Yesterday in the T20 WC New Zealand was shot out for 60 and England for 80 odd, that too against Netherlands.It was a humiliating defeat for England. This might be the first time that two international teams have been all out for less than 100 on the same day. Now Sri Lanka is through. Let's see who will be pitted against India in the Semis.
Ammar is going on a 3-Day school trip tomorrow. It is the first time he will stay away from us. Hence we are a bit apprehensive but then it will be great learning experience for him, Insha Allah.
Today is the 1st of April, All Fool's Day. We used to play so many pranks on this day, especially with our Naushe-Bhai's (Brother-in-laws).
If I remember correctly today is the birthday of one of India's luckiest captains Ajit Wadekar. He was later the coach/ manager of the Indian Team under Azharuddin & Tendulkar. In a surprise move he replaced Tiger Pataudi as the Captain for the tour of West Indies in 1971. This team had many new faces including Sunil Gavaskar. Thanks mainly to the exploits of Gavaskar and Dileep Sardesai, India was consistently able to post good scores. They won the test in Port of Spain and won the series too.
This was followed by a series win in England. Both were a first for India. Ajit Wadekar, whose own performance with the bat on these tours were mediocre, was hailed as a great captain. India's spin quartet was also quite effective and he kept winning at home also. This was the time when Eknath Solkar was taking some absoluet blinders at forward short leg. But the 1974 tour to England was a disaster. India lost all Tests by big margins and was once all out for 42. Added to this many unsavoury incidents happened outside the field also including Suru Naik being charged for shop lifting. Wadekar became a villian. His statue was defaced. He chose to retire. I was watching the 'Tehelka' sting on match fixing scandal. I was surprised to see that Bishen Bedi and Sanjay Majrekar and some others describing Wadekar as a 'slimy' character. Anyway, he will be known as the man who led India to their first series wins in West Indies and England. He was a stylish left hander, who never really performed to his potential in Tests. He proved to be a effective Manager when India won many Tests at home under Azhar. But this team's performance away from home was pathetic.
Captaining the Indian Cricket Team is a tough task for the best of men. Dhoni, who has been perhaps the best captain India has ever had (along with Ganguly), was complaining the other day that his hair has turned grey !!
Flight MH370 controversy continues. In all likelihood we may never know what really happened.
This blog is called 'Cricket and all that'......I will focus on Cricket but frequently 'all that' can also dominate !
This was followed by a series win in England. Both were a first for India. Ajit Wadekar, whose own performance with the bat on these tours were mediocre, was hailed as a great captain. India's spin quartet was also quite effective and he kept winning at home also. This was the time when Eknath Solkar was taking some absoluet blinders at forward short leg. But the 1974 tour to England was a disaster. India lost all Tests by big margins and was once all out for 42. Added to this many unsavoury incidents happened outside the field also including Suru Naik being charged for shop lifting. Wadekar became a villian. His statue was defaced. He chose to retire. I was watching the 'Tehelka' sting on match fixing scandal. I was surprised to see that Bishen Bedi and Sanjay Majrekar and some others describing Wadekar as a 'slimy' character. Anyway, he will be known as the man who led India to their first series wins in West Indies and England. He was a stylish left hander, who never really performed to his potential in Tests. He proved to be a effective Manager when India won many Tests at home under Azhar. But this team's performance away from home was pathetic.
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