Tuesday, May 10, 2005

Pundits from Pakistan...and innings etched in memory

A-A told me about an article in the latest Sunday magazine of The Hindu.
It sure must feel awesome to have an eminent Indian writer and English professor Amitava Kumar review your book. Way to go Zatta. Never imagined I'd say this after all those in-your-face times on the basketball court and back-garden. I have written earlier about how I was seriously shit scared of Zatta when we were in school. But then I guess, at the end of the day, all was fair and square. I guess events in 1995-96 got me a little mo' rezpect, as some folks say!
The article sure had some amazing praise, and that too in some awesome phrases -

His pen, like V.V.S. Laxman's bat, "describes curves where others make straight lines."
I could well imagine VVS and that innings at Calcutta in 2001. That's one innings I will never forget. I suspect a lot of us wont either. I would say it stands tall among some cricketing moments that will always be etched in my memory:

1. Tendulkar, Sharjah 1998 vs Aus. The knock which took India to the finals...
2. Tendulkar, Sharjah 1998 vs Aus...The finals...
3. Jadeja, Bangalore 1996 vs Pak....The assault on Waqar...
4. Aamer Sohail vs. Prasad...:)
4. Tendulkar taking Warney to the cleaners at the Brabourne Stadium in the tour game against Mumbai in 1998.
5. Ganguly (anyone?!!?!!) and his innings against SL at Taunton, WC-1999.
6. Tendulkar hooking Caddick for a six at Durban - WC 2003.
7. Wasim Akram bowls Lewis and Lamb - WC 2002...
8. A scoreboard which read : "South Africa needs 22 runs of one ball" - robbery in broad daylight.
9. Klusener and Donald - SA vs. Aus, WC-1999.
10. Lara hooking Lewis to get past 365...
11. Jayasuriya launching a mindblowing assault on the Indians at the Wankhede in 1997.
12. Hearing about David Hookes...Hansie Cronje...
13. Kapil Dev crying on Thapar's show....
14. Kambli belting Emburey at the Wankhede...
15. Kumbles takes 10....
16. Ejaz belting the Indians when India went to Pak in 1998...
17. Kanitkar sneaking India past 315 at Dhaka.....
18. Javagal smashing Hooper out of the Wankhede...1994...
19. Jonty taking 5 catches against SA at the Brabourne...
20. Tendulkar failing against Pakistan at Chennai...
21. India losing to Aus in the WC-2003 prelims...and the backlash...
22. WC Final 1996 at Lahore...what a damn squib...
23. Dravid's f-all gesture after scoring his century at the Eden Gardens in 2001.
24. India's win at the Natwest Cup in 2002...I had given up!
25. Viv Richards.....gum chewing cool dude...
26. Walsh playing the game sportively and warning Salim Jaffer - WC 1987...
27. Peter Kirsten being "Mankaded" by Kapil...
And so many more which I cant remember right now :)!

So that's that...


What's buzzin' :
Heart - What about love.

2 comments:

Sunil said...

I'll add a few more of "my favorite innings":
1) Dravid in Eden Gardens with VVS. He was spectacular
2) Dravid in Adelade, 2003 (batting with VVS)
3) VVS in Sydney, way back in 1999-2000, his first 100.
4) Kumble in the WI, bowling with bandaged jaws
5) BC Lara, Sydney
6) Azar, Eden gardens (Lance klusener's debut), smashing a 100 after retiring hurt the previous day, batting with Anil Kumble
.......the list goes on

Soultan of Swing said...

Yeah those are all awesome innings.
Yes, I do remember VVS belting that 160 odd in a totally lost cause at Sydney in 1999-2000.
The Azhar-ST show at Cape Town (??) where they belted everyone real bad in the 1998 tour down there was also amazing!