10 great moments of Indian cricket 2008
2008 marked a remarkable run for Indian cricket, barring a few run-outs. As Australia and South Africa get into a pugilistic battle of the Boxing Day second Test , an extraordinary year of world-cricket comes to a dramatic finish. Australia, after successive years of towering domination has given early signs of it’s sudden disappearing hold on its champion status. The Proteas and Indians have just sniffed an opportunity to snuff the Oz out — after all you have to strike when the iron is hot. But can the Indians do the unthinkable this year ; turn their magical consistency into a well-embedded gritty domination in all the three formats of the game. On form and paper, admittedly quite likely. On the field, well that will call for a great effort, day in and day out. Far from easy perhaps but neither impossible to achieve, as has been evidenced this year. But for the moment, a quick rewind to 10 moments that captured the heroics, the human and the humongous feats of an emerging titanic team, both on and off the field.
1) Sachin Tendulkar flicking his trademark boundary , and thumping the air in instant jubiliation, as India overcame a mental barrier and won the Chennai Test against England by 6 wickets , methodically hunting down an intimidating target of 387 runs. The 41st century did not matter; it was divine retribution that the ghosts of that heart-breaking defeat of 12 runs to Pakistan 9 years ago was now safely buried. And then dedicating that glorious hundred to his beleaguered city of Mumbai, still reeling from the terrorist’s trauma. .
2) As Sourav Ganguly spent his last few hours on the cricket field in India colours at the closing stages of the Nagpur Test , the end of a controversial yet amazing career, MS Dhoni broke with all customary norms and old fogey traditions, and handed over the captaincy to the Prince of Kolkota for the last time. It was an unexpected yet a sensitive gesture which acknowledged Ganguly’s leadership skills by a man who is already redefining it. Dhoni, whatever 2009 outcomes, is India’s man of men.
3) As India won the ODI VB Series early this year by a straight 2-0 margin against Australia, a calm MS Dhoni responded with an imperturbable expression even as his team went into the bhangra mode. Dhoni’s ability to rise above the ordinary reveals a man with a strong sense of purpose and inborn fearlessness. Above all, he made the Indians look like a team, each different yet together, like butterflies moving in a flock together.
4) The Indians win against all odds at Perth , and Ishant Sharma has Ricky Ponting clueless about the position of his off-stump , and may be even the leg-one. Sharma, his hair flailing in the Perth breeze made the Punter his bugs-bunny. A world-class batsman was humbled. A lanky new fast bowler was born. That inswinger that bowled Ponting must have woken up the Oz skipper several times past the midnight hour thereafter.
5) Like a true champion, without any preordained fanfare or predictable hype, Anil Kumble retired after the Kotla match, the nagging shoulder injury curtailing what could have been a final finish at Nagpur. But Kumble was Mr 100% or nothing, and that meant he had to do a farewell on his favorite 10 wicket ground. That MSD carried him on his shoulders , was well, just MSD. From the heart. An Indian team without Kumble was like Hamlet without the Prince of Denmark.
6) Yuvraj Singh started the year with a reputation of being a failed playboy suffering from the deadly Padukone virus hangover. He ended up being a hero in that majestic Chennai win, carving a unique place in the Indian middle -order, succeeding Ganguly with imperious insouciance, and making Kevin Pietersen eat humble pie. Pie chucker, not really ! Singh displayed mature modesty , saying his dream of playing alongside Sachin in a historic victory had come true. Yuvraj ruled, even if Subhash Ghai did not quite agree with that one.
7) Ganguly knew it was all but over, the countdown to his final hurrah had begun already. But at Mohali against Australia , he ensured that history will remember him as a man who always rose when the challenge peaked. Chin music is what they always thought was the tune they would play for him. But the retiring veteran let those class cover drives create its own rap beat to counter Brett Lee and the rest. When he raised his bat after his last century and his 16th one overall, even his worst critics knew, they had misjudged him horribly wrong in the past. God may or not be on the off-side, but at least he was right for a change in ensuring poetic justice.
In 2007, I had predicted that if India were to win the World Cup, V Sehwag will have to be the man. Although he ravaged Bermuda , he never got the chance as we were home bound just a game later. Resurrected against Australia, Sehwag rewrote opening batting like no batsman before. The fastest triple century man who mauls with ferocious might , has made bowlers tremble. But more than anything else was the contemptuous disinterestedness with which he clobbered the England attack for 83 ( off 68 Test balls) , making the big chase of 387 not just a possibility, but a choice. Even when dismissed, Viru seemed sure he did the right thing. That’s called instinct. It set an improbable Indian win.
9) Zaheer Khan typified the hard work and commitment that has made him the Indian lead bowler. In a team brimming with options, Zaheer has become India’s mainstay , and in a batsman-centered sport, leads the charge. When winning the Man of the Series against England, all he did was talk of team effort and team effort. And amidst sensational batting records tumble during the season , it was Ishant who was the scene stealer in the India-Australia series. The lanky Delhi boy credited his senior pro Zaheer with full credit for his incredible success. Zaks can now happily say-My name is Khan.
10) Gautam Gambhir looks fairly non-descript, perpetually grumpy, preoccupied with some personal angst , who will only smile if that is officially mandated as the flavor of the season. He can elbow though. More than his huge runs and terrific consistency was that nasty nudge given to Shane Watson at Kotla, which earned him a much-deserved suspension and a telling rebuke. But that moment was symbolic of how the ” third-world” shifting demographics has given rise to a confident and even provocative generation that does not much care for the calibrated hubris of the Australians of the past.
In short, a great year for Indian cricket , with some touching emotional moments , triumphant successes, controversial racial abuse, Sachin’s 12000 runs, Rahul Dravid’s enduring resilience, Dhoni’s upfront ridiculing of suspect selectors, and Jagmohan Dalmiya’s cathartic comeback. Even a stinging slap by a temperamental Harbhajan to a inveterate maverick , to add some Bollywood spice flavor.
That’s cricket. That’s life. That’s that.
Source: http://cricketnext.in.com/blogs/sanjayjha/652/53062/10-great-moments-of-indian-cricket-2008.html