THE INDIAN WHO SCORED AN ASHES TON

 

Image Credit- Wisden Cricket.

Venue- Old Trafford, Manchester [July 1896].

In the summer of 1896, Australian Cricket Team toured England to play 3 test matches. The English won the first test at Lords comfortably and all eyes were now set in Manchester.  This test has a special place in the history of English Cricket. Maharaja KS Ranjitsinhji made his international debut for England, thereby becoming the first Indian to do the same. To be honest this should have happened in the first test itself, however the racist tendency of the then English Selector Lord Harris kept him away from the side. Furthermore despite being a brilliant batsman of his time, his inclusion in the team was because of financial reasons and not solely because of his merit.

Now lets come back to the match. In the second test, the Aussies won the toss and elected to bat first. Riding upon FA Iredale's century, the visitors ended up scoring 412 in their first innings. In response the Hosts were bowled out for 231 in their first innings. AFA Lilley scored 65, whereas debutant KS Ranjitsinhji scored a cautious 62. 

The Aussies enforced a follow on and this is when we witnessed the best of Maharaja. KS Ranjitsinji scored a marvelous 154* against the hostile bowling line-up of the visitors. The remaining players of his side were struggling to score runs, but not him. It was a fine display of his skills as because of his hundred the hosts ended up scoring 305 in their second innings.

 Everyone was in awe of his innings. In the words of Wisden, "The famous young Indian fairly rose to the occasion, playing an innings that could, without exaggeration, be fairly described as marvelous. He punished the Australian bowlers in a style that, up to that period of the season, no other English batsman had approached. He repeatedly brought off his wonderful strokes on the leg side, and for a while had the Australian bowlers quite at his mercy." 

Though it were Aussies who won the game, but it was the Maharaja who stole the show. However it is pertinent to note that though the majority of English public loved his innings, but not the the establishment who viewed him as a heathen. The dark reality of colonial times. 

[Postscript- The English won the third test at Oval and thus lifted the urn, thereby making Maharaja Ranjitsinhji a part of the Ashes winning squad]. 

 

THE COMEBACK

 

Image Credit- Sky Sports.

Venue- Basin Reserve, Wellington [February 2023]. 

In the summer of 2023, English Cricket Team toured New Zealand to play a 2 match test series. The visitors won the first test at Mount Maunganui comfortably and all eyes were now set for the second test in Basin Reserve. The Kiwi skipper Tim Southee won the toss and elected to field first. The decision turned out to be a good one as the Kiwis picked up 3 quick wickets. The English Scorecard read 21/3 and this is when Harry Brook joined Joe Root at the crease. 

In such a situation the batting team usually goes on backfoot. But this was a new England Side lead by their courageous coach Brendon McCullum. The English started a strong counterattack and in no time the pressure shifted upon the hosts.  The duo of Root and Brook batted for nearly 60 overs and stitched a partnership of massive 302 runs. By the time Harry Brook was dismissed, the English Scorecard read 323/4. Harry Brook scored an incredible 186 of 176 deliveries. His innings consisted of 24 boundaries and 5 sixes. Furthermore, Joe Root also scored a remarkable century. He scored 153 of 224 deliveries as England declared at a score of 435/8. 

In response the Kiwis were bowled out for mere 209 runs in their first innings. Barring Skipper Tim Southee, no other Kiwi Batsman was able to cross the 50 runs mark. Stuart Broad picked up 4 whereas Anderson and Jack Leach picked up 3 wickets each. The English had a lead of 226 runs, and this is when Captain Stokes decided to enforce the follow-on.

This time the Kiwi openers [Latham and Conway] gave a solid start to their team as both of them scored half-centuries. However, it was their former Captain Kane Williamson who rose up to the occasion with a brilliant 132. Williamson played a calm and composed knock and ensured that his side sets a respectable target for the visitors. Apart from Williamson, Tom Blundell, Daryl Mitchell too contributed with the bat as the hosts were bowled out for 483 in their second innings. Jack Leach was the leading wicket taker for the visitors in the second innings as he picked up a 5-fer. 

The English needed 258 runs to win the game and series. It was not a tough target to chase, but it wasn't going to be easy either. The English Openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett gave visitors a solid start. However, the hosts made a strong comeback and at one stage the English scorecard read 80/5. The match was well in the hands of the hosts. However, this is when Captain Stokes joined Joe Root in the crease. The duo started batting sensibly and brought visitors closer to the target. 

The English Scorecard now read 201/5. They needed just 57 runs to win the game with 5 wickets in hand and this is when there was another twist in the tale. Neil Wagner came steaming in and dismissed Ben Stokes [33] and Joe Root [95] in quick succession. Matt Henry dismissed Stuart Broad and in no time the English Scorecard went from 201/5 to 215/8. The game again went in favor of the hosts. But Ben Foakes along with Jack Leach batted sensibly and took the English past 250. However, Captain Southee dismissed Foakes for 35 and the English were now 251/9. 

The English needed 7 runs; the Kiwis needed 1 wicket. Test Cricket at its very best. Furthermore, the boundary of James Anderson brought this margin to 2 runs. The visitors were just one shot away of the glory and this is when Anderson nicked the delivery of Wagner to the keeper. The hosts had won the game by 1 run and levelled the series one each. The memories from 2005 Ashes came back when Michael Kasprowicz nicked one of Harmison to Jones and brought England back to the series. 

It was indeed a test match to remember.

To watch the highlights of this test, click on the URLs below-

Day 1.

Day 2.

Day 3.

Day 4.

Day 5. 

THE BEST OF JAMES ANDERSON

 

Image Credit- NDTV Sports

Venue- Trent Bridge, Nottingham [July 2014]

Whenever we talk about James Anderson, we talk about his swing bowling. However, in this blog post we will talk about his extraordinary batting performance. In the summer of 2014, Indian Cricket Team toured England to play 5 test matches. The first test of the series took place in Trent Bridge wherein Indian Captain MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat first. The pitch was a batting paradise and bowlers were struggling to take wickets from day one itself. Murali Vijay scored a brilliant 146 which helped India reach a respectable total in first innings. In addition to Vijay, MS Dhoni [82], Bhuvneshwar Kumar [58] and Mohammed Shami [51] too scored wonderful half-centuries for their side. It is interesting to note that the last wicket partnership between the Indians were of 111 runs. Indians were eventually bowled for 457 in their first innings with James Anderson being the leading wicket taker [3] for the English.

In response the English scorecard at one stage read 298/9. They were still 159 runs behind the Indian total and this is when James Anderson came in to bat. However, what happened next was truly unbelievable. James Anderson started batting like a top-order batsman. Be it pace bowling or spin, Anderson was playing everything with ease. Not only he played shots down the ground but was also not afraid of playing lofty shots.

He stitched a massive 198 runs partnership with Joe Root and helped England take lead in the first innings. By the time Anderson was out for 81 [130 Balls; 17 4s'] the English scorecard read 496. Joe Root remained unbeaten at 154. 

[Postscript- The match ended in a draw because of Stuart Binny's half-century in the second innings, however it is interesting to note that he was dismissed by Cook who is definitely not known for his bowling. James Anderson was awarded the player of the match award for his all-round performance.] 

To watch the innings of James Anderson, Click Here.  

THE PARTNERSHIP

 

Image Credit- Hindustan Times.

Venue- Adelaide Oval, Adelaide [December, 2003].

In the Australian Summer of 2003/04, Indian Cricket Team toured Australia to play 4 test matches. The first match at Gabba ended in a draw and now all eyes were set in the Adelaide Oval. On a batting friendly wicket, Steve Waugh won the toss and elected to bat first. The Aussie openers gave hosts a quick start before debutant Irfan Pathan picked up the wicket of Hayden. The Australian scorecard read 22/1 and this is when Ponting steeped into the ground. 

And Boy! What happened next was truly incredible. Ricky Ponting scored a majestic 242 of 352 deliveries. In this innings of his, he hit a total of 31 boundaries. No Indian bowler was spared. Furthermore, Justin Langer and Simon Katich too scored valuable half-centuries and helped Australia reach the total of 556 in their first innings, Anil Kumble was the leading wicket taker for the Indians as he picked up 5 wickets in the first innings. 

In response Indians started slowly and steadily. However, Andy Bichel picked up 3 quick wickets and pushed Indians to backfoot. To make matter worse, Sourav Ganguly lost his wicket in form of a run-out. The Indian scorecard read 85/4 and this is when VVS Laxman joined Dravid at the crease. One more wicket and the game would have been over for the visitors. It was a precarious situation. 

 However, this is when Dravid and Laxman showed their persistence and patience as they avoided taking any chances by leaving all the good deliveries. David played some incredible shots of both pace and spin. Laxman, on the other hand, tirelessly used his wrists to flick balls to legside boundaries. In the evening of the second day, Laxman reached 50. The Dravid-Laxman partnership scored 95 runs for the fifth wicket from 29.3 overs as India finished the day at 180/4 from 51 overs. Without giving the Australians too many opportunities, the duo batted very well.

On the morning of the third day, the duo started from where they left yesterday. Both the batsmen were avoiding all sort of risky shots and were playing along the ground. Barring a few occasions, it was all drives. The Australian pace attack were struggling in front of Indian wall.  It was indeed a delight to watch them bat. 

By the time VVS Laxman was dismissed for 148, the Indian scorecard read 388/5. However even after Laxman was dismissed, Dravid continued his merry run and brought up another double hundred. It is worth mentioning that not only Rahul Dravid was the highest run-getter for the Indians in the first innings but was also the last batsmen to be dismissed. By the time Dravid got dismissed for 233, the Indian scorecard read 523- Just 33 behind the Aussie total. The Indians were back in the game because of the huge partnership between Dravid and Laxman. 

[Postscript- In the second innings, Agarkar broke the spine of the Australian batting order as he picked up 6/41 in his 17 overs spell. The Aussies were bowled out for 196 in their second innings with Indians needing just 230 runs to win the test. The Visitors chased it down comfortably with Rahul Dravid scoring another brilliant 72*. For his extraordinary batting, Dravid was awarded the player of the match award as Indians took a 1-0 lead in the 4 match series.]

To watch the highlights of the partnership, Click Here. 

KOHLI ENDS CENTURY DROUGHT

 

Image Credit- Sportstar- The Hindu

Venue- Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad [March, 2023].

 

In the spring of 2023, Australian Cricket Team toured India to play 4 test matches. At the end of 3 tests, the hosts were leading the series 2-1. Even though the visitors were lagging behind, but their victory in the 3rd test meant that they were the ones who had the momentum on their side. 

In a batting friendly wicket, Australian Captain Steve Smith won the toss and elected to bat first. Riding on the centuries of Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green, the visitors ended up scoring a massive 480 in their first innings. Except Ashwin every Indian bowler struggled in front of Aussie Batsmen. Ravichandran Ashwin ended up as the leading wicket taker for the hosts in the first innings as he picked up 6-91 from his 47.2 overs spell. 

In response the Indians started slowly and steadily. Shubman Gill scored his first test hundred on the Indian soil and brought Indians back into the game. However it was the ton of King Kohli which stole the show. Virat Kohli scored a well composed 186 from 364 deliveries. The King not only scored boundaries of the loose deliveries, but also scored a lot through singles and doubles in order to keep the scoreboard ticking. 

It was the ton of Virat Kohli which ensured that Indians take a big first innings lead. It is worth mentioning that not only Kohli scored the highest for team India, but was also the last batsmen to be dismissed in the Indian innings. Due to Kohli's magnificent 186, India ended up scoring 571 in their first innings. 

The 4th test eventually ended in a draw and Indians won the series 2-1. Virat Kohli was awarded the player of the match award for his excellent 186. Furthermore it is pertinent to note that by this 100, Kohli ended the three years century drought in test cricket. It was indeed a ton to remember. 

To watch the knock of Virat Kohli, Click Here. 

OH JIMMY - YOU BEAUTY

 

Image Credit- ESPN CricInfo 

Venue- Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi [December, 2022].

In the winters of 2022, English Cricket team toured Pakistan to play three test matches. The first test of the series took place in Rawalpindi. On a batting friendly wicket, England Captain Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to bat first. And Boy. What a decision it turned out to be. The English Batsmen just blew away the Pakistani bowling line up as they amassed more than 500 runs in just 75 overs of play. Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope and Harry Brook all managed to score 100s as the visitors ended up scoring 657 in their first innings.  

In response the hosts scored 579 in their first innings as Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq and Skipper Babar Azam managed to score 100s for their side. Will Jacks was the leading wicket taker for the visitors as he picked up 6 wickets in the first innings.

It appeared that the match will end in a dull draw. However the English batsmen went on an attacking mode from ball one itself and ended up scoring 264 in just 36 overs. After batting for 36 overs the visitors declared and now it were the hosts who needed 343 runs to win the test. The match which everyone expected to be a draw could now have a result. 

During the run-chase the Pakistanis were always on the backfoot and the England veteran James Anderson ensured that he wins the game for his side. On a flat deck he picked up 4 wickets and made a mess of the Pakistani batting line-up. Anderson bowled with so much of precision that it became difficult for the hosts to score runs. The Pakistanis were ultimately bowled out for 268 runs in their second innings as the visitors won the game by 74 runs. 

On a pitch wherein the batsmen stole most of the show, it was 40 years old Jimmy Anderson who eventually turned to be the match-winner.  

To watch James Anderson's spell, Click Here. 

THE DAY IRISH SILENCED THEIR NEIGHBORS

 

Image Credit- ESPN CricInfo

Venue- M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru [2nd March 2011]

It was ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. Ireland were facing their neighbors England in a group stage game at Bengaluru. On a batting friendly wicket, English Captain Andrew Strauss won the toss and elected to bat first. 

Strauss and Pietersen gave England a solid start. The duo stitched an opening partnership of 91 runs in just 13.3 overs. Pietersen scored a brilliant 59 of 50 deliveries, whereas the skipper scored 34 of 37. The middle order continued from where the openers left. Jonathan Trott scored a crucial 92 of just 92 balls and helped England cross 300.  He was assisted by Ian Bell who too scored 81 on this batting paradise. At the end of 50 overs the English scorecard read 327/8. 

The Irish needed 328 runs to win the game which did not look easy in front of the English pace attack. Furthermore the men in green lost their first wicket on the first ball of their innings as their captain William Porterfield was bowled for a duck by James Anderson. Paul Stirling and Ed Joyce did have a 50 runs stand, but at the end of 24.2 overs the Irish scorecard read 111/5. They needed more than 200 runs in 25 overs with just 5 wickets in hand. Everyone was expecting an easy win for the England and this when a miracle took place. 

Kevin O' Brien started smashing boundaries all over the park. Whoever bowler came in got hit. Be it Broad, Anderson or Bresnan everybody went for runs. He scored a brilliant 113 of just 63 deliveries and brought Irish back into the game. In this innings of 113, Kevin O' Brien hit 13 boundaries and 6 sixes. By the time he was dismissed Ireland needed just 11 runs of 10 deliveries which they eventually chased down in next 5 balls itself. In addition to Kevin O' Brien, Alex Cusack [47] and John Mooney [33] too played vital knock to win the game for their country. 

The impossible happened in Bengaluru. The Irish silenced their noisy neighbors.  

To watch the highlights of that game, Click Here.