Rainman talks Cricket

1 .     When Australia toured India in 1969, Calcutta went up in arms protesting a player’s inclusion in the Australian squad who they wrongly believed had served in the Vietnam War and killed Viet Cong members. Which cricketer? 2.     In the 2000’s, Jagmohan Dalmiya was seeking the role of the BCCI’s patron in chief and to install Ranbir Mahendra as President. On the other hand, Sharad Pawar had forged a cricket alliance with IS Bindra and was looking forward to become the BCCI supremo.  It was in this background that Pawar’s loyalists declined a certain request by someone considered close to Dalmiya for a match that he eventually didn’t play but would go on to change his career. Which match and what was the request? 3.   Greg Mathews picked up 10 wickets in the 1986 Madras Test to ensure a tie. What crazy thing did he during India’s second innings as a psychological ploy, that Ricky Ponting also did during his 1999 Barbados century? 4...

After a scintillating ton on debut in the first Test, Prithvi Shaw lived up to his 'prodigy' label with subsequent performances at Hyderabad that duly earned him a ‘Man of the Series’ against a beleaguered Windies side. The following praise had to be effusive. And effusive it was. Never the one to mince words, team India coach Ravi Shastri drew parallels with Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara as well as Virender Sehwag. While the first two comparisons can be discounted as slightly premature, Shastri can be forgiven for seeing Sehwag in those audacious shots that Shaw enthralled the motley crowd with at Rajkot and Hyderabad. Even if anyone didn't watch him play, those strike rates are a definite reminder of a man who holds, among many others, the record of scoring the fastest triple hundred in Tests. In a world far far away from Hyderabad but in a city not so far away, Sehwag's once partner-in-crime Gautam Gambhir was rolling back the years with a 69 ball century ...

Major test of character lies ahead for Kohli and his men in South Africa It was December 2006 and India’s ODI success that had peaked under the Dravid-Chappell combination had started to desert them. Blooding in youngsters by axing seniors had seemed to herald a new era under the stewardship of the new coach and captain and yielded results at home, but once out of their comfort zones, these youngsters were found out in no time . Not only did success desert the team but defeats began to become more and more embarrassing with India failing to even come close to touching the silverware in the ICC Champions Trophy 2006 held at home. The ODI series in South Africa later that year proved to be an eye-opener on how ill-equipped the young boys were at handling pace and bounce outside the subcontinent. The 4-0 loss doesn’t look half as bad on paper as it was on the pitch. Ahead of the Test Series, it became clear that there was a need to get some experience in the batting lineup and in...