Happy New Era!!

Beating Australia in a Test Series in Australia!!

25,915 days.

853 months.

71 years.

Yes, that is how long it took for India - or, for that matter, any Asian team - to register their first-ever
Test series win on Australian soil.

Being perhaps as coveted as a World Cup win, our triumph on Australian soil indeed took a long time coming. Generation after entire generation has been fed on Aussie-accented Yayyss and Woohoohoos at the fall of every Indian wicket (leading to eventual defeat) through our tours of the ‘90s, 2000’s, although 2003 was a glorious exception.

We all wondered whether we would ever – in our lifetime – get to see an Indian captain holding the BG trophy solely in his hands, on Aussie soil.

And then, the day came.

True, it was not an attack that comprised Messrs McGrath, Lee, Warne and Gillespie. Not even Ponting, Hayden, Glichrist and Clarke. Heck, not even Smith and Warner. But none of these is our fault, nor did this mean that the inclusion of the last two gentlemen would have made too much of a difference. Only that we might have chased more or that they would have folded up for more and/or later.

THE BEST Part
The best part of our win is the fact that our team looks such a complete unit. Not just from the fact that we have all the bases covered but also by the fact that we outplayed the Aussies on not just batting, bowling, fielding, but even on the basis of bench strength!

Can you imagine we had Bhuvi, Umesh Yadav, Hardik Pandya (and one of Ashwin/Kuldeep) unused always in each of the Tests?

And, I haven’t even mentioned as yet the fact that one of our biggest upcoming stars, Prithvi Shaw, had to miss out at the very beginning of the tour, due to injury.

See, this is exactly my point: Forget the 11 guys we put out on the park in these Tests. A lot (and most deservedly so) has already been written about Pujara, Kohli, Bumrah, Ishant, Shami, Agarwal, Vihari, Pant, Rahane, Kuldeep, et al.

Just look at the support/bench cast: Bhuvi, Umesh, Hardik, Ashwin/Kuldeep, Shaw.

These 5 people on the bench!!

5 people who would walk into any other international team today on any given day.

This bench strength, along with the average age of our team (long-term and one for the future) is the biggest plus for us.

One always hopes sincerely but along with the sincerity, because of these factors, now one can hope with practical expectation and almost assuredness that this team will usher in a great new year and also a great new era in Indian cricket.

This landmark win should now be only the precursor and a catalyst to many more memorable conquests both at home and abroad.
Amen to that, and enjoy the cricket!! Happy new year, and happy new era!!😊

Fare thee well, gritty Gauti

Just as another riveting series was about to start between two of the most popular teams in world cricket, came an announcement: Gautam Gambhir announces retirement from all forms of cricket.

Although it would be fair to say that the news was not a surprise, when this did happen, one felt that the lone warrior was now sure that his time was up. Well, I say time was up, but I mean he might have still felt he could play but not realistically for his country, which is what he always aspired for.

The ultimate team man that he was and will always be remembered as one, he might have just felt that his stint and contribution in the domestic circuit was also done with.

It is a given that not being picked for a fairly long time except in his surprising selection for one Test match against England (except this one-off selection, he was never picked for the team since the last 6 years) made him finally hang his boots.

But it must be said that here was a man who gave his all to the team. A man of incredible dedication, passion, sincerity and (sometimes even more than required) aggression, he was a dogged cricketer who never threw in the towel and made sure he gave his 100% for his country, in every moment, on every single occasion.

This is exactly why I felt that even though he is now almost unsung, the guy deserves a special mention for all that he has done for the country. Not just for his exploits (highest run scorer of 2 World Cup-winning teams) but also for his exemplary demeanour off the pitch as well.

As someone who always proudly wears his heart on his sleeve, he has also been very actively involved with the Army, with charitable and socio-culturally responsible causes.

No wonder, even when he was out of favour, he became a lot of people’s emotional favourite to make a comeback into the team.

Well done Gautam, you have played your innings very well.

Fare thee well in your second innings too!

Just as another riveting series was about to start between two of the most popular teams in world cricket, came an announcement: Gautam Gambhir announces retirement from all forms of cricket.

Although it would be fair to say that the news was not a surprise, when this did happen, one felt that the lone warrior was now sure that his time was up. Well, I say time was up, but I mean he might have still felt he could play but not realistically for his country, which is what he always aspired for.

The ultimate team man that he was and will always be remembered as one, he might have just felt that his stint and contribution in the domestic circuit was also done with.

It is a given that not being picked for a fairly long time except in his surprising selection for one Test match against England (except this one-off selection, he was never picked for the team since the last 6 years) made him finally hang his boots.

But it must be said that here was a man who gave his all to the team. A man of incredible dedication, passion, sincerity and (sometimes even more than required) aggression, he was a dogged cricketer who never threw in the towel and made sure he gave his 100% for his country, in every moment, on every single occasion.

This is exactly why I felt that even though he is now almost unsung, the guy deserves a special mention for all that he has done for the country. Not just for his exploits (highest run scorer of 2 World Cup-winning teams) but also for his exemplary demeanour off the pitch as well.

As someone who always proudly wears his heart on his sleeve, he has also been very actively involved with the Army, with charitable and socio-culturally responsible causes.

No wonder, even when he was out of favour, he became a lot of people’s emotional favourite to make a comeback into the team.

Well done Gautam, you have played your innings very well.

Fare thee well in your second innings too!

Remembering the Unforgettable

Today marks 10 years.
One, full decade gone by.

As one looks back, it now seems that even the attacks were not the most cruel part.

I wonder what has killed us more: the attacks themselves, or the apathy and languid pace of investigations and closure?
Unfortunately, it's not even a close call.

We are still at this stage.

And, at this stage too.

We can keep writing, keep venting our frustrations, year after year after year.

Every sane and fair person is tired of only waiting and being subjected to some or the other tokenism instead of concrete action and results.

India and Indians have waited far too long, only to see nothing but empty rhetoric.

As we mark one decade of those dastardly acts, I just think that there is perhaps one sure way we can make a difference to the sorry state of affairs: let us just remain steadfast in our approach and quest for justice.

They say public memory is short.
Short it could be, but given the enormity of the tragedy, given the sacrifices made by our bravehearts, the least we can do is to neither forget nor resign ourselves towards bringing the perpetrators and masterminds of 26/11 to book.

The US had one 9/11 and they ensured everything in their capacity to not only avoid a repeat but to also hunt down the terrorists who dared to raise an evil eye on their soil and their countrymen.

Let's ensure Pakistan does not get any leeway or elbow room to wriggle out of this. They cannot be mere victims of terrorism if they cannot act on terror emanating from their soil, funded internally and exported to Indian soil.

Till then, we will continue to remember the unforgettable date, and continue to push on, till they ensure that justice is delivered.

Jai Ho!

Rohit the HeToo

In these times of #MeToo, we have a clear case of Rohit Sharma as well. No no, it is not about any misdemeanors on his part, but about his now legendary stature in the Indian One Day team, making his exploits do the talking despite the presence of a colossus called Virat Kohli.

In the era just prior to this one, we can recall another fabled legendary duo of the great Rahul Dravid and another great, a certain Sachin Tendulkar.

While Rahul was a much more dominant force in Tests than in ODIs, it is a diametrically case for Rohit. He has struggled to even cement his place in Tests, and even in the ODI team, the initial phase of his career, as a middle order batsman, was at best, average.

What changed his fortunes was the Champions Trophy of 2013 and MS Dhoni's decision to try him as an opener. The rest, as they say, is history.

With potentially he entire batting innings - a full 50 overs available for him, alokg with the initial Powerplay overs' field restrictions, he has taken full toll of all bowlers across all conditions and has just not looked back since then.

What has been most exemplary is his ability to hit those daddy hundreds, with ridiculous ease and mind-boggling consistency.
All this, despite having titans like Kohli, Dhoni, Dhawan, and Pandya sharing the spoils of each innings that he is a part of.

To come out as nothing less than a superstar in such a pantheon of greats is a huge achievement in itself.
He too, is a great, among greats.
More power to you Rohit, and hope you score many more!!