Sachin's Milestone

I am not a big fan of records and milestones. Therefore Sachin Tendulkar getting to his 50th Test century was not that big a deal for me. Not because it is not an unbelievable feat, but precisely for the opposite reason. Would Sachin have been a lesser batsman if he had finished his career with 49 hundreds? Not for me. Sachin has nothing left to prove to anyone. He has been the best batsman of this generation, and one of the very best in the game's history, and very few would argue with that. He has also been one of the classiest gentlemen of the game during this time. I can't think of anyone else who has handled so much fame and adulation with so much dignity and humility.

In all this hoopla about Sachin's milestone, Graeme Smith stirred up some controversy by criticizing the great man for not farming the strike on the 5th morning, and letting South Africa dismiss the Indian tail enders rather easily to complete the formality of an innings victory. Was Smith wrong in his criticism? Did he have a point?

Many of Sachin's fans are angry that Smith dared to criticize Sachin in his hour of glory. A good friend of mine, who is a huge Sachin fan, wrote to me asking me about my opinion on the "incident".

Well my opinion is that Smith had a point. We need to separate Sachin the all time great from the specific comment made by Smith. Could Sachin have made an attempt to farm the strike and delay the inevitable South African win? Yes he could have. Would that have changed the result of the game? Extremely unlikely.

When Laxman and Ishant came together at Mohali against Australia earlier this year, things looked pretty bleak for India. I don't think anyone in their right minds gave India any chance of getting anywhere close to Australia's score. However the two added 80+ and India went on to win the match. Strange things happen. Not very often, but they do.

I am sure Sachin had a good reason to take the approach he did. Perhaps there was no hope, and it was best to get Sreesanth and Unadkat to toughen up by facing a little bit of the music. However Smith thought different, and many would agree with him. It is a matter of how you evaluate a situation and determine the best course of action.

Breaking down the bully

The Big Bully of world cricket is breaking down, and it is not a pretty sight.

At the end of day one of the second Ashes Test at Adelaide, Ricky Ponting had a long animated chat with Andrew Strauss, ostensibly to protest about the "sledging" carried out by the fiery English bowler James Anderson when the Aussies were batting. If that is what Ponting was really complaining about, a very loud "Yesssssss!!!" is in order. For a long time now the Aussies have been the big bullies of world cricket. Their dominance over the last 10 years was as much due to their skills and cricketing ability as due to their systematic bullying of their opponents with their on field behaviour. Who can forget Michael Slater's disgusting protest against Rahul Dravid, and the constant shenanigans of Mssrs McGrath, Hayden, and Warne. Over the years the Aussies have perfected the art of sledging to a point where it has become an accepted part of the game. Until they started getting it back with interest!

The first ones to give it back to the Aussies were the Indians on the famous "Monkey-gate" tour of Australia. As soon as Bhajji stood up to these bullies, the two big guys - Symonds and Hayden - ran straight to the authorities to complain! Then Gambhir took it a step further by sticking out his elbow at Watson during the series in India a couple of years ago. He didn't get away with it, but it sent out a strong signal to the Aussies - expect to get shit in return when you dish it out!

I am rooting for England in the Ashes series. I hope they win the cricket contest. And I also hope they win the bullying war. When the contest is over, I will happily applaud if the big bully ends up with a bloody nose!