WHAT A 100

 

In the just completed test at Motera in Ahmedabad, India managed to stave off an embarassing defeat to lowly ranked New Zealand thanks to the efforts of     V V S Laxman and Harbhajan Singh.

Laxman once again showed everyone in very clear terms why he is really ‘very very special’.This statement is fast becoming a cliche thanks to the exploits of Laxman in the recent matches against Sri Lanka and Australia.

While Laxman’s abilities and credentials cannot be questioned, Harbhajan Singh demonstrated his attitude and brought up his maiden 100 in first class cricket when it really mattered most.Not to forget the half century in the first innings in the same match.

With the 100, Harbhajan joined 3 other Indians who scored their maiden first class 100 in test matches.One of them is the great Kapil Dev.Predictably, after the match, some managed to ‘unearth’ a new all-rounder in Indian cricket. Mercifully, no one has the gall to draw comparisons between Kapil Dev and Harbhajan Singh!Of course, Sunil Gavaskar wants the selectors to make a batsman make way for another bowler in the wake of the 100 from Harbhajan.

Even as praises are showered on the batting efforts of Harbhajan, we have ignored the most important contribution that the off-spinner has to bring to his team. It is a matter of concern that while Harbhajan’s batting has improved, his bowling has gone into downhill. It is a worry that Australia and New Zealand managed to score in excess of 400 runs in the first innings of the previous three test matches in India.The primary role of Harbhajan is to take wickets although runs from his bat are also welcome.

REDEMPTION

It was always something that bothered me.

The highest score of Sachin Tendulkar in test matches came against Bangladesh and the master does not have a triple hundred in his resume.

It pained even more to remember that the highest score in one dayers belonged to Saeed Anwar who made 194 against India in the Independence Cup.

So when Tendulkar became the first person to score 200 in one dayers in the ongoing series between India and South Africa, I like millions of Indian cricket fans felt redeemed. That it came against one of the stronger teams made this latest feat of Sachin even more special.It is hard to imagine any other batsman going that far, but even when the feat is repeated or exceeded, the record books shall always show the name of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar as the first man to climb to this mark.

Sometime back, Sachin made a 150 plus score against Australia and still India finished on the losing side. That innings, in my humble opinion should be rated as one of the best of the master. Probably, an Indian win would have kept that innings in our memories. Let us not forget the back to back hundreds made in Sharjah.

There is another innings that can match this latest knock of Sachin-the 175 not out of Kapil Dev in the Prudential World Cup of 1983. When half of the side was back in the pavilion and the days when 100s were not common in the one dayers, Kapil showed the way.Of course, there was no one to record that innings for posterity, unlike the 200 of Sachin that surely will be viewed many times even in future.

Just as Sachin was being written off as a matchwinner, he managed to set a benchmark that may become one of the most long standing records in the history of cricket.

It is not happiness or relief but a case of redemption not for Sachin but for Indians as a whole.

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AN UNFAIR COMPARISON

M S Dhoni scored a brilliant 100 to take India to a victory in second match of the ongoing series versus Australia. The media and the commentators went over the board to heap their praises on this knock. I have no complaint on this.

But I am feeling outraged at the opinion of a commentator who compared this knock of Dhoni to the 175 not out of Kapil Dev in the Prudential World Cup of 1983.Just look at the scenario. Kapil came to the wicket when the top 5 of the batsmen were back in the pavilion unable to cope with the bowling from the likes of Kevin Curran.Dhoni received great support from Gambhir and later from Suresh Raina. On the other hand, Kapil had the company of far less accomplished batsmen in the form of Kirmani, Madan Lal, Roger Binny and Balwinder Sandhu.This knock came against Zimbabwe but it paved the way for the ulimate win in the World Cup.

I do not for a moment wish to denigrate the knock of Dhoni but it is shameful to compare it with the great knock of victory.But the likes of Dhoni have a very long way to be put into the 'true' pantheon of greatness.

I sometimes feel that even the gods did not want the knock of Kapil to be recorded for posterity taking it into the realm of a legend.But we the ordinary mortals don't realise this and go on making highly odious comparisons.