A throwback to 1988 - Azhar's fastest ODI century

When Sehwag scored the fastest ODI hundred for India the other day, he took over the record from the classy Azharuddin. It sort of made me revisit the game when Azhar got his hundred of 62 balls in the Baroda ODI in 1988.

I didnt see a single ball of the match. I dont remember why, but the live telecast was not available that day for some reason on DD. I remember first of the match was straight driven for four off a bowler called Rashid Patel. Some might remember him, who was more famous for his clash with Raman Lamba than for his cricket. When NZ got 278, I was amazed. Not because they were not capable of getting thast many, but in those days the side batting first getting 284 was like match over. I alomost reconciled myself to the fact that India might lose this game and went off to play street cricket. I came in to listen to the commentary at times, and we were never really looking like we would win. Our street cricket game took over and I was totally engrossed in it and by the time it ended I had almost forgotten about India's chase. When it suddendly dawned on me to check up on the scores, I was in for a delightful shock. The hindi commentator on radio announced 'do sau athatthar' as India's score . It took me a while to comprehend that India were actually 278 and scores were equal. I went off to convey the news to my friends, who werent all that interested. India won eventually. I also later learnt that Azhar had got 108, and off 64 balls. I made up my mind that in our next street cricket game I would bat like him. Those were the days when India rarely had such terrific moments, and when they came they were worth remembering. So much so that 21 years later, I can still remember that day vividly.

Sehwag and his place among India's best

Watching Sehwag bat with such adaucity, I found myself wondering which other Indian batsman was as destructive and spontaneous as him. I am talking about total devastation here. Domination of the opposition bowlers such that it left them demoralized. In all of India's 34 years of ODI history (I am starting my count with the 1975 WC), I can come up with just 2 names. Kapil Dev and Tendulkar. With Tendulkar, I mean his early years of playing for India where reputation hardly mattered to him. Sandeep Patil came to mind. Srikkanth our chairman of selectors also could have made the list. But when it came to turning a match on its head, I think there were none better than Kapil and the Tendulkar of old.

Sehwag has hit the purplest of patches, and has probably every right to stake his claim as one of India's greatest match winners along with Kapil and Tendulkar.

India vs NZ - batsman favourable conditions kills the interest.

The contrast between India's last tour of NZ and this one is huge. The last tour was all in favour of bowlers and this one is the exact opposite. Today's match in Christchurch was a run feast. And India won. But I was somewhat disinterested in the proceedings. The small ground, conditions loaded totally in favour of batsmen, where sixers can be hit without a full follow through......somehow I find this brand of cricket insipid. Give me a game with a good contest between bat and ball, big grounds where you can run 3s, and where a mishit falls in the ground and not amongst the spectators. This is no different from the test matches that happened recently in Pakistan. Tons of runs scored and nothing for the bowlers. The only difference being that we had a result here. If this match had been a close finish, say 10 or 15 runs separating the two teams, it still wouldnt have piqued my interest. Because to me this match showcased the brawn of the batsmen more than their skills. The batsmen just did not have to work hard for their runs. And the bowlers...who cares about them anyway??

People have criticised the recent series in Pakistan for killing the game of cricket. Does today's situation not warrant similar criticism?

Strange as it may sound, I must say I preferthe last tour to this one.

Genesis of this blog

Hi!

I have started my cricket blog. This is my attempt to blog on the game I love. To me, cricket existed before Tendulkar started playing. Cricket existed when batsmen used to wear hats and face the fastest of bowlers. Cricket existed when 230 was considered a winning score in ODIs. Cricket existed when there used to be a rest day in between 5 days of a test match. My primary reason for starting this blog is to look back fondly upon a lot of past cricketing events. To reminesce. To cherish those moments. Of course, I will blog about the ongoing matches as well, but I dont intend to analyze them threadbare.