t scared of expressing himself.” And he took that last catch in the T20 final. He became a hero. And although he won’t make it to my hunk list, it was cool about him that he was a dance champ and was comtemplating a career in Bollywood.

But there he was bickering with none other than Roy. A little bit of weirdness is acceptable, but when one goes overboard, titles like neurotic, maniac start springing to mind. I think I am going to settle in for “maverick” for the while. That’s not that insulting. So if he thinks that if he’s playing well, he has the liberty to do just about anything and that the world is his cricket ground…I would better warn him.

Actually, I will tell ya what, he’s one of those x-generation Indians (me, Aishwarya Rai, Sania Mirza included) who flaunt American accent and are desperate to tell the world what stuff Indians are made of. But chill, Sree, chill. You need to channel all your adrenaline to more constructive pursuits.

Oh, and you know what his first name literally means? Man of Peace!

Hero Turned Loser # 3 Harbhajan Singh

At the risk of sounding judgmental, I am going to say he’s been overrated. He’s talented, yes, but his lack of consistency has always put me off. Big time. But I had still liked him for this stints at bhangra.

I have heard he uses obnoxious abuses on the field. Now this isn’t news, I know. You put a bunch of guys on a field and what else do you expect (this was an ongoing problem over the sports fields at school)? Sledging comes naturally to them. BUT. This is ODI cricket! Can we expect some etiquette, Sir?

Full stop. Rant over. Your turn.

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Heroes (read: losers) of the Week

I had kind of always admired him, not in the girly way, but for his swashbuckling batting knocks and also, er, um, his locks.

Dhoni’s Cricketing Career’s Top Three Highlights:

1. He first sprang to worldwide notice after a 183 not-out off 145 balls against Sri Lanka at Jaipur during their 2004-05 tour of India. This happened to be the highest total by a wicket-keeper. I hope it still is. Stats change everyday, ya know.

2. He equaled Adam Gilchrist’s (who happens to be his inspiration) record for highest number of dismissals in an ODI innings in September 2007 against England at the Natwest Trophy. He caught five players behind the wicket and stumped one.

3. He lead the Indian team to championship victory at the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup in Sept 2007.

I think he’s cool because…

1. After John Abraham, he’s got the sexiest-looking locks in the country. What’s more– he keeps experimenting with his hairstyle just so that I won’t get bored. Ha.

2. On a more serious note, his prowess with getting everyone to work together as a team is the key to his leadership skills. As someone who held leadership positions at school, I can say if someone has succeeded in getting that done in his very first stint as a skipper, he’s probably gifted with what Justin Menkes would call executive intelligence.

3. Like some of the world cup captains, he did not seem to want to devour all the credit alone, and neither did he pine to be center staged every time the Indian cricket team was shot along with the world cup trophy. These are subtle bits most people don’t notice, but believe me, these hint toward a guy’s attitude a lot.

4. He doesn’t bask in his middle-class status. Why should he? He’s not middle-class anymore, but I see how some rags-to-riches folks hang on about the hardships they faced. Dhoni has had many, too, but he doesn’t preach.

5. He isn’t prone to distractions. He has his endorsement deals and gets handsome gifts from the state government on and off, but he kind of never lets it all get over his head. And of course, he’s unhooked as of yet, so I presume that’s a help, too.

In short: He’s an asset to the game of cricket.

Here’s a quick look at this record-breaking knock against Sri Lanka:

What do you think of him?
Photo Credits: BBC, CricketNow

Video Credit: YouTube

Post from: EveryJoe

Why Dhoni is Cool.

Yuvraj Singh

The six straight sixes he hit has sealed his name in the Indian cricket history. And he can also keep the fastest fifty record to himself for a while.

Brett Lee

Wow, Brett “Brute” Lee is back. I think we need to give him kudos for the superb hat-trick, which also happens to be the first in Twenty20 Cricket, against Bangladesh. Remember, he also has a ODI hat-trick to his name.

Watch it here:

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Friday Special: Heroes of the Week