100dulkar - The Unconquered Emperor

All criticism, all discussions, all talks came to an end with Tendulkar's 100th international ton. The feat which no cricketer conquered in past and none will achieve in future. It was landmark which kept entire country in desperation for more than a year. Finally moment arrived and entire country enjoyed the moment with joy and felt relaxed barring few cricket experts and fans who criticised Tendulkar for the loss against Bangladesh which eventually resulted in India's exit from the Asia Cup.But let me tell you one thing 289 is not a small score to chase, if your bowlers don't bowl proper line and length than any target is achievable. Look at Pakistan which lost to India even after scoring 330. Whom to blame Mohammad Hafeez or Jamshed, who scored century in losing cause and put up opening partnership of more than 200 runs. If someone is not blaming Hafeez and Jamshed for Pakistan's loss than you don't have the right to blame Tendulkar as well, who has done something which is impossible to achieve.

When Tendulkar started his cricket nobody expected him to reach such heights, but this champion cricketer conquered the cricket world and now he is 'Unconquered Emperor' of cricket world. What makes Tendulkar so special. We all know he is genius with the bat but there are many players who were genius and were better than Tendulkar yet not achieved much.One such example is Vinod Kambli, the closest pal of the Master. Both Tendulkar and Kambli started their cricket together and Kambli was considered more talented than Tendulkar but we all know where Kambli is currently. Talent alone don't make champions it is constant focus, hardwork and dedication which makes champion and certainly Tendulkar don't lack any of these. 

These 22 years are like dream for the fans across the world especially for Indian fans who witnessed many great innings from a genius who is known as 'God of Cricket'. Tendulkar created end number of happy moments for Indians, for which Indians will be thankful to him forever. Cricketers came and gone but Tendulkar stood firm with his craftsmanship with his bat and spread the joy and that's what makes Tendulkar special. In these beautiful 22 years Tendulkar recieved lot of accolades but at the same faced equal criticism as well which I think is really disgusting. Man who has given so much to the country how can be criticised. But it happened and that is cruel reality. Tendulkar was blamed for losses as if he is the only player in the team responsible for the lossess. Always criticised that he is playing for his individual records and not playing in the interest of the team. Even after scoring epic ton he was blamed for the team's loss. But I believe it is really unjustice to the man who has done so much for the country. Each of his centuries which came in losing cause don't become less important because Master did his job but his other colleagues failed to perform their duties.

Remember cricket is a team game and one player can't change the fortunes, it is combined effort of 11 players which decides the results, so other 10 are also equally responsible. We must not forget that Tendulkar is our pride and we have to give him all the respect in the word and look towards his positive traits and approach and try to learn from it instead of criticising him without any reason. Tendulkar and Dravid are an institutions in themselves, both on-field and off-field. If Dravid is 'Wall' hard to get past than Tendulkar is 'Unconquered Emperor'.

From Captain Marvel to Captain Zero...

Entire media is after Dhoni's blood after 6 consecutive test defeats overseas. The same media which called Dhoni ' The Captain Marvel' or 'Captain with Midas Touch' or 'Captain Cool' is now projecting the him as a villain and zero. What a turnaround this has been for Dhoni. But this is the cruelty of life. Faster you climb up the stairs of success, eventually come down at double speed. Dhoni, man who made Indian team World T20 Champion, World Champion in ODIs and also made Indian team No.1 in Test cricket has become the biggest threat for Indian cricket nowadays, according to media.

But I must say this has not happened overnight. It all started with the transformation in the mindset of Dhoni some two years back when he changed his batting style from offensive to defensive and similarly that mindset also affected his captaincy. Dhoni won matches in last 2 years but more with luck and not because of his captaincy skills. I wrote this in my earlier posts as well, that although Dhoni is winning matches but he has become defensive captain and lacks vision. But the damage has been done and now situation is such that if India lose next two test matches down-under then that will end the Dhoni's career as captain.

Team India won many matches under Dhoni's captaincy but he failed to win test series in England, South Africa and Australia. India only won test series outside sub-continent was one in West Indies and another in New Zealand and everybody know that both, West Indies and New Zealand are bottom ranked teams in world cricket. So Dhoni has not done anything special overseas in his captaincy stint so far. We won in England and West indies under the captaincy of Rahul Dravid. But failed to win series in England under the captaincy of Dhoni last summer and lost the test series in shameless manner where England white-washed Team India. We drew the series in Australia under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly but there is no possibility of winning or draw in ongoing series against Australia under the captaincy of Dhoni. So I don't think that Dhoni is extraordinary captain as he made out to be by media and he has become villain overnight for same media. But fact is that zing and buzz we used to see in Sourav's captaincy is completely missing in Dhoni.

There is no denying that India won the World Cup of ODI under his captaincy, also won the inaugural T20 World Cup and became No.1 team in Test matches but one should not forget that the team through which Dhoni achieved these success were built by Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid. So giving full credit to Dhoni for these successes will not do justice with former captains whose blood and sweat involved in building this Indian team. Dhoni also lacks the sight of picking up talent. Sourav Ganguly was excellent in picking up talent. If we look at Dhoni's captaincy stint, we will fined that none of the players picked up by Dhoni. Players, whom selectors found suitable got into the team which was not the case with Sourav Ganguly who gave us fabulous players like Zaheer Khan. VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra and list continues. 

I still believe Dhoni lacks leadership qualities and I think Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble were far better captain and man-managers than Dhoni. End of captain Dhoni has already begun. 

Defensive strategies of captain Dhoni not helping Team India

Once again Team India started the series on a losing note on foreign soil. Australia won the test quite  easily at Melbourne and Team India is sulking in exile, so are the fans. What a pity, on a part of the team which was No.1 test team in the world few months ago and remain No.1 for more than 2 years but suddenly England tour happened and all those fake imagination of Indian fans washed away as Indian team was white-washed by England. With defeat in Melbourne Indian team lost 5 test matches in a row, now on foreign soil. Captain who was proud on his record of not losing any test series in last 3 years, now suddenly under grief of losing 5 test matches on foreign soil, But I think captain Dhoni have to blame himself for this debacle rather than giving any excuses about batting bowling or fielding. I believe its a case of poor defensive strategy and nothing more than that.

When Dhoni made his debut on International scene in 2004 , he made his reputation of aggressor but over the years he lost his aggression and became to defensive. Especially, after becoming captain, sudden change happened in his batting and captaincy approach. From hard-hitting Dhoni to nudger and pusher, this is quite extra-ordinary transformation. Dhoni's batting transformation affected his captaincy as well and he has become too defensive in his strategy and field placings. Although India have done well under his captaincy but I must say India lost many opportunities in new last few years where they could have easily won the series or match but lost it because of the defensive tactics of captain Dhoni. Latest example is Melbourne test, where India failed to seize the advantage twice in a match. Once Australia was reeling at 214-6 but Dhoni allowed the Australia's lower-order batsmen to get past 300 run mark by setting defensive field. In second innings Australia were 27 for 4 at one stage but Dhoni opened field for Hussey and Ponting and allowed them to pick singles easily which reduced the pressure on Aussies and that 115 run partnership proved too costly for India. Not only that, even last wicket added more than 40 runs for Australia in same innings as Dhoni allowed them to do so. Hence, India lost the game.

I must say India bowled really well in Melbourne but Dhoni's defensive field placing didn't sync well with Indian bowling and robbed the chance of winning the first test match of the series. This year in Edgbaston test match, Ishant Sharma had taken 3 wickets in 16 deliveries. England had slipped to 62 for 5 . India were back in the match. There was even an outside chance of the winning it. Suddenly there was a competitive atmosphere. England went into lunch with a knot in their stomachs. India chewed with a renewed sense of vigour. But Dhoni again failed to seize the advantage and din't gave bal to Ishant after lunch who tormented England innings before lunch. Matt Prior and Stuart Broad took full advantage of this move and got out of the tangle by scoring easy runs off Praveen Kumar who looked completely exhausted in his spell. Normal service was resumed by the end of second session as England fought back to take charge of the match. 


Poor strategy of Dhoni cost India a test win. Similar tactics, Dhoni also applied last year in South Africa and lost the test match. We have also seen how opposition tail hurts Team India regularly. Actually opposition tail wags not because of India's poor bowling, it is because of poor strategy and field placings by captain Dhoni. We saw that in home series against West indies where West Indian top-order scalped quite easily by our bowlers but their lower- order batsmen made life difficult for Indian bowlers only because of defensive field placings.

I believe Dhoni must talk to Sourav Ganguly, who always played and captained aggressively throughout his career. This will help Dhoni big time in understanding the mechanism of seizing the advantageous moments of the match. Dhoni's poor form with the bat in test matches is also a cause of concern for Team India. his batting form has dipped badly in test matches which is not a good sign.

To Dhoni's advantage, Sourav Ganguly is in Australia on a commentary assignment, so he can easily approach Sourav and immediately renew his magic touch.

Vangipurappu Venkat Sai Laxman - God of Crisis for Indian Cricket

281 V/s Aussies, 2001

If Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is God of Cricket then I must say Vangipurappu Venkat Sai Laxman is God of Crisis. This Stylish Hyderabadi  has added lot of glory to Indian Cricket by his ability to play in crisis situation and turn the games in favour of India. Who can forget his epic 281 at Eden Gardens. Team was on the doorstep of losing that test match in 2001 after follow-on but this Stylish Hyderabadi turned the match in India's favour with fine stroke play and beautiful wrist work and won the match for India and gave the confidence of winning the series as well. But I  must tell you it was not easy for Laxman at the start of his career. No player comes close to him in using the wrist while playing and that is his great asset and makes him elegant and stylish.

96 V/s Proteas, 2010 

He was on the domestic scene since early 90s but never selected because that time team was having some good players in its rank. Likes of Azhar, Manjrekar, Tendulkar, Dravid, Sidhu, Ganguly, Kambli. So it was difficult for the selectors to accommodate 'Very Very Special' Laxman in that star studded batting line-up. But finally he got his due in 1996-97 season when he made his test debut against South Africa at home. Even in this first test match, when India was in trouble, when they lost 4 wickets for just 82 in second innings, it was Laxman who bailed them out of the trouble by scoring gritty half-century in that second innings and did fantastic partnership with Kumble and helped India eventually to win that test match by 64 runs. So, Wristy VVS Laxman is the crisis man for Team India since his debut. It is unforutnate that he did not participated in single World-cup ever since his debut and after spending more than a decade in International cricket though he was more talented then many other cricketers who played for the country and played in World Cup. He never featured in ODI team consistently which I feel is loss to the Team India. But he never complained about that and did his job to the perfection for the team. 

91 V/s Kiwis, 2010

Intial 3-4 years, he was in-and out of the team but not because of poor performance but due to changes in his batting-order. He was never allowed to settle on the one spot. He opened for India and he batted on almost all the spots for India when required and that too without hesitation or questions and when it comes to drop somebody from the team then sword was always hanging on his head and was dropped many times. Come 2001, credit goes to Sourav Ganguly who insisted selectors to include VVS Laxman in the team after Laxman's good show in domestic cricket and rest is history. After 2001 Laxman became integral part of this Indian batting line-up and never looked back since then. He played some fabulous innings for Team India and always played crucial role in team's success in India or Overseas. The way he bats, he looks like a painter who is painting green canvas with his silken strokes. His bat turns into brush and runs becomes the creation. I believe if he played in top-order then he also owned more than 30 centuries but he often played down the order and mostly with the tailenders which reduced his centuries to just 17 which is not a true reflection of his talent.

103* V/s Sri Lanka, 2010

Looking at Laxman's contribution  in Indian cricket and his ability to play crucial innings in crisis times makes him greatest batmsen of all-time. If we look at second innings batting of all the Indian batsmen then I must say nobody is near Laxman's average. He is averaging more than 50 in second innings which tells about his temperament and ability but on the sad note I must say  Stylish Laxman never got that fame which his other colleagues got. I feel he is unlucky because he is playing cricket in the era when we have Great Tendulkar, Wall Dravid, Dasher Sehwag and Gutsy Ganguly until his retirement. Laxman just lost under the shadow of all these great players but I feel he is the biggest superstar of Indian Cricket because when it comes to save or win the game for the country then Laxman is the man for that hour. No other player gives you confidence of winning or saving matches like Laxman gives you. In the last one year he won 3 matches for Team India from losing situation and saved the match once. 

178 V/s Australia, 2004

He may not be endorsing big brands like Dhoni and Tendulkar , may not be giving too many interviews, may not be a popular man among media but he is God of Crisis for Indian cricket and time has come now to recognize his service and give him his pending dues and that will be great tribute to him and his services. His initials VVS tells the story of this charismatic cricketer. Indeed Laxman is Very Very Special for Indian Cricket. I must say he is very good human being apart from great cricketer which is most important.

Dravid, Sachin and Laxman are still backbone of Indian Cricket...

 

India won its first test in Caribbean after little struggle but this test match also highlighted that how much we depends on our senior pros for victories in test matches. Many cricket pundits and media again and again raised question over the age of our stalwarts. If possible these so called cricket pundits and media will definitely retire our senior greats and leave the blank space which will kill the Indian cricket. Indian cricket team  has failed to fill the Sourav Ganguly’s place yet in test squad, its almost 3 years, since that No.6 spot is vacant, chopping and changing happens all the time on that spot. India tried Yuvraj, Raina, Pujara, Badrinath but all of them failed to fill those big boots of Sourav Ganguly, so forget that we have players who will fill the boots of greats like Rahul, Sachin and Laxman atleast for next 2 years. But it can happen if these youngster learn from these great players.

I am not against the policy of inducting youngsters in the test team. It is good that India have so many talented youngsters but they need experience and that experience they will get when they will play alongside greats like Dravid, Laxman and Sachin who will teach them how to handle different situations and conditions which will certainly help them to  perform well at International level and it can only happen when these stalwarts play for next 2 to 3 years. Youngsters like Kohli, Raina, Pujara, Pandey, Badrinath will certainly benefit by sharing the dressing room and pitch with these greats of the game. Look at the innings, Rahul Dravid played in  first test match, can we expect from any current youngster to grind the way Dravid did at Sabina Park which eventually helped India win the test match. There was great learning hidden in that innings if any youngster wants to learn how to bat on difficult pitch and difficult situation.

Kohli debut made his debut in first test match of the series against West Indies at Sabina Park, Jamaica, but he failed to translate his success of shorter version on test arena, He clearly lacked the technique and temperament to play in longer version and for that he has to  look upto Dravid, Laxman and Sachin and that will only happen when he will play more cricket with these stalwarts. Kohli is a fine young batsmen but he has big technical flaw in his batting which will trouble him on the pitches which will assist the swing and seam bowing. He commits himself early on front–foot and play across the line, bat facing mid-wicket. This shot looks good on flat wickets but it will certainly trouble him on the moving pitches. But he can take help from Rahul Dravid to rectify his technical flaw and this is where experience of our stalwarts become handy.

Media and cricket pundits must stop speculating about the retirement of our greats and allow them to play freely till the time they wish. Our stalwarts know when to retire and they will certainly retire when appropriate time comes. Till then we have to enjoy their batting and keep cheering them because Sachin, Rahul and Laxman are still backbone of Indian cricket.

Incredible record of 15 sixes…

Yesterday when Bangladesh entered the Mirpur ground to play 2nd ODI against Australia, they didn’t dreamt about the incredible World Record. Had they sensed that incredible record then certainly they wouldn’t have taken the field but as they say ‘cricket is game of glorious uncertainties’ and Monday 11th April, 2011 was the day when glorious records established by Aussie opener Shane Watson.

Shane Watson made an unbeatable century in Mirpur and smashed Bangladesh’s bowler. He hit a record 15 sixes and also hit 15 fours. He amazed the crowd with the tremendous hitting. He was in an amazing form from the word go as he started with the four on the first delivery. He made a total of 185 runs (not out) on 96 balls.He hit the boundaries on 30 balls that mean made 150 runs on just 30 balls and 35 runs on rest 65 balls. Watson relished the hot sub-continent conditions and turned the match Aussie way. 

With this outclass performance he broke the record of West Indian player  Xavier Marshall(Jamaica), who hit 12 sixes against Canada in 2008. Total centuries made by Watson are now six. He made his century off 69 deliveries, which is third fastest century made by Australian player. Now Watson holds the incredible record of 15 sixes in an innings, most by any player in World Cricket.

More Sixes

The record for most sixes in a Test match innings is 12, which was achieved by Pakistani all-rounder Wasim Akram during an innings of 257 not out against Zimbabwe in October 1996 at Sheikhupura. The One Day International record for most sixes hit in an innings is held by Shane Watson who hit 15 sixes against Bangladesh in Dhaka in April 2011.

Adam Gilchrist currently holds the record for most sixes in a Test career (100 as of March 2009). Shahid Afridi holds the record for most sixes in an ODI career (272 of 296 matches as of June 2010).

The record for the most sixes in a Test match is 27, which occurred during a 2006 Test match between Pakistan and India at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. In their first innings, Pakistan hit eleven sixes. India hit nine in their first innings. Pakistan hit seven more sixes in their second innings.

The record for the most sixes in a One Day International is 31, which was achieved in a match between India and New Zealand at AMI Stadium in March 2009. India hit 18 sixes in their innings and New Zealand hit 13. The equivalent record in Twenty20 Internationals was set on the same ground and on the same tour, 24 sixes were hit during the Twenty20 International match between India and New Zealand on 25 February 2009.

6 Sixes in an over

On 31 August 1968, Garfield Sobers became the first man to hit six sixes off a single six-ball over in first-class cricket.The over was bowled by Malcolm Nash in Nottinghamshire's first innings against Glamorgan at St. Helen's in Swansea. Nash was a seam bowler but somewhat rashly, as it turned out, decided to try his arm at spin bowling. This achievement was caught on film.

The feat was repeated by Ravi Shastri in January 1985. Playing for Bombay against Baroda at the Wankhede Stadium in Bombay, Shastri hit left-arm spinner Tilak Raj for six sixes in a single over.

On 16 March 2007, in a match between South Africa and the Netherlands at the 2007 Cricket World Cup, Herschelle Gibbs became the first person to hit six sixes off an over in a One Day Internationalmatch. The over was bowled by Dutch leg-spinner Daan van Bunge.

On 19 September 2007, in a match between England and India, Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh hit six sixes off a single six-ball over in a Twenty20 international cricket match during the inaugural ICC Twenty20 World Cup in Durban, South Africa. The bowler was Stuart Broad of England.

List of all-time leading ‘Six Hitters’ in ODIs

Player(Country)	Career: From - To	Total Sixes
Shahid Afridi (Pakistan)	1996 - Present	274
Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka)	1989 - 2009	270
Sachin Tendulkar (India)	1989 - Present	193
Sourav Ganguly (India)	1992 - 2007	190
Chirs Gayle (West indies)	1999 - Present	168
Ricky Ponting (Australia)	1995 - Present	162
Chris Cairns (New Zealand)	1991 - 2006	153
Adam Gilchrist(Australia)	1996 - 2008	149
Inzamam Ul Haq (Pakistan)	1991 - 2007	144
Yuvraj Singh (India)	2000 - 2011	141

Fight for momentum. Preview: KKR vs DC

Each team in IPL 4 played their first game and 5 out of 10 teams opened their account with victory. Unfortunately KKR and DC were ended on losing side in their opening games and they have great chance today to open the account of points. It will not going to be easy for both the teams to go in with relaxed mind in this game and pressure will be immense on both the teams. KKR’s skipper Gambhir will be under more pressure compared to DC’s Sangakkara because KKR never ended in TOP 5 in previous 3 editions while Deccan won the title in 2009. It will be a test of nerves for Gambhir & Co.

On paper, KKR looks far better team than DC. It has likes of explosive Yusuf Pathan, legendary Jacque Kallis, Indian opener Gautam Gambhir, Bengal Ranji  Captain Manoj Tiwary, superb English middle-order batsmen Eoin Morgan. KKR have all the ammunition this time to beat any team.  However bowling looks bit weak compared to batting, except Kallis there is no big name right now,  Brett Lee is on National duty , so he can’t feature today.

On the other hand, DC batting looks bit weak compared to KKR as they have only Kumar Sangakkara and JP Duminy as accomplished batsmen. DCs bowling is quite ok with Dale Steyn leading the bowlers pack and he is currently one of the finest fast bowler in the World Cricket. Pragyan Ozha have to raise his game today if  DC wants to make some impression in this game.

It will be interesting to see how Kallis will play against Dale Steyn as both are playing for South Africa and today they will be playting against each other. Kallis will open the batting for KKR while Dale Steyn will open the bowling for Deccan Chargers. It will going be interesting little battle in big contest. KKR have to forget their nightmarish loss to CSK before going into this game as they were cruising at one stage in reply to CSK'S 153/4, but Knight Riders lost wickets in a hurry, and required 9 from the last over, but finished at 151/7 and lost by just 2 runs. Gambhir have to come up the order in batting against Deccan Chargers as opening or one-down is the best place for Gambhir-The Batsman. Gambhir raised lot of question when he came into bat lower down the order against CSK in last game.

Great contest ready to sizzle the Eden Gardens tonight and it will be interesting to see how many fans come to watch this game in absence of KKR’s former skipper Sourav Ganguly. Fans from Kolkata declared after auction that they will not going to watch any of the KKRs game in absence of Sourav Ganguly. KKR starts as  favourite in this game but Deccan have the fire-power to surprise KKR. It is also going to be  important game for Ishant Sharma who is looking to make a come-back in Indian side. He bowled well in last game for Deccan and have to bowl well today against his ex-team.

Vacancy: Guru Gary leaving Indian team after World Cup finale.

How will be next coach of Indian Team?

Its time to say bye-bye to the most successful coach of India team, Gary Kirsten. He joined Indian team 3 years back when Indian team was in dire straits because of the Greg Chappell who divided the team for his vested interest. First round exit from 2007 World Cup was the lowest point in Indian cricket. That team had potential but Greg Chappell's policies helped rival teams more than Indian team. I think Chappell knew that if India get the exit then it will be easy for Australia to win its 3rd consecutive title and that happened. Mr.Chappell changed the batting order of maestro Sachin Tendulkar against his likings, ignored the senior players advice and did whatever possible bad for Team India and India cricket gone down and down in Chappell era. 

It was Gary Kirsten who took the place of Greg Chappell and  given new lease of life to the Indian cricket. He joined Indian team and changed its complexion completely. He united this team and worked hard from behind the scenes without anybody's notice unlike Chappell who always hogged the lime-light. Gary's stint with Team India turned into a boon as India first time hit the highest ranking in the test cricket and became No.1 test team in the World leaving teams like Australia and South Africa behind and it is still No.1 ranked team in test cricket for last two years. In ODIs also team never slipped below No.3 and it consistently remain No.2 team and also grabbed the No.1 spot in ODIs for sometime. 

Gary Kirsten is responsible for the best moments of Indian cricket and he definitely followed the ex-coach John Wright's way while coaching this Indian team. Now Team India is in finals of the World Cup 2011 and looking good to win the title as well but I must say credit goes to Guru Gary. Players also like him and respect him very much and want him to stay back but Gary have few personal commitments which he needs to fulfill, so he has already made his mind to leave. 

So its hunt for new coach begins from Sunday for Team India. There are few names which can be considered for the job. First and foremost is Stephen Fleming of New Zealand. He is currently coaching the Chennai Super Kings and his performance is very good with that team. Dhoni also have very good rapport with Fleming. But sometime back Fleming rejected the idea  of coaching the Indian team due to his personal commitments but I think if he can give a thought then he can prove to be a good coach. I think if our captain has very good rapport with Fleming then he is the man for the job.

Next is Dave Whatmore. He was the coach of the Sri Lankan team which won the Cricket World Cup title in 1996. He redefined the cricket completely by sending Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana up the order in that edition of the World Cup and taught the cricket fraternity, how to take advantage of first 15 overs in the ODIs. Under his regime, Sri Lankan cricket scaled new heights and became force in World cricket because before 1996 World Cup Sri Lanka was considered as minnows. He changed the complexion of Sri Lankan cricket. He also coached the Bangladesh team and Bangladesh team also improved tremendously under his coaching. He is more Sri Lankan then Autralian and best man to fill the shoes of Gary Kirsten as a Indian coach. He is currently coach of Kolkata Knightriders in IPL.

Another man who  expressed his interest in coaching Indian team is Justin Langer of Australia. He is working as Australian team's batting coach but I think he is not the man for Indian cricket because we already have very poor experience with Greg Chappell, so Langer is not the man. He showed interest in Indian team's coaching but under his coaching Australian batting has not performed well, so one can easily understand that he will spoil the hard work of Guru Gary, if he become the coach of Team India. Australia lost England in Ashes and knocked out of the ICC World Cup 2011 as well. As a Australian, aggression and domination is in his nature, so strictly no to Mr. Langer because his mindset will not going to match the minset of our players. I believe if Indian team have to move further in World cricket then we have to avoid Australian coaches who are good for nothing. Its pity that 7 out of 10 IPL team have Australian coaches.

Next comes, our very own DADA(Sourav Ganguly). He expressed his interest in coaching Indian team and I believe he is the best man among all to be fit for the job. He knows this team in and out and many players of this current Indian team adore him like anything. He was the one, under whom careers of Sehwag, Dhoni, Zaheer, Nehra, Yuvraj, Gambhir, Harbhajan started and flourished. He lead this Indian team very well under his captaincy and some credit for today's Indian team success goes to him as well because he build this team from the scratch. Most importantly till last year he was playing active first class cricket so he knows Indian domestic circuit very well and will identify new and fresh talent for Indian cricket. Good thing with Sourav Ganguly is that he is having very good eye in spotting talent. He will also gel very well with this team because till recently he was playing with this Indian team. Moreover, he worked with coach John Wright , so he knows how to coach this Indian team. Remember we won T20 World Cup in 2007 when Lalchand Rajput was the coach of Indian team and in short stint he did wonderful job. Till date Sourav Ganguly is the most successful captain in Indian cricket.

So I believe when we have lot of talent in our country then why should we look outside. I think Indian coach will connect better with Indian team except we get some rare  species like Gary Kirsten or John Wright. In the end, hats-off to Mr. Kirsten for giving this Indian team new heights because Mr. Greg Chappell left this Indian team with all kind of problems. So strict no to Australian coaches.

 

Wonderful Indian Moments from Indo-Pak ties.

India will be meeting Pakistan in the ICC World Cup 2011 semi-finals at Mohali. Ahead of that epic encoounter, let’s revisit great Indian moments in Indo-Pak ties.

	In 1984, the Indian team led by Kapil Dev was bowled out for 125 in Sharjah. In the dressing room, Kapil asked his bowlers to just go and make things difficult for Pakistan, since they had nothing to lose. In reply, India bowled out Imran Khan's Pakistan team for a paltry 87. Catches win matches, and it was a cliche come true at Sharjah. This was one of those rare matches in the sub-continent a low-scoring game that was a thriller all the way. With Imran Khan firing on all cylinders, India were shot out for a miserable 125 and it seemed all over bar the shouting. It was India's fielding that won the day and leading the way was veteran opening batsman Sunil Gavaskar. Pakistan were all out for 87. Gavaskar's four brilliant catches at slip would stand as a world record till it was broken by Jonty Rhodes in 1993.
	In 1992 World Cup Kiran More, the Indian wicket-keeper harassed Miandad from behind the wickets by chatting constantly. Miandad got angry because of this constant chat and jumped in air 3 times just to tease Kiran More.Although India went onto win that game but that incident is still fresh in the memories of the cricket lovers who watched that game.
	During 1996 World Cup Quarter Final, in Bangalore, Aamir Sohail smashed a delivery from Indian seamer Venkatesh Prasad through the covers for a four. After this, he pointed his bat towards the Prasad and boundary where the ball had gone. In the very next delivery, Prasad bowled out Sohail and pointed his finger towards the pavilion.  In the same match, Ajay Jadeja had hit Waqar Younis for 18 and 22 in 48th and 50th over. Though numerically insignificant, Ajay Jadeja smashing 45 swung the match away from Pak in this tension-packed knockout match. Coming in for the slog, Jadeja was particularly severe on Waqar whose first eight overs had cost 47 runs. The next two went for 18 and 22 with Jadeja smashing four 4s and two 6s off a mere 26 balls. That took India to a formidable 287 for 8 which proved too much for Pakistan.
	In Sahara Friendship series, Toronto, 1997 Sourav Ganguly dominated a series with both bat and ball like no cricketer has before or since. He almost single-handedly guided India to a 4-1 rout of Pakistan. A total of 222 runs, 15 wickets and three catches in the six games (the third was abandoned after 31.5 overs) was a dazzling performance and earned Ganguly the Man of the Series award. Ganguly started quietly with two wickets and 17 runs in the first game. In the second he again took two wickets and scored 32. He took two of three wickets to fall in the washed out third game and then routed Pakistan in the fourth with figures of 5 for 16 to make it three wins in a row. The fifth saw him shine with the bat 75 not out plus two wickets and then in the sixth and final the only defeat for India-he top scored with 96 and picked up another two wickets. It was virtually Ganguly vs Pakistan.
	In the final of the Independence Cup at the national stadium Dhaka, India pulled off a sensational three-wicket win with one ball to spare against Pakistan when Hrishikesh Kanitkar's hit Saqlain Mushtaq for a crucial boundary off the second-last ball of the match in India's memorable victory over Pakistan. In this match Sourav Ganguly played a wonderful knock of 124, and this was the India's first such a big chase. Sourav was adjudged man of the match for the breath-taking knock that he played.
	It was a golden moment when Anil Kumble took 10 wickets in an innings against Pakistan to become one of the two bowlers in Test cricket history to achieve the feat. On 8 February 1999, History was created at the Feorzeshah Kotla Stadium in New Delhi when One of India's Greatest Spinners Anil Kumble became only the Second Bowler ever (the other being Jim Laker(England)) to have taken all 10 wickets in a Test innings. Anil Kumble achieved this feat against Pakistan in the second Test played at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in New Delhi and leading India to Victory by very huge margin of 212 runs.
	In a group game of the 2003 Cricket World Cup, at Centurion, India were chasing 273 against a legendary Pakistani attack (Wasim, Waqar, Akhtar, Razzaq, Afridi) on a lively pitch. In response,Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag got of to a stunning flyer scoring 53 in 5 overs by demoralizing Pakistan's bowlers hitting heavily with sixes and fours to Shoaib Akhtar. India eventually won the game with 4 overs to spare. Thus, India maintained always a "winning consistency" or "never loose" against Pakistan in world cup cricket history. Sachin Tendulkar scored 98 in that Centurion, World Cup, 2003 match.
	India won a stunning game in a thrilling finish- 1st ODI Karachi 2004 India tour of Pakistan, as Pakistan failed to hit the nine runs needed off the final over. Ashish Nehra held his nerve brilliantly, conceding just three runs and ending with the wicket of Moin Khan needing a six off the very last ball to win the match.
	Sachin Tendulkar scored 141 in Rawalpindi, 2004. It was the first ODI century on Pakistan soil by an Indian batsman in 26 years of trying. But just as his fantastic 123 failed to prevent victory for Pakistan in the fourth ODI at Ahmedabad the other day, it was a similar story a year back at Rawalpindi. Having narrowly won the first match at Karachi after topping 300, it was now the turn of India to fail in the chase while going after Pakistan's 329 for 6. It was Tendulkar's highest ODI score against Pakistan at more than a run a ball and was full of glorious shots which brought him 17 fours and a six. India fell short by 12 runs but the Man of the Match award went to Tendulkar. It was his 37th ODI hundred and during the innings he crossed 13,000 runs.
	Virender Sehwag's blazing knock of 309 (375 balls, 531 minutes, 39 fours, 6 sixes) had come against Pakistan in 1st Test match-India's tour of Pakistan-2004 played at Multan Cricket Stadium, Pakistan. Virender Sehwag became the first Indian to hit a Test triple century. This test match was memorable because India clinched an historic win i.e India's first-ever Test victory in Pakistan. At the stroke of 1 Six, Sehwag launched Saqlain Mushtaq into the stands over midwicket to become the first Indian to reach 300 in style with a fearless six. In this match Anil Kumble (6/30 in the second innings) and Sachin Tendulkar (194 not out in the first inning) played sterling roles in the win.
	India's 2004 tour to Pakistan was a huge success, with both Test and one-day series victories. For the first time ever India won a series in Pakistan. India won the Test series by 2-1 and ODI series by 3-2 in Pakistan in the tour. The Indian cricket team went for a complete tour to Pakistan after a long gap of 15 years in 2004 and hence, the tour was considered as historical even before it started. And it ended in India`s First Test Series Win in Pakistan, 2004 with the powerful performance of complete Indian team specially Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid and the strong emergence of Virender Sehwag, Irfan Pathan, Lakshmipathy Balaji.
	At the Vishakhapatnam Ground in 2005, Mahendra Singh Dhoni celebrated his maiden ODI century against Pakistan with a cracking 148, the highest score by an Indian against Pakistan, off just 123 balls, with 15 bounadries and four sixes, batting at number three, Dhoni hit a breezy ton of 148 as India posted their highest total against Pakistan i.e. 356 for 9. Thus Dhoni arrived to international cricket by this marvellous inning and he was always remembered for this killing innings that destroyed Pakistan bowling attack completely. There were two magic moments in course of Dhoni's innings, and neither had anything to do with the free-flowing player's shot-making. The first was when he completed his century; the second, when he was finally out. On both occasions, the cameras panned to the team dressing room -- and there, up on his feet, a smile as wide as all outdoors, stood Virender Sehwag, furiously applauding. Virender Sehwag clapped right through as Dhoni walked into the pavilion. And as the young wicket-keeper walked up to him, Viru grabbed his hand and slapped him on the back, his smile getting even wider. The signal was clear: Sehwag, who increasingly has become the go-to guy every time India needs quick runs, was recognizing the emergence of a kindred spirit, a young lad without a shadow of fear in his heart or doubt in his mind.
	India won the 5 match ODI series 4–1 in India's 2005 tour to Pakistan in which Indian batsmen demonstrated a pressure handling run chase through out the series by Yuvraj Singh (who scored 344 runs in 5 matches) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni(who scored 219 runs in four innings at a strike rate of 137). Dhoni's performance in that tour of Pakistan propelled him to number three in ICC 2005 ranking among ODI batsmen.
	Irfan Pathan claimed a first over hat-trick against Pakistan, becoming the second person , after Nuwan Zoysa, to achieve this feat in a test match in the first over. In a sensational start to the third Test of India's tour to Pakistan Jan 2006 played at National Stadium Karachi, Irfan Pathan took the wickets of Pakistan's top order batsmen - Salman Butt (caught by Rahul Dravid at slip), Younis Khan (LBW) and Mohammand Yousuf (bowled) of the last three deliveries of the first over. This feat made Pathan the second Indian to achieve a test hat trick (the other being Harbhajan Singh).
	The First T20 World cup was played in South Africa, 2007 and the First T20 match between India & Pakistan ended in Tie and then the bowl-out took place, India won the bowl-out by 3-0. Twenty20 doesn’t allow a result to end in a tie and now it was time for the ‘Bowl Out’ as scores are levelled. Each team has to nominate five bowlers to bowl a ball each with both sides alternating. The team that hits the stumps most times would be the winners with overstepping the crease not counted. Shoaib Malik won the toss and he asked India to have first go. The crowd didn’t leave the stadium at all, they were praying for their respective teams to prevail in this unique contest on a cricket ground. India’s five bowlers were Virender Sehwag, Robin Uthappa, Harbhajan Singh, Sreesanth and Irfan Pathan while Pakistan’s were Asif, Umar Gul, Afridi, Arafat and Tanvir. Sehwag started the Bowl Out and bang he was on the target and in response Yasir Arafat nervously bowled it oustide the offstump! Next Harbhajan bowled an off break that went straight onto the stumps and in reply, Umar Gul bowled with cross seam which nicely swung away outside the offstump. Pakistan under all sorts of pressure, they now needed to fire in three out of three to just tie the Bowl Out and start it all over. Robin Uthappa came in next, hit the stumps and took a bow. His competitor Shahid Afridi drifted his leg break down the legstump leaving India victorious with a score of 3-0.
	In the grand final of ICC T20 world cup 2007 between IND vs PAK, that held in South Africa, both the teams reached the finals and Pakistan needed 6 runs in 4 balls with 1 wicket remaining, Misbah Ul-Haq batting on 53 was on strike and got out to Joginder Sharma on the 4th ball and India won the match by 5 runs. India triumphed emphatically in the inaugural edition of the World Cup T20. This was also a golden moment for Indian Cricket team because India under captaincy of M.S.Dhoni beat their arch-rival Pakistan in the World Twenty20 final by five runs to clinch their first major trophy since 1983 World Cup.
	In Asia Cup 2008, Karachi Sehwag's 119 and Raina's 84 seal thumping win against Pakistan. The 198-run stand between Virender Sehwag and Suresh Raina shut Pakistan out of the game. India 301 for 4 (Sehwag 119, Raina 84) beat Pakistan 299 for 4 (Malik 125 retd, Younis 59) by six wickets. Raina did most of the early scoring with free-flowing cover drives when offered width outside off stump by Sohail Tanvir and Anjum. Raina scored his maiden hundred against Hong Kong during the first match of 2008 Asia Cup played in Pakistan. Bristling with confidence after his century against Hong Kong, He scored 84 of 69 against Pakistan and 116 of 107 against Bangladesh, in next two matches. Hence, Raina won man of the match award successively for three times in that 2008 Asia Cup played in Pakistan. This led to the emergence of Suresh Raina. Since then, Raina has been a member of India's full-strength ODI and T20 team.
	India and Pakistan's eagerly anticipated clash at The Oval in a warm up match of second ICC T20 World Cup June, 2009 had been designated as a "Catch the Spirit" match by the ICC, a fundraiser to help support families of the victims of the attack on the Sri Lanka team and officials in Lahore in March. India thrashed Pakistan in that T20 warm-up match making it a one-sided Twenty20 game.Rohit Sharma with a 80-run blitzkrieg and Gautam Gambhir 52 not out continued to give India a combination dilemma and made the chase seem like an afternoon walk in a London park. Rohit Sharma tore apart Pakistan's bowling attack as India bulldozed their arch-rivals by nine wickets with three overs to spare in their final warm-up match of the ICC World Twenty20 on Wednesday night.
	In response to the Sharma-Miandad classic, in the 4th game of the Asia Cup 2010, India were chasing 268 to win against Pakistan. With 9 needed off the last over, Harbhajan Singh hit a six in the penultimate ball sealing the victory for India, followed by a loud roar towards Shoaib Akhtar. That reaction was sparked by an altercation with Akhtar in the previous over. In response, Akhtar hand-gestured Singh with a 'V' sign.