Cricocity

July 22  marks the anniversary of Sri Lankan spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan's 800th wicket in Test cricket. Muralitharan picked his final Test wicket of the final ball of his career before bidding goodbye to the traditional form of cricket. On the last day of his 18-year-long Test career, Muralitharan brought up the unprecedented --- and perhaps unsurpassable --- milestone when India's No. 11 Pragyan Ojha, having blunted the Lankan attack for close to an hour, edged an off-break to the hands of Mahela Jayawardene at slip. Jayawardene lunged to his left to take a sharp catch as the the crowd at the Galle International Stadium, which had been decorated for the off-spinner's swansong, burst into spontaneous celebrations. Sri Lanka's most loved son, who made his Test debut in August 1992 against Australia, battled numerous problems in his illustrious and controversial career, most notably being no-balled for throwing, each time by Australian umpires. After Day 2 of this T

Recently, we lost veteran and 83' world cup hero Yashpal Sharma due to cardiac arrest. But his exploits in the world cup as well as classy performances in domestic circuit would always remain invaluable and cherished in hearts of die-hard cricket fanatics! The right-handed batsman, who also served in the Indian selection committee, forced the pundits to take a note when he slammed a whopping 260 for Punjab Schools against Jammu and Kashmir.  Such splendid performances and his stubborn - never say die attitude earned him a spot in the series against Pakistan in 1978. But all he could do was warm the benches. The England series of 79' was a turn around for his career after which he became a regular member of the squad.  He scored his maiden century against Australia in Delhi later that year.  As a tribute to this epic middle rder batsman I am bringing you a story about his aggressive yet promising performance for the Kapil's Devils! The Indians were still minnows and not eve

 Recently the Cricket universe celebrated the 72nd birthday of the Indian batting great - Sunil Gavaskar. Reflecting on the same I have brought you an amazing story about the birth of the Little Master! We go back 72 years, all the way to 10th of July 1949. Just two years after Independence, most of the Indian subjects were still not well off economically. Our hero also came from a not so different background.  Must have been a busy day at the Purandare's Maternity Hospital opposite to the Chowpatty at Girgaum with heavy showers adding to all worries of the to-be-mothers admitted there. Born at 8.42 PM Sunny paaji was the last of the kids to be born on the day with many from his joint family visiting him eventually till midnight.  After a couple of days, his uncle visited his nephew again, at the hospital. Sleeping peacefully on the cot of the general ward was the baby when, the sharp-eyed uncle noticed and instantly told Mrs. Mrunalini Gavaskar that it was not their baby. He h

Cricket and China rarely find themselves on the same table. But despite this fact Chinaman, the legspinner bowled but a left hander, is a known term in the cricket world. But how did this term come up, referring to the loosest bonds of Cricket and a Nation? It all dates to 1933. Born to parents of Chinese descent, in Port of Spain, Trinidad, 29-year-old Edgar "Puss" Echong not only did become the first player of Chinese descent to play International Cricket, but also brought about a revolution in the world of Cricket! It was the summer of 1933, when the Windies had visited the European giants not  only to win an away series but also to prove a point against apartheid. After being 1-0 down in the series, the Indians of the West were able to make a comeback at the Old Trafford.  It had required a rescue act by captain  Douglas Jardine  and all-rounder Walter Robins to steady  England  — so surprising and spirited had been the West Indian show at Old Trafford. First George H

 The stream of our unique timeline flows on since antient times until eternity. And with it occurs the  rigorous continuity of events as history repeats. To be honest, history been quite particular in this unique feature of itself for Indian Cricket. In the past three generations of Indian cricket, namely, the Gavaskar and pre-Gavaskar era, Sachin era and the Virat era, we have seen the pairs of siblings represent the national side. But it does not end here, as there exist so many peculiar yet interesting similarities between all these pairs who have carved their name on the fabric of cricket! First and the senior most of them were the Amarnath brothers. Hailing from a Cricketing background,   Surinder and Mohinder were second generation cricketers in the family and sons of the First captain of independent India- Lala Amarnath. They debuted in the '80s for the national side, and Mohinder went on to have an amazing career with his brother being in the headlines in the domestic circ

What do you recall when asked about '83? Obviously, the golden day when the Indian underdogs pounced on the mighty West Indies, not only to carve their claim world cup but also to stop the rampant run of the erstwhile giants. But today I, rather taking a detour from much celebrated victory, I am going to talk about a different story. Something that took place months later after the the fabled day at the home of cricket, this is a story which was witnessed on the Indian home soil. Moving back, about 38 years in the past, this story dates back to Dec 26, 1983 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. The sixth and the last match of the Test Series, which the Windians had won 3-0 and taken their revenge, was in progress. Something unseen but much awaited was keeping the fans on their toes waiting for the Indians to bat. But the coin flipped in Sir Viv Richards side and much rightly so, he elected to bat. But by the fierce bowling by the Indian skipper Kapil Dev with support from the lef

Recently, the New Zealand newbie, Davon Conway smashed a blazing double ton on his dream debut against the Three Lions at the Lords! But its significance does not end here but goes way back 25 years when two young yet formidable youngsters made their debut for India and went on to have a illustrious career along with the glory of leading their national side! Yes! This is about two heroes of Indian cricket and gems to the cricketing history - Rahul " The Wall " Dravid and Saurav " Dada " Ganguly.  When Virat and Rohit were just kids, two horsemen of Indian triumph over England and coincidently at the Lords!  On that day at Lord’s, the two young Indian batsmen announced their arrival on the revered cricket ground with contrasting knocks. Dada scored a record debut century which was only broken after 25 years by Davon Conway while Rahul Dravid also did not not fail to show his masterclass. The Test series hadn’t started on the right note for the Indian team as they lo