THE LEGEND OF JASPRIT BUMRAH

 

Image Credit- NDTV Sports.

Rarely has been a moment wherein a 5 Match Test Series was remembered for the heroics of a single individual player. The 1981 Ashes is dubbed as the Botham's Ashes, whereas the Ashes of 2005 is often linked with the heroics of Andrew Flintoff. Apart from that the Border Gavaskar Trophy of 2014-15 is one such series which is remembered for the clash of two superstars of the game- Steve Smith and Virat Kohli. Both of them scored tons of runs in that epic encounter and cemented their place in history. 

The recently concluded 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy is one such series which will always be remembered for just one cricketer and that is Jasprit Bumrah. The performance which he delivered is something beyond words. Furthermore, he also captained India in the first and the last test of the series which was as fine as his bowling. It was literally Bumrah versus Australia. 

In a Series wherein Indian Bowlers were struggling to pick wickets, Bumrah did it comfortably. Every time he took ball in his hand it seemed that a wicket is around the corner. It is pertinent to note that Bumrah played all the 5 Tests of the Series and ended up picking 32 wickets at an average of just above 13. He literally performed in each and every venue of the Series. It was quite unfortunate that he suffered an injury on the second day of the fifth test or else the result of the series could have been 2-2. 

Interestingly apart from his lethal bowling he also contributed with the bat. The last wicket partnership which he had with Akash Deep was instrumental in avoiding the follow on at the Gabba. It was literally a marvelous performance by our generational talent. Even though he failed to win the series for India, but his performance will be remembered for the ages.  

To watch the spells of Jasprit Bumrah, Click Here. 

To watch the Opening Spell of Jasprit Bumrah in Perth, Click Here. 

THE CLASS OF LITTLE MASTER

 

Image Credit- ESPN CricInfo.

Venue- County Ground, Chelmsford [July 13-15, 2007].

The Australians have regained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as they have won the 5 Match Test Series 3-1. After losing the first test at Perth, the Hosts made a strong comeback as they blew away the Visitors in Adelaide and dominated against them in the remaining 3 matches of the series. The Indians fell short in ever department and thus lost a Test Series in Australia after 10 long years. Since we have now failed to make it into the WTC Finals, so the questions are now being raised that why we failed. The answer to the same is that we didn't have a strong bowling line-up, and we were overdependent on Bumrah. Secondly, we didn't play much tour games to adapt ourselves in the Australian surroundings. Thirdly our star players missed domestic tournaments due to which they were short of practice, and it cost us on big time. 

However, this was not the situation before as the cricketers of yesteryears not only played Ranji Trophy Games but also played a lot of Tour Games to adjust themselves in foreign conditions. The Legendary Sachin Tendulkar was one such cricketer who did everything to be game ready before such big tours. In the Year 2007, Indian Cricket Team toured England to play 3 Tests and 7 ODIs. In addition to that Indians were supposed to play an ODI against Ireland in Ireland, 3 ODIs against South Africa in Ireland and also 1 ODI against Scotland in Scotland. So, it was a very big tour. Interestingly it ended up as one of the most successful overseas tours as we won the ODIs against Ireland and Scotland. Furthermore, we also won the Series against South Africa 2-1. Unfortunately, we lost the 7 match ODI series against England 3-4 but were successful in winning the 3 Match Test Series 1-0 after 21 long years.  So why were we successful back then? The answer to the same is proper practice and training. We played sufficient tour games due which we were game ready when the actual series started. 

It is interesting to note that in one of the tour games against England Lions we were struggling as the Indian scorecard read 2/2 in response to Lion's 413. However, this is when we saw one of the finest knocks of the Great Sachin Tendulkar. The Little Master scored a magnificent 171 of just 236 deliveries (23 Boundaries and 1 Six) and took his team out of crisis. Furthermore, the elegance with which he batted that day made everyone go gaga. The shots he played were properly timed and placed. The God of Cricket was literally at his absolute best. 

It is pertinent to note that it was only due to his monumental innings the Indians ended up posing 383 in their first innings. The Match eventually ended in a draw, but it did give us a lot of confidence as we went out and scripted history in the Pataudi Trophy. 

In the month of June, we will be touring England for a 5 Match Test Series. Hence, one can only hope that the Indians will take a lesson from the past and will not repeat the same mistake which did they did in Australia. 

To watch the innings of Sachin Tendulkar, Click Here. 

THIS IS EXPLOSIVE CRICKET

 

Image Credit- ESPN CricInfo.

Venue- Trent Bridge, Nottingham [June 19, 2018].

In the Summer of 2018, Australian Cricket Team toured England to play 5 ODIs and 1 T20 International. The Hosts won the first two ODIs comfortably and the action now shifted to Nottinghamshire. In a must win game Australian Captain Tim Paine won the toss and elected to field first. The same was done because it was quite difficult to comprehend that what could be a winning total on this batting paradise. As, a result they decided to go for the chase. However, what followed next was something truly unbelievable. The English Batsmen came out all guns blazing upon the Aussie Attack. They went for a kill from the very first ball as openers Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow shared a first-wicket partnership of 159 runs in just 19 overs. 

Jason Roy scored a quickfire 82 of just 61 deliveries. His innings comprised of 7 boundaries and 4 massive sixes. However, the attack was not one-sided. Even Bairstow was hitting with same flare as Roy. The duo of Bairstow and Roy literally made a mess of the Aussie Bowling Line-up as every bowler went for runs. To be honest it was quite unfortunate that Roy got runout and thus missed a well-deserved hundred. However, Bairstow and Alex Hales continued from where Roy left. Both of them scored massive hundreds against the Arch-Rivals as England ended up posting 481 in their 50 overs. Bairstow scored 139 of 92 deliveries, whereas Alex Hales scored 147 of 92 deliveries. Apart from them Captain Morgan too scored a brilliant 67 of just 30 deliveries. It was literally raining boundaries that day in Nottingham. The Visitors looked helpless in front of the Hosts. 

Chasing 482 was never going to be an easy task for the Aussies as maintaining a run-rate of 9.6 for entire 50 overs is close to impossible. Even though they started of pretty well but crumbled in between as English continued picking up wickets in regular intervals. At last, the Visitors were bowled out for just 239 runs in 37 overs. The English won the game by massive 242 runs and took a 3-0 lead in the 5-match series.

It was an act of complete domination on the part of Hosts. This was well and truly explosive cricket.   

  

To watch the Highlights of English Innings, Click Here.

To watch the Highlights of the Entire Match, Click Here. 

THE LEGEND OF SACHIN TENDULKAR

 

Image Credit- ESPN CricInfo.

Venue- Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi [March 16, 2004].

It was the Summer of 2004. Indian Cricket Team toured Pakistan to play 5 ODIs and 3 Tests. The Indians won the first ODI by the barest of margins and the action now shifted to Rawalpindi. Pakistani Captain Inzamam-ul-Haq won the toss and elected to bat first on what looked like a batting paradise. The Hosts got off to an explosive start as Shahid Afridi and Yasir Hameed shared an opening partnership of 138 runs in just 18 overs. The decision of batting first turned out to be right. 

Eventually Yuvraj Singh made the important breakthrough in the 19th over of the innings as he bowled Afridi out for 80. However, the Pakistanis continued with their attacking style of cricket and ended up scoring 329 in their 50 overs. Yasir Hameed scored the highest 86, whereas Nehra and Yuvraj picked up 3 and 2 wickets respectively.  

Indians now needed 330 runs in 50 overs to take a 2-0 lead in the series. It was not going to be an easy task. Pakistanis had some of the lethal bowlers, game of cricket has ever seen. However, Indians too had an explosive batting line-up. So it was rightly the clash of the titans. And Boy! What a display of cricket we saw that evening. Sachin Tendulkar who was on the peak of his powers scored a scintillating 141 of just 135 deliveries. His innings comprised of 17 boundaries and 1 six. It was just a treat to watch as he played proper cricketing shots against the best bowling attack. It was truly a classic knock played under extreme pressure. 

Shoaib Akhtar who was playing on his home ground was bowling at a lightning pace. In a spell of 9 overs he conceded 49 runs and picked up 3 crucial wickets including the wicket of Virender Sehwag. However, he failed to get past the Little Master. Unfortunately no other Indian Batsman managed to get past 50 as we were bowled out for 317 runs. The Hosts won the match by 12 runs and levelled series 1-1. 

However despite ending in the losing cause, this knock of Sachin Tendulkar will forever be remembered by Cricket Fans across the globe.

To watch the knock of Sachin Tendulkar, Click Here. 

THIS IS TEST CRICKET

 

Image Credit- ESPN CricInfo.

Venue-  Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne [December 26-30, 1982].

It was the Summer of 1982. English Cricket Team toured Down Under to defend their Ashes title. However, after the conclusion of the third test, Hosts were 2-0 up in the series and were on the cusp of regaining the urn. As, a result the Boxing Day Test was a must win game for the visitors to stay alive. 

The Australians needed 292 runs to win the 4th Test and at one stage were struggling at 218/9. The English were just a wicket away from securing a win, whereas the Aussies required 74 more runs. However, the game was far from over because the Charismatic Allan Border was still on the crease. 

Allan Border and Jeff Thomson knew the value of their wickets and they decided to fight till the final moment. And Boy! The way they batted made everyone glued to the match. The duo shared a fine partnership and the Aussie Scorecard now read 288/9. Allan Border scored a gritty Half-Century, whereas Thomson too passed the 20 runs mark. 

The game was on knife-edge and this is when Ian Botham came out to bowl. Aussies were just a boundary away from securing a famous win. However, the English won the game by the barest of margin as Thomson edged it into the slip. Interestingly the second slip failed to catch it, but Miller who was standing in the first slip completed the catch and the match was done. England have won the match by 3 runs. 

It was agony for Australia. Ecstasy for England. The Ashes was well and truly alive because of one cricketer- Ian Botham. The legend has it that among the final day Melbourne Crowd was a 13 years old youngster who went on to change the fortunes of Australian Cricket. Yes you got it right. It was none other than the Great Shane Warne.

To watch the finals moments of the 4th Test, Click Here.  

A TON TO REMEMBER

 

Image Credit- ESPN CricInfo.

Venue- Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai [8 September 2022].

India was facing Afghanistan in the final super 4 game of the 2022 Asia Cup. It was a dead rubber because both the teams had failed to make their place into the finals. However, this was a game of prestige as everyone wanted to leave the Middle East Shores on a high note. KL Rahul was leading the Indian Side in place of Rohit Sharma. However, it did not change their luck in terms of toss as it was the Afghanistan Captain who won the toss and elected to field first. 

The Duo of Kohli and Rahul opened the Indian Innings. Both of them batted sensibly in the powerplay and laid down the foundation for a huge total. The pair of Kohli and Rahul shared an opening partnership of 119 runs. However, Fareed Ahmmad picked up 2 quick wickets and the Indian Scorecard read 125/2 at the end of 13 overs. This is when Rishabh Pant joined Virat Kohli in the middle. It was needed that Pant and Kohli share a partnership, and this is what they exactly did. However, there was a package of surprise when we saw Pant playing the role of a anchor and Kohli going out on an all-round attack. 

It appeared Kohli was determined to bury the ghosts of bad luck and bad form which has haunted him for last 3 years. On that day Kohli looked unstoppable. It is interesting to note that Kohli did not score an international ton in the last 3 years. However, this time when he reached close to a 100, he did not take singles, rather he hit a six and threw the burden off himself. It was a moment which no cricket fan will ever forget. It was happiness all round as Kohli hit his 71st ton. Due to Kohli's quickfire 122 [12 4s and 6 6s] we managed to reach a score of 212/2 in 20 overs. 

A target of 213 was never going to be an easy task for Afghanistan and the lethal bowling of Bhuvneshwar Kumar made sure that we wrap up this game without any difficulty. Even though this game did not change the course of Asia Cup, but the same will always be remembered for Kohli's ton. 

A WIN FOR THE AGES

 

Image Credit- ESPN CricInfo.

Venue- Bay Oval, Tauranga [January 1-5, 2022].

In the Summer of 2022, Bangladesh Cricket Team toured New Zealand to play 2 Test Matches. The First Test of the Series took place in Bay Oval, Tauranga. Due to the absence of Kane Williamson, Tom Latham led the Black Caps in this series. The Kiwis were the reigning WTC Champions and were thus considered as favorites despite missing out their Star Batsman. However, this Bangladeshi Side looked determined to create history. Hence, everyone was expecting a strong contest.

On a bright sunny day, Bangladeshi Captain Mominul Haque won the toss and elected to field first on what looked like a batting paradise. Interestingly the Visitors got a dream start as they dismissed Captain Latham for just 1 run. However, Devon Conway scored a magnificent 122 and helped the Hosts post 328 in their first innings. Apart from Conway, Will Young and Henry Nicholls too scored valuable 50s. 

In response the Bangladeshis scored 458 in their first innings. Captain Mominul Haque led from the front as he scored a gritty 88 of 244 deliveries. Apart from the Skipper, Litton Das too scored a solid 86 as the visitors took a 130 runs lead in their first innings. 

The Hosts were under extreme pressure. They were now required to bat long in order to set a competitive target. for the Visitors However, Ebadot Hossain had some other plans. In a spell of 21 overs, he dismissed 6 Kiwi Batsmen for just 46 runs. He was literally unplayable that day. Apart from Ebadot, Taskin Ahmad too picked up 3 wickets as Kiwis were bundled out for just 169 in their second innings. Except Will Young no other batsman managed to cross the 50 runs mark. 

The Bangladeshis needed just 40 runs to win the game which they chased down comfortably. The small Bangladeshi crowd erupted with joy once the winning runs were scored. Afterall the impossible had happened. They have registered their first test win on the Kiwi soil.