Cricket

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We miss the cricket commentary in Hindi

Cricket World Cup media

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On the eve of the 2011 Cricket World Cup final, here are some gems that a friend noted while watching the fascinating 175 scored by Virender Sehwag in the very first game of the world cup: India vs Bangladesh. These are all in Hindi (and that is precisely the point of this post!).

1. Sehwag was belligerent hitting the bowlers all over the ground (and outside of it),

Commentator 1 (C1): Sehwag has scored all over the world and under all sorts of conditions
Commentator 2 (C2): जी हाँ! बिलकुल सही फ़रमाया आपने. … शेरों के कोई इलाके नहीं होते.

2. India was 309-2 in 42 overs. Bangladesh bowlers and fielders were looking hapless:

C1: क्या सोच रहे होंगे बांगलादेशी खिलाड़ी इस वक्त?
C2: सोच रहे होंगे की ५० ओवर कब पूरे होंगे!
C1: ५० ओवर तो पूरे हो जायेंगे! पर उस वक्त तक एक विशाल स्कोर भी खड़ा हो जाएगा! वो भी तोह पार करना होगा उन्हें.
C2: लगता नहीं ज्यादा दूर की सोच रहे होंगे इस समय! :- )

3. Sehwag is going hammer and tongs and a new bowler is introduced into the attack. First two deliveries were wide outside the off stump:

C1: सेहवाग इस तरह पिटाई कर रहे हैं की कोई bowler उनके नजदीक गेंद नहीं फेकना चाहता है.
C2:पर वोह भूल रहे है की ये दोबारा डालनी होगी!

Sehwag was just unstoppable! Bowlers were trying everything that they could. One bowler after getting punished severely decided to come around the wicket. He was marking his new run up when Sehwag muttered something. On that:

C1:  क्या कह रहे होंगे सेहवाग इस समय?
C2: शायद उन्होंने कहा. आये कहीं से, जायेगी बाहर ही!!!!

Here is one more that Nikhil Joshi noted while listening to radio commentary:

काफी फासला तय किया गेंद ने. लेकिन batsman ने सिर्फ बाईस गज तय किये!

I guess most of us miss these gems from Hindi commentators on TV and Radio; I know, I do!

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Indian cricket: Middle order (?) or its absence

After the humiliating defeat of Indian cricket team by at South Africans at Nagpur, I liked this one by Mickey Arthur; specifically, the following two points, which precisely capture my (and I believe most of us feel the same) thoughts.

but if the Indian middle order represents the next generation then the current number one ranked team have problems for the future.

and then

Harbhajan, who has in my opinion been below his best for several years now, must be questioning his future. His bowling lacked the zip and sting that was so characteristic in the early years of his career. He must be honest with himself and the management and selectors must be honest too. There is no place for sentiment in Test cricket — reputation and history should count for very little when selecting your best XI

Although, I don’t think Bhajji man is questioning his future place in Indian cricket team – who else do we have? Hopefully, he has targets to improve his own self!

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Dravid rested…

Finally, Rahul Dravid is “rested” in One-day international Cricket for the second time in his life. It is only about 2-3 weeks ago that I had discussed with Nikhil Joshi, and we had concurred that if there is one person who can be sure of his place in the team, it is Rahul Dravid. But, the Indian think tank thinks otherwise. 5 successive failures have put him out of the team.

I still think he is the only one who should be sure of his place. 5 failures is not enough to drop him.

If this is really the case of him being “rested” because he asked for a time out, then I am fine with it. Being the gentleman that he is known to be, he might as well has asked for it!

Else, this is unfair!

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In Comparison…

Rediff has this post celebrating Tendulkar’s 400th One day international. The post presents one of the interesting ways that people use when they try to show that someone excels in comparison to another.

Here is what it says (edited a bit…):

When he turns out against the Australians in the fifth ODI, Tendulkar will become only the second player after Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya to reach the landmark. …. Tendulkar is the most prolific one-day batsman in the history of the game with 15,563 runs in his 399 ODIs to date.

He has a world record of 41 centuries in the LOI format at an average of 44.21. He has been also useful with the ball, taking 152 wickets at an average of 44.

In comparison, Jayasuriya has 12,178 runs in 401 ODIs at an average of 32.73 with 25 hundreds.

The article never talks of Jayasuriya’s utility with the ball; the fact that he has taken 307 wickets at an average of 36.31. In comparison, Tendulkar has (as you might have read earlier) taken 152 wickets at an average of 44.

I do not want to say that one is better than the other; however, Tendulkar’s feats do not require one to belittle someone else (especially in such a partial manner!)

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Cricket and Visa

Peter Chingoka, chairman of Zimbabwe Cricket, has been refused visa to enter the UK. It seems his ties with Robert Mugabe is one the reasons. However, he was given a visa last time. Here is what the article at cricinfo says:

In June, the British embassy in Harare recommended that Chingoka be refused a visa to attend the annual ICC get together in London as he was alleged to have close links with Robert Mugabe and the ruling Zanu-PF party. This block was endorsed by the FCO. However, Richard Caborn, at the time the sports minister, overruled the ban as he felt such a move might have jeopardised the appointment of ECB chief David Morgan as ICC president-elect.

Great! Now, visas are given so that the president of the cricket board can be elected. And, once he is elected …

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Shopping with Lord Ganesha

More and more Indians read that Rahul Dravid has resigned as a captain of the Indian cricket team. I stumbled upon this one at rediff saying that his father stands by his son’s decision.

Most interesting is the following statement:

Sharad, who had just returned after shopping with an idol of Lord Ganesh, told waiting reporters, “No comments.

Well, it is really nice to note that Dravid’s father goes shopping with an idol of Lord Ganesh. One would wonder why….

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Amazing Nike Ad

This is among the very best ads I have seen come out from India. It seems shot by hand-held cameras, using “non-model” models; almost “immersive,” where you see the Nike symbol only at the very end! And yes, some great Konkani song in the background!

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Cricket: Tendulkar, 4 centuries, 4 years

As of today, since 1 Jan 2003, Sachin Tendulkar has scored only 4 centuries and 8 fifties in 30 matches at his regular number 4 position.

During this period, he has never been dropped, i.e., his place in the eleven is always guaranteed. I wonder if there are similar instances of other players at that position scoring 4 or less centuries for such a long time!

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Football, Cricket, Aakash Chopra, “All studies and no play”

Once again, Aakash Chopra comes out with another thoughtful article. At least thoughtful in the way it has been written. In an attempte to understand the lack of Asians in the English football league, he explains:

It’s taken a while to get a consensus on the “real” reason for the lack of Asians in football — and it’s a bit of a stunner. Even though football is by far the number one sport in England and footballers rake in the big bucks, it was considered a poor man’s sport till a while ago, somewhat rowdy and not quite stiff upper lip!

…

It took about two generations for life to get back on track and for Asians to relax. In these years, the face of football has dramatically altered. And many immigrants from the 1960s are now part of the English upper class and encouraging their kids to follow their dreams.

The whole article, as all of his other ones, is worth a read.

It takes me to my childhood. As a kid, I grew up as in a middle-class family in a middle-class environment. I did not see a single child that was ever encouraged to take up any sport – not even cricket. The life-style is such that our parents always wanted to minimize the risks of our failure. Good education was the only way that they (I) could (can) think of. It has not changed much even now in India. Kids, typically, do not work while in school/college. One of the many reasons for this is that parents want them to devote all their time to studies – they fear and know that sometimes life gives you only one chance and the result of just one failure can be devastating when you are one in 1 billion.