When Kaluwitharana scored 0 in 70-run partnership

August 8, 2020 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

Long before the format of T20 came into existence, Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana of Sri Lanka batted in the 50-over format just like batsman do in the shortest format of the game today. They started batting this way in the 1996 World Cup, which Sri Lanka won against various odds.

This was a rare sight then to see both batsmen attacking the bowlers. In those days such jobs were generally given to pinch-hitters. For those who don’t know, a pinch-hitter is a bowler who is sent up the order just to slog and increase the run rate. But in the case of the two Sri Lankan openers, both were proper batsmen who batted like pinch-hitters.

In the 1992 WC, New Zealand’s Dipak Patel started a new practice of a spinner opening the bowling. The antics of the two Sri Lankan batsmen did the same in the 1996 WC.

Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana soon became known for demolishing bowling attacks in their style. It is believed that the Indian pace bowler Manoj Prabhakar’s career was ended by the duo in the league match of the 1996 World Cup.

As expected, the duo continued their style after the ’96 WC too. The next series Sri Lanka played was the Singer Cup in Singapore which also had India and Pakistan. Jayasuriya was considered more destructive of the two. This was proved after Kaluwitharana couldn’t do much with the bat in the series.

In the first match of the Singer Cup, Jayasuriya blasted the Pakistani bowling line-up as he set a new world record for the fastest hundred in ODIs in just 48 balls [this record was broken in the same year by Shahid Afridi in 37 balls against Sri Lanka]. He broke the record of Mohammed Azharuddin by a long way who had reached the triple figure in 62 balls against New Zealand in 1988.

Sri Lanka won the match and it seemed they would clinch the series. The team met Pakistan in the final who were all out on just 215. It seemed the chase would be a cake-walk for Sri Lanka considering their form. I remember commentator Charu Sharma wondering if the match would end in just 30 overs.

When Jayasuriya was batting, it looked like Sri Lanka would reach the target even before 30 overs as the batsman, this time, broke the record of the fastest 50 in just 17 balls! The previous record holder was Simon O’Donnell who had scored half century in 18 balls against Sri Lanka in 1990.

While Jayasuriya was batting as if he the opposition is a school team, Kaluwitharana, his partner, was kept quiet and away from the strike as well. He was eventually out when the team score was 70.

Also read: When 2 part time bowlers opened the bowling for Australia

Strangely, Kaluwitharana’s contribution in the 70-run partnership was 0 in 11 balls! I am yet to see any such incident where two batmen, especially openers, had a partnership of well above 50 and the contribution of one of the two is nil! [In case somebody knows about any such occurrence, please enlighten me].

But there was more surprise in store. The match turned out to be a major surprise for everyone as Sri Lanka were all out for just 172 despite Jayasuriya scoring 78 in just 28 balls. None of the batsmen could do much and Pakistan made a dramatic comeback to lift the Singer Cup.

Additional reading:

The only time Sachin Tendulkar was NOT selected in the team, neither injured nor rested

When hearing issues stopped India from winning against England

When Navjot Sidhu and Ajay Jadeja were rivals on Sundays

July 4, 2020 by Keyur Seta 9 Comments

The phrase ‘reality show’ has been in the vogue since a decade and a half. But there were a lot of popular reality shows back in the 1990s. The only difference was that they weren’t termed as ‘reality shows.’

Not many would remember that we also had cricket reality shows in the 1990s in which some popular and successful former and current [at that time] cricketers used to perform. One such show was hosted by the great Mohinder Amarnath. It was a quiz show were ex-cricketers like Sandeep Patil, Atul Wassan, Roger Binny, Sayed Kirmani, etc, used to participate.

But one competitive show that excited kids and adolescents a lot in the 1990s featured Navjot Singh Sidhu and Ajay Jadeja. The reason this show stood out was that it wasn’t a quiz show.

Interestingly, the show tested indoor cricket skills of youngsters. It used to air on Sundays before lunch time on Star Plus.

This is how it worked. Sidhu and Jadeja were two captains whose teams would participate against each other. Each team would have youngsters who were commoners or cricket enthusiasts or budding cricketers.

Interestingly, players used to wear coloured clothes with one team wearing blue and the other orange. [On a lighter note, whoever thought that Indian players wore orange for the first time in their 2019 World Cup match against England was wrong]

Both teams used to participate in a number of indoor cricket games. This included Chinese cricket, juggling the ball on the bat, trying to hit the stumps from a distance, etc.

But one that I loved the most was a box cricket game with ‘ek tappa out’ rule. It meant that a batsman can be given out even if the fielder catches the ball after one bounce. There was a complete relatability factor since we used to play with the same rules in our colonies.

While batting in the stadium, Sidhu was known for coming down the track to the spinners, including Shane Warne and Muttiah Murlidharan, and lofting them for huge sixes. He used to dance down the track in this format too, but only to play the ball along the ground, as were the rules.

Also see: Forgotten Cricket Moments: The real Lagaan match at Brabourne Stadium

Jadeja was the best Indian fielder in that era. He used to showcase his fielding skills in this show too. Sidhu also became a much better fielder but that was much later; maybe just a year before he announced retirement.

It was a much admired show then among cricket fans. Of course, it was the era when Hindi television had content to offer; much before the saas-bahu pollution ruined it.

What made the show special was that the two cricketers involved in it weren’t ex-players. Both Sidhu and Jadeja were in form current players then. They used to somehow take time out of their busy cricketing schedules to shoot for this show.

I have been trying to remember the name of the show since few weeks now but to no avail. But a couple of cricket enthusiasts recently told me it was named ‘Kricket.’

Strangely, not only is there not a single video of this show, I couldn’t even find a mere mention of it in any article or post.

Additional reading:

England also had one Mark Waugh who also batted well and bowled off-spin

When 2 part-timers opened the bowling for Australia

May 16, 2020 by Keyur Seta 3 Comments

The mid to late 1990s saw the rising of Sri Lanka. After becoming the unlikely heroes of the 1996 World Cup, they became one of the bigshots of the ODIs (one-day internationals), along with Australia. So, a match between Sri Lanka and Australia was considered a clash of the titans, especially after their clash in the 1996 WC Finals.

But this particular match between Sri Lanka and Australia is remembered for the latter’s bowling strategy that, to put frankly, was weird. This was the third match of the 1996 Singer World Series played at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The other two teams in this quadrangular series were India and Zimbabwe.

In the match in question, Australia batted first and scored 228 for 9 with Michael Bevan top-scoring with 56 and Sri Lanka’s Upul Chandana taking 3 for 38.

Here came the baffling part when Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana came onto bat. Australia had a deadly pace bowling line-up of Glenn McGrath, Damien Fleming and Jason Gillespie. But the bowling was opened by Steve Waugh and, hold your breath, Stuart Law!

On top of that, Law, who bowls leg-spin, was asked to bowl medium pace. He had just 12 wickets when his career was over. Steve Waugh was a useful bowler but why would you give him the new ball when you have three match-winning frontline pacers? And on top of that, Waugh and Law had to bowl to the most dreaded opening pair of Jaysuriya and Kaluwitharana.

This move had baffled me when I was a kid. Recently as I saw the scorecard of that match, I got another surprise. Except McGrath, Fleming and Gillespie, Australia didn’t play a single regular bowler in the match! I am yet to find any other instance of a team playing with only three regular bowlers.

Plus, they employed such a tactic in a match where they were pitted against, what was then considered, a dangerous batting order. If there were injury issues, they could have played some other bowler from the squad.

Playing only three regular bowlers meant that they needed to get 20 overs from non-regular or part-time bowlers, which is a daunting task. Maybe that’s why they wanted to finish off some of those 20 overs right at the start. Or maybe they wanted to give an easy time to the opening batsmen and then make them face some deadly bowling by the three regulars. Either way, it didn’t make sense.

But funnily enough, the weird tactic almost worked for Australia. Sri Lanka, at one stage, were reduced to 81 for 5, which made the target look steeper than it was. But the Lankans fought back and won comfortably with 4 wickets in hand. Aravinda de Silva top-scored with 83 not out while Roshan Mahanama made 50.

I guess not making a good fourth and fifth bowling option cost Aussies the match. Interestingly, in the other two league matches, Australia played four regular bowlers but in the final against Sri Lanka, they again played only 3 and paid the price as the Lankans won the cup.

Highlights of the final match of the series

But more surprising was the move in the league match were Waugh and Law opened the bowling. I am unable to find any other example of 2 non-regular bowlers opening the bowling in an ODI.

If you know any other such instance, please mention in the comments’ section.

Additional reading: Forgotten Cricket Moments: The real Lagaan match at Brabourne Stadium

Only time Tendulkar was NOT selected in team India, neither injured nor rested

England’s Mark Waugh also batted well & bowled off-spin. Here’s more…

Filmi way to look at Sachin Tendulkar’s 200 in ODIs: Birthday Special

April 23, 2020 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

Sachin Tendulkar’s 200 not out against South Africa at Gwalior in 2010 remains one of the biggest highlights of his illustrious career. It was the first time that any batsmen reached a double hundred in one-day internationals (ODIs). On Tendulkar’s 47^th birthday, here’s revisiting the match, which India won by a massive margin of 153 runs, but in a different way.

Today, after 10 years of the knock, I feel it was one of those things that were destined to happen only to him. That fate always wanted Tendulkar to be the first double centurion in ODIs. It appears more so if you look at it like a movie script.

Every story has a protagonist. Here it’s Tendulkar. Every story has an aim. In this one, it is to ensure that he becomes the first batman in the world to score 200 in ODIs. Few conflict elements or obstacles in the path are a must for every story to become interesting.

The first obstacle came back in 1997 when Pakistan’s Saeed Anwar was all set to become the first batsman in the world to achieve the feat in the match against India during India’s Independence Cup. However, he fell short of just six runs when he was dismissed on 194. The man who got his wicket was Tendulkar. The little master would never let anyone else reach the milestone.

Two years later, the protagonist got a chance to reach the aimed number against New Zealand but there weren’t enough overs left. He remained not out on 186.

Also see: Sachin Tendulkar’s 8 best bowling performances

The next conflict came three years later when it looked like Sanath Jayasuriya will easily achieve the feat when he was batting on 189 against India at Sharjah. Sometimes the hero requires timely help from hero ka dost and this time it was Sourav Ganguly who kept the chances of the hero being the first to reach that score high. He got Jayasuriya out stumped.

The protagonist had to wait for nine long years to get another opportunity to reach that score against New Zealand at Christchurch. He surpassed 160 well before 50 overs. It seemed as if it was just a matter of time before Tendulkar would reach 200. Everything was going well and he didn’t look like getting out that day.

But then came a sorrowful plot twist in the form of a stomach muscle injury in the 45^th over. The protagonist had to go back retired hurt and would have to start all over again some day!

Also see: Only time Tendulkar was NOT selected in team India, neither injured nor rested

The drama and uncertainty continued almost a year later when the little big man was nearing 200 again; this time against South Africa at Gwalior. Will he finally? That was a question on people’s minds when it seemed like Mahendra Singh Dhoni wasn’t in the mood to give Tendulkar the strike.

But Tendulkar finally got a chance to face the bowling when he was on 199. As Dale Steyn was running into bowl, one could imagine the flashing images from the past whenever the Little Master couldn’t reach that number due to various reasons. The fateful delivery is finally bowled and the hero quietly takes a single.

That was it! Rejoice!

(If I was well-versed with video editing, I would have made a video out of this. If someone is still willing to do that, please get in touch.)

Forgotten Cricket Moments: The real Lagaan match at Brabourne Stadium

April 12, 2020 by Keyur Seta 3 Comments

Ashutosh Gowariker’s Lagaan (2001) remains of the most iconic and exciting films to have come out of not just Hindi but Indian cinema. Even after more than 15 years, the Aamir Khan and Gracy Singh-starrer still gets you in extreme tension when Bhuvan is required to hit a six off the last ball, despite you knowing the climax.

Needless to say, the atmosphere inside the theatre was similar to the one we see in cricket stadiums. So one can only imagine what would have happened when the entire Lagaan team played a real cricket match at the iconic Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.

There is a major chance that you might not be aware of this match because, somehow, it never got publicized. More so for those who have recently turned adults or are in their early 20s.

So, Britannia had organized a match between the Lagaan team versus the team of winners of a contest they had run. Hence, the other team was called simply Britannia. I had also taken part but didn’t win. But that didn’t stop me from watching the match in the stadium.

Surprisingly, you didn’t need to spend a rupee for the tickets. All you needed was to submit four packets of their biscuits in exchange for a ticket. I and a friend went to watch after submitting eight. Well, frankly speaking, we wouldn’t have mind to even pay to see the Lagaan team in action.

Interestingly, the match was played on Christmas, a festival which few years down the line was acquired by Aamir to release his films.

Like the on-screen match, the Lagaan team fielded first. I don’t remember who won the toss but it wouldn’t have been exciting if they had batted first. It was a 25-over match where the boundaries were brought in considerably and understandingly so since none of them were professional players. By the way, the entire Lagaan team played in the same costume they had worn in the film.

But instead of 11, both teams had 13 players. The Lagaan team included Gowariker himself and actor Amin Gazi, who played Tipu in the film, to complete a 13-member side.

Team Britannia was bowled out for 96 inside their stipulated 25 overs. We all thought that this would be a cakewalk for team Lagaan but Britannia bowlers had other plans. Team Lagaan kept losing wickets and at one point were seven down with the team still being some way away from the target.

In the end, it was Gowariker and Aamir who saw the team through by scoring 18 and 19 runs respectively. The entire crowd, including me and my friend, was overjoyed and dancing to the song ‘Mitwa.’

Other interesting bit about this match was the star Indian players like Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Virendra Sehwag switched roles as commentators and umpires. Navjot Singh Sidhu and Maninder Singh were permanent commentators. The commentary played a big role in keeping us entertained.

Aamir Khan Lagaan match — Photo: Tribuneindia.com

But there was another unprecedented excitement after the match. After some great encouragement by my friend, I agreed to climb and jump a wall and land right where the Lagaan team was standing after the match [I still don’t know how he knew the way]. It was a sheer delight to shake hands with few team members, including Aamir. It was also nice to know that he was shorter than me.

But today when I look back at the match after 19 years I wonder if it was staged [read: fixed]. Even if it was, I don’t blame the organizers. Just imagine what a waste it would have been if Lagaan team had lost the match.

Unfortunately, there is no way we can revisit the match to determine that as there is not a single video available. In fact, there are very few news articles as well.

Amitabh Bachchan’s voiceover in the film describes the story as – Yeh kahani itihaas ke panno mein kahin kho gayi [This story has got lost in history].

The same can be said about the real Lagaan match.

Inside Edge was once Harsha Bhogle’s show

March 22, 2020 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

Over the last few years, Amazon Prime Video’s original show Inside Edge has been a topic of discussion every time its new season comes up with some liking it while some having an opposite opinion.

Starring the likes of Vivek Anand Oberoi, Richa Chadha, Angad Bedi, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Sanjay Suri and a host of others, Inside Edge is based around a cricket league tournament that focuses on what all happens behind the scenes of such glamorous matches.

But for those who started watching cricket in the mid-1990s, like me, the title ‘Inside Edge’ makes us recall something else.

In that era Star Sports and ESPN were the only major television channels showing world cricket. Harsha Bhogle had entered the cricket scenario in that decade. After he slowly started impressing the audience with his commentating skills, ESPN started a sports show called Inside Edge where Bhogle was the host.

Inside Edge was a weekly cricket bulletin show where Bhogle looked back at the significant events that took place in the cricketing world in the week before. Along with international stuff, the show also gave a good footage to India’s domestic cricket. Bhogle also used to interview important cricket personalities from India and abroad.

As I became a huge cricket fan following the 1996 World Cup, I used to follow the game everywhere – newspapers, magazines like Sportstar and, of course, Bhogle’s Inside Edge show. Despite being aware of the cricket happenings of the past week, I still used to make it a point to tune in each week and would watch intently.

Needless to say, I became a great admirer of Bhogle, his commentary and, most importantly, his passion for this game. I remember being taken aback after knowing that the man hasn’t even played domestic cricket.

Mind you, I am not saying this to demean him. In fact, this increased my admiration for him. To see someone who hasn’t played beyond the university level become an international commentator is an incredible achievement.

Also read: Who are Duckworth and Lewis and why ICC adopted their method?

For those not in the know, Bhogle started his career as commentator at the ripe age of just 19 with All India Radio in his hometown, Hyderabad. One of his biggest achievements, which I came to know just now while Googling, is that he became the first Indian commentator to be invited by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation during India’s tour to Australia before the 1992 World Cup.

Coming back to Inside Edge, it is highly surprising that there isn’t a single video footage of the show anywhere on the internet, leave alone an entire episode. In fact, I am also unable to find even a written mention about it after searching on Google.

Maybe Mr Bhogle can help us with that if he reads this article…

England also had a Mark ‘Waugh’ who was of Indian origin

March 7, 2020 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

Mark Waugh, as we all know, is one of the greatest Australian cricketers ever. He remains one of their highest run-scorers who was also useful with the ball as an off spinner. Those who followed cricket in the 1990s would have fond memories of him, especially his stint in the 1996 World Cup.

But there is another Mark Waugh who belongs to Australia’s arch-rivals England. He too was a top order batsman. Read on to know more.

Long, long ago a Maharashtrian family from Mumbai, India relocated to England. They embraced their new country after becoming permanent citizens over there. They had a son who showed great interest in the game of cricket.

The lad pursued his dreams and enrolled for cricket coaching. He started mastering the game with the passing years and ultimately got into the Warwickshire main eleven. He became a regular player for his county following his impressive performances with the bat.

This cricketer is named Mark and his family’s surname is Wagh. Hence, his full name was Mark Wagh.

Interestingly, he was called ‘Mark Waugh’ because the people of England found it almost impossible to pronounce ‘Wagh.’ And Wagh apparently didn’t mind that.

Hence, he was England’s Mark Waugh.

Co-incidentally, I happen to know someone who is related to the Wagh family. I got to know his story from them.

Mark Wagh and Mark Waugh — Photo credits: TheGuardian.com and YouTube screenshot

Funnily, there are also people who address Mark Waugh as Mark Wagh. See below: [Article continued after image]

I have vivid memories of early or mid-2000s of seeing him play 1 or 2 times for Warwickshire on TV. From what all I remember, he was a stylish batsman with impressive technique. Those were the days when county matches were regularly telecast in India.

And I remember even the commentators used to pronounce his name as ‘Mark Waugh.’

Wagh played 212 first class matches and scored 12445 runs with an average of 38.80. He scored 31 hundreds with a highest score of 315 against Middlesex at Lords, the mecca of cricket, in 2001. At that time it was only the fourth triple century at Lords. Jack Hobbs, Percy Holmes and Graham Gooch were the three batsmen to do that before.

Later Wagh’s Warwickshire teammate Nick Knight became the fifth player to achieve the feat in 2004 when he scored 303 not out against Middlsex.

And guess what? Wagh also bowled off-spin and was a useful bowler, just like Waugh. He took exactly 100 wickets in first class matches. He had two 5-wicket hauls with his best performance being 7 for 222 against Lancashire in 2003.

Despite a good first-class record, Wagh couldn’t play for England’s national side. He was included in the preliminary squad for the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy but couldn’t make it to the final team.

In 2006, Wagh migrated to play for Nottinghamshire. He was awarded Player of the Season by the county in 2007.

Wagh took retirement from first class cricket in 2011. Interestingly, he then pursued a career in law. [Read more about him HERE and HERE]

If you look up on the internet, you won’t find much about his life except an interview he gave to Warwickshire’s official portal in 2016.

A quote from the interview reads, “I look back fondly on my cricket career but it all seems a very long time ago. I did play club cricket briefly but no longer even do that. When you work reasonably long hours during the week, it’s a stretch to then play club cricket which takes up one of your days off, pretty much 9am to 9pm.”

Also read:

Only time Tendulkar was NOT selected in team India, neither injured nor rested

Yuvraj Singh’s 3 heroic TEST innings that have been forgotten: See videos

When hearing issues stopped India from winning against England

15 years later: From Tendulkar’s comeback to Aleem Dar’s batting, this match saw it all

November 2, 2019 by Keyur Seta 2 Comments

I have been to Mumbai’s Wankhede and Brabourne stadiums quite a few times. One of my most memorable and ecstatic memories inside a cricket stadium came 15 years ago in the fourth test match between India and Australia played from November 3 to 5. The eventful match completes 15 years today.

Going into the test India had already lost the series by 2-0. But that didn’t deter fans like me to attend the match. With the line-up of players in both teams, who would want to miss out, especially if tickets are available easily?

A major reason for the crowd to turn up for this match despite India losing the series was Sachin Tendulkar. It was his first match of the series since he couldn’t play the first three matches due to an injury.

The match started on a horrendous note for India as they were bundled out for just 104. It could have been worse as they were 33 for 5 at one stage. In reply Australia scored 203. Considering the team they had, they could have taken a much bigger lead but Anil Kumble and Murli Karthik had other plans.

India’s performance was starting to look better in the second innings when they were 153 for 3. There was a renewed hope among us, the spectators. But after VVS Laxman fell for 69 [he loved batting against the Aussies], India could manage only 205 which meant that Australia needed a mere 107 runs to win the match.

There was a healthy rivalry going on with the Australian fans who were seated at the upper stand. We would dance or make gestures to them when India would do well and they would do the same to us when the Australians did. When India was also bowled out in the second innings cheaply, they made gestures to us indicating that they can’t hear our voices now. We had nothing to reply then.

Fans had accepted defeat, including me. I was somewhat pleased to see Tendulkar scoring 55 in the second innings. It was valuable innings considering how the pitch was behaving. I still remember his six over mid-wicket off the off-spinner Nathan Hauritz which hit the roof of the then Wankhede; a target not easy.

As soon as India were bowled out the second time, people started taking exit from the stadium slowly. I, however, had no such plans. I never leave the stadium before the match is completed. I hadn’t left the stadium even when Australia needed just about 10 runs with 10 wickets in hand in an earlier test match against India at the same venue in 2001.

I was hoping for India to pick up at least 5 wickets which would make the chase interesting. All this while, people around me started criticizing team India for their performance in the test, including me. But there was a pleasant surprise in store for us.

Zaheer Khan got Justin Langer out on just the second ball of the innings, much to our joy and amazement. We were pleased at getting at least something to cheer but we were soon silenced after Australia reached 24 for just 1.

The loud cheers were back when Aussies lost two wickets on the score of 24. They were soon 33 for 4 and 48 for 5 when the dangerous Matthew Hayden was bowled around his legs by Harbhajan Singh. Now, we started sensing victory out of nowhere.

Also read: When hearing issues stopped India from winning against England

Mind you, the pitch was playing like devil since the previous day. This enabled Michael Clarke to pick up 6 wickets for just 9 runs in the second innings the previous day! But on the last day, Karthik was having fun as he succeeded in dismissing biggies like Ricky Ponting, Damien Martyn and Clarke.

The biggest moment of the match came when Adam Gilchrist was caught at deep mid-wicket by Tendulkar off Harbhajan’s bowling. I clearly remember how the entire team rushed to that part of the ground to celebrate. Such was the importance of that wicket.

Hauritz showed some fight but the Australians were bowled out eventually for 93 when Glenn McGrath was caught by Laxman off Harbhajan. The celebrations in the stands were crazy to say the least. Only those who have seen the Australian team of that era would understand what it meant to bowl them out for just 93, despite India already losing the series.

Not surprisingly, it was our turn to give it back to the Australian supporters [mind you, all in good humour] in the upper stands. And it was their turn to be stunned now.

The drama wasn’t over though. Following the match, Ponting asked the Indian captain Dravid if he would like to lodge a joint complaint with him about the nature of the pitch. The Australians were not happy to see a ‘sub-standard’ wicket at the Wankhede. Dravid, however, politely refused.

Another interesting bit about the match is related to umpire Aleem Dar. No this is not about any controversy regarding his decisions. As the match ended in just 3 days, Dar approached a local cricket club on the fifth day of the match and played for a team at the Police Gymkhana. He scored 70 odd runs with 7 sixes. Yes, he can also bat [I remember reading the news in Mid-Day along with his picture from the match but can’t find the article now].

It is not often that you see a Pakistani cricketer representing a club in Mumbai. This and various other happenings made this test match eventful. Such was the era when every big test match had its own story with lots of drama.

See the full scorecard of the match by clicking HERE

By: Keyur Seta

Additional reading:

Only time Tendulkar was NOT selected in team India, neither injured nor rested

When Australia played against Australia in this World Series

After just 1 run in first 6 innings, Marvan Atapattu made a historic comeback

September 29, 2019 by Keyur Seta 4 Comments

Former Sri Lankan cricketer Marvan Atapattu is one of the best batsmen to have played for the island nation in Asia. He played 90 test matches and scored 5502 runs with 16 hundreds and 17 fifties and a highest score of 249. He had a good batting average of 39.02.

But the start of Atapattu’s test career was nightmarish to say the least. He made his debut in Sri Lanka’s only test against India as a 20-year-old youngster. SL lost the match by an innings and 8 runs. Worse, Atapattu scored 0 in both innings.

The selectors dropped him from the team. He returned to first-class cricket and after almost two years, he was selected again for Sri Lanka. However, it was almost the same story. He scored 0 in the first innings and just 1 in the second.

Atapattu once again returned to domestic cricket and scored plenty of runs. This was enough to impress the selectors again. So, he was back in the team. And, would you believe, he scored 0 in both innings again!

At that time, his career stats were 1 run and 5 ducks in his first 6 innings with a batting average of just 0.16! For any top-order batsman even an average of 16 is considered horrible as it suits more to number 9 or 10 batsman. And here was a professional batsman with such an average.

It is believed that the single run that Atapattu scored in the first 6 innings was wrongly attributed to him by the umpire since it should have been a leg-bye.

One could only imagine what would have been going through Atapattu’s mind then. He would have asked himself again and again as to why he goes so disastrously wrong at the international level after being so consistent at the domestic level.

However, the selectors seem to have a lot of faith in him as he was again selected in the Sri Lankan team two years later in 1997 against New Zealand in Dunedin. His scores in both innings were 25 and 22. These numbers might not sound much but going by Atapattu’s horrendous run before this match, he would have been relieved.

But his biggest relief came in the same year in November when he scored his first century in test cricket. It was against India in Mohali where he scored 108 with 14 fours as an opener. From here on, there was no looking back for Atapattu.

Along with tests, he also went onto become a prolific ODI player for Sri Lanka. In 268 matches he scored 8529 runs at an average of 37.57 with 11 hundreds and 59 fifties.

But Atapattu also holds a unique record which is worth knowing. He scored 6 test double hundreds. In the list of most double hundreds, he is just third in the list after the legend Sir Don Bradman (12 double hundreds) and Wally Hammond and Brian Lara (7 each).

Also read: Who are Duckworth and Lewis and why ICC adopted their method?

From a career average of just 0.16 to getting included in a world record list featuring the great Bradman, Atapattu’s journey has been extraordinary to say the least.

He is a shining inspiration for many of us who start doubting ourselves [be it from any field] after few failures and rejections. If you ever feel bogged down again, just ask yourself if your situation is as worse as scoring just 1 run in 6 test innings?

By: Keyur Seta

Additional reading:

Only time Tendulkar was NOT selected in team India, neither injured nor rested

When hearing issues stopped India from winning against England

Only time Tendulkar was NOT selected in team India, neither injured nor rested

August 4, 2019 by Keyur Seta 12 Comments

Throughout his career spanning 24 years, Sachin Tendulkar never went out of form. There was never a time when his spot in the team was in danger due to non-performance. This is one of the major reasons why he is considered a legend.

But there was one occasion when he wasn’t selected in the team for a series against Pakistan. And this wasn’t because of any injury or with the intention of giving him rest.

The month of September in mid and late 1990s brought the excitement of the Sahara Cup, a five match India-Pakistan ODI series in Toronto, Canada. The Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club used to be thronged by supporters from both countries that were treated to some quality cricket.

Circa September 1998, the Indian cricket fans were gearing up for another India v/s Pakistan series. But they were in for some disappointment this time around as Tendulkar wasn’t included in the squad for the Sahara Cup.

It so happened that the Commonwealth Games [CWG] clashed that year with the Sahara Cup. Cricket was included in the CWG for the first time during that edition [it hasn’t happened after that] which was played at Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

As many as 16 teams participated to achieve cricket glory. The format was very much like the World Cup. There were four groups of four teams with one team from each group going into the semi-finals. Instead of one West Indies team, the series saw Jamaica, Antigua-Barbuda and Barbados play separately.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India [BCCI] were about to send a second string team for the Commonwealth Games, just like how Pakistan did. However, Suresh Kalmadi [guilty of corruption in the infamous 2010 CWG Scam] who was the President of the Indian Olympics Association then, put tremendous pressure on the BCCI to send a strong India team to the CWG.

After a lot of negotiations, it was decided that India’s main squad will be divided into two for Sahara Cup and Commonwealth Games. As it happened, Sachin Tendulkar was selected to play at the CWG along with other big names like Anil Kumble, Ajay Jadeja, Robin Singh and Harbhajan Singh.

Also read: Sachin Tendulkar the bowler: 8 best bowling performances

Unfortunately, India couldn’t reach the semi-final stage as they won only one match out of the three against Canada with their match against Antigua-Barbuda being a no result due to the rains. India lost to Australia by being all out for just 109 while chasing a total of 256. [See all results of that year’s CWG HERE]

Meanwhile, by the time India were out of the CWG, they had lost the Sahara Cup too in the first four ODIs itself [see all results HERE]. But despite that, Tendulkar was sent to Toronto to play the last ODI. He scored an impressive 77 but India lost the match after Pakistan easily chased their total of 256.

Cricket will be returning to the next edition of the Commonwealth Games in 2022 in the form of Women’s T20.

By: Keyur Seta

Additional reading:

Who are Duckworth and Lewis and why ICC adopted their method?

WC Final 2019: Cricket won, ICC lost

When Australia played against Australia in this World Series

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