Rahul Dravid

The greatest players have defining moments for the career, defining innings that headline their body of work. Lara's 153, Sachin's sandstorms, Ponting's WC hundred, Gavaskar's double to fashion a 404 chase

Dravid has several innings that could contend to be the defining inning. But simply an inning - even though it be of the highest quality possible like Adelaide or Headingley or Kolkatta or even Jamaica - cannot begin to describe Rahul Dravid the player.

For me Rahul's greatness lay not only in his batsmanship - it lay in the fact that he gave it his all, all the time. His defining moment is not in the fact that he had emotional tears in his eyes as he hit the winning runs at Adelaide in the second inning after a monumental double ton in the first. Its not in the fact that he weathered treacherous batting conditions to set up a victory at Headingley. Its in the fact that he thought not twice before donning the gloves for his team or to open the innings when he could have refused.

And hence my defining moment for Dravid is the English series. Lone man standing. Keeping Wickets in Test Match. Opening Batting because we refused to carry backup openers. Carrying his bat through an inning and stepping out to open the inning again, following on.

The numbers will speak enough both about his greatness as a test batsman and even as an ODI batsman. But what the numbers will miss is how much more than batsmanship he brought to the team. What the numbers will miss is the fact that he along with Ganguly and Sachin brought tremendous credibility to the Indian team during the fixing scandal.

The finest no.3 we have known. The man who grind it out for the team cause. The man who re-introduced us to the joys of perseverance. The man who showed that hardwork could never go out of fashion.

For all the years and for being the main reason for us having a spine outside of India, thank you Dravid. We have not thanked you enough only because we rolled in the luxury of having you not as the best of your generation but the second best. We will realise the whole and true value of your batsmanship painfully through your absence.

The Inflection Points

In any trend sheet - things dont just happen. There is always an inflection point - the one thing that seems to trigger off the long trend.

Indian cricket - briefly - rose to great heights. World No.1 in Test Cricket and World Cup Champions. On the back of the ability to fight and fight really hard at that. The fighting spirit was inculcated by Wright and Ganguly no doubt - but the inflection point for the eventual rise to no.1 and champions was Perth.

The events in Sydney had left the team pissed and hurt. They responded in Perth. The fastest pitch, the one pitch where India should have had no chance. They fought hard - typified by Ishant's spell to Punter. The spell that defined the match. What stood out however was not the fact that Ishant had bowled 6 fire-breathing overs to Ricky but the fact that when Sehwag suggested that he bowl one more and Kumble asked "Ek Aur Karega" - inspite of being justified to feel tired and let someone else take up the cudgels, Ishant replied "Haan Karunga". And that "ek aur" delivered the wicket of one of the best players of the short ball in Australia. That team was willing to run itself to the ground to win. Because they fought hard.

And lets make no mistake - the rise to no.1 was not just because we played a fair bit at home - it was because we fought hard outside home. The World Cup saw the same fight and the refusal to give up and thus was the Cup won.

But attitudes change. And that change shows. In West Indies, the World no.1 team refused to chase 86 in 15 overs with 7 wickets in hand and called for a tame draw. It matters not that they might not have won it even if they went for it - but the not trying was a crime. It signalled the start of a flagging intent.

The inflection point for the decline however - was in an ironical life coming full circle style - centred around Ishant Sharma again. We were at Lords - we were under pressure. In the second Inning before lunch Ishant had picked up 3 wickets and was firing hard.There was a chance to blow away England and make a match out of it. There was great amount of interest in how India would fight back after lunch. Ishant should have had the ball in his hand raring to go.

Instead Raina started the session with his slow spinners. The man who after a hard long spell had said yes to "ek aur karega" had now after a 45 minute break refused to attack citing tiredness.

And there in lies the story of a lost spine. The Indian team so willing to fight had in their minds clearly given up long back. If no1 and the World Cup was a direct result of a fighting spirit, 8-0 is a fair and just result of the lack of that very fighting spirit.

World Cup Champions

There was this comic on Cricinfo that talked about everlasting images from every World Cup. For me there are everlasting memories from each World Cup. Some of them great - ones i will savor for ever, some I wont savor and yet can't forget.

1996 will always be about Kambli crying and walking off after he had seen Jayasuria turn the ball square and get out the Indian team leading the rowdy Eden crowd to do their best rowdy act.

1999 will be about the Olonga induced collapse against Zimbabwe and then Sachin's return with a century dedicated to his late father

2003 will always be the first over bowled by Zaheer and that brief interlude when it rained during our chase - when for a moment hope lived that we would replay it again and get another shot.

2007 will only be that ugly crouch Sachin got out to playing Dilhara Fernando - the stumps being rattled and even the most optimistic of my hopes dying out in Dubai.

2011 was all about setting things straight. It was not only about winning it for Sachin, it was not just about winning a World Cup after 28 years - it was about proving to the world that we were the best cricketing unit there was in the world.

2011 was about exorcising the ghosts of 2007 - Several of the team members had survived that shock and for them it was about setting things right. 2007 was not a fair assessment of the team's potential and that could only be proved by winning the World Cup.

2011 above anything else was to exhibit that this team - this Indian team - was the toughest team there was in the World. Their rise to the top of rankings was not an accident but a result brought about by a set of individuals who refused to believe they could lose, who refused to see any writings on any wall and would fight to the very end.

And inevitably - this leads to a series of images and memories that I will cherish from this World Cup.

The first sign that we would win this world cup - or rather that we had it in us to face 3 knockouts and still stand tall - came not in a victory but in fact in the only loss we faced. Against South Africa - we had no business collapsing to 297 but more than that we had no business coming anywhere close to defending it against the batting of South Africa on a flat track. And yet that day the intensity was back. The bowlers were fired up, the fielders could do almost no wrong and we dragged it to a even stevens last over - which was ruined. But that happens and the fight and intensity shown by India was a sign of things to come.

Every match post that - it seemed at a stage we were out of every match we played. West Indies looked good to chase down our total - Zak brought us back in before everyone else went for the kill. The Australians snared 5 wickets - Yuvraj and Raina stared them down and refused to give up - to win it for us in an eventual canter

And Pakistan - when we looked set for 300, we started looking at 225 - when we were looking 225 - Raina took us to 260 - leaving enough for a fired up Indian attack to take us through. One of my most endearing memories will be the sight of a charged up Munaf Patel after bowling out Abdul Razzaq. You know a team is giving it everything i can when somebody as nonchalant and unenthusiastic as Munaf gets fired up like that. And yet again - it was that refusal to give up, the obstinate refusal to lose that took us through.

Man to man - with our bowling and fielding - our team does not stand up as the best in the world. Factor in attitude and the will to win, the belief to pull it off from any situation - and you have a champion team. Not champions who dominate from start to end, but champions who figure out a way to win by sheer force of will.

So even in a high pressure World Cup final at home , chasing 275 instead of the 240 that seemed more likely at 31/2 - there was every reason to back India to win. If Sehwag and Sachin fell, Virat, Gautam and Dhoni stood up. Just like in the matches gone past, somebody put their hands up, just like Ishant discovered he could be a defensive batting hero against Australia in tests - there always was someone who trusted and backed himself to bail the team out.

The enduring memory of the match - Dhoni almost boxing the wind out of Gambhir when he hi fived him. And the final 6 - complete with stone faced composure and stylish twirling of the bat.

We won - because we deserved to. We won - because we never believed any other result was possible. We won - because we refused to give in - at any stage in any match.

April 02, 2011 - Indian Cricket Team - Thank you! This is only the beginning.

Living the World Cup: Part2

The first World Cup I remember seeing live on a TV was the 1996 World Cup. I might have watched the 1983 and 1987 Cups but I have no recollection of them. The 1992 era was in a phase where I would have remembered matches if I had seen them but this was the era when cable TV had just about made its way in and we had not taken cable TV back then.

The memory I cherish the most from that World Cup - not difficult to guess at all - is the India Pakistan match at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. Having watched the India - England close tussle to desperately lose a match - played yet again from the Chinnaswamy was easily enough to bring back those memories.

Watching a good match then equated to sitting in front of the TV right from the start, ensure that there was enough Pepsi stocked in the fridge and settle down in for a nice long haul. That day the match started slowly, Sidhu and Sachin had a partnership and we trudged along towards a barely enough kind of score. Waqar was bowling missiles that day and had some obscenely good figures of 8 overs for 19 runs. Till Ajay Jadeja made his way to the pitch and played a knock that made him a legend. He launched into Waqar like no one else had that day and bludgeoned 40 odd runs off 19 balls. My voice decibels that had been lowish through the match, had suddenly found their way up. My cousin who had come over to watch the Indian inning with me - had dozed off while the match had meandered was woken up by those loud decibels and together we watched as Jadeja charged and pummeled Waqar and took us to a really comfortable 287. The win then was guaranteed right! Who chases 287 in 1996?

But this was not one of those days that I could settle down - sip my pepsi and watch the action unfold. There was some birthday party to attend in Khar. A social function - very insensitively scheduled to collide with a INDIA - PAKISTAN match. No that doesnt do justice to the occassion. IT WAS A INDIA - PAKISTAN WORLD CUP match and one had to attend a birthday. Oh well - sometimes you have to do the things that build character.

So i set off - put on my red jacket (In hindsight it was an atrocious colour - but for a class 8 me - it seemed fashionable. Why would I wear a jacket for a birthday party you ask? When one buys a jacket at that age for a cousin's wedding - the number of occasions it can be used are really numbered and every possible opportunity to strut that stuff is essential.) But I digress.

So - red jacket on - a transistor in the left pocket of that very red jacket - I set off for the party - the commentary my constant companion on the journey. The commentators even in those days used to have "Aur yeh laga Dabur Laal Dant Manjan Chauka" Unfortunately that line repeated it self several times as Anwar and Sohail made mincemeat of Prasad and Srinath.

Luckily I was not the only one at the party who was outraged that this was on while an important match was being played. And one of the elders there expressed his protest by getting with him a portable TV - which showed the match. It might now explain why while I remember all these details, I have no recollection of whose birthday party it was - as for most part of the party I was tagging along with the TV dude - watching the action. And when Sohail prodded Prasad and taunted him, Prasad bowled the most outstanding, the most awesome, the most effective rubbish-begging-to-be-hit-for-a-six ball that Sohail managed to cut on to his stumps and letting poor placid Prasad erupt with a string of expletives and the most wonderful usage of the 4 letter word I have seen yet.

Prasad became an instant hero. Mind you we were school kids at a stage where we were just about expanding our vocabulary and for him to stick it up to Sohail in such a way was a huge impact on our impressionable minds.

That moment turned the match around and we won an exciting match.

Fifteen years on - I had set out to my friends' place to watch the match with them. Having set out a little late - I was yet again on the road, missing out on the first 5 overs of play. This time though there was no transistor - GPRS on the phone had taken its place and I was kept updated of the score.

No longer was Pepsi an essential element in watching the match. No it was replaced by pints of beer. The match kept getting exciting - the decibel levels kept rising as Sachin bludgeoned Swann Black and blue (see how I tried a cheesy little pun there?). 338 on the board - cool this was going to be enough. Then Strauss decided to have our bowlers for supper and the intensity kept drooping, decibel levels low. Till Zak came back and restored the voice back to my throat.

Only to be denied by Piyush at the end. But Chinnaswamy had kept its date with exciting matches and given me yet another match to savor and enjoy. Clearly the more things change, the more they remain the same!

Living the World Cup

It was March of 2007 and I had landed in Dubai for my international training stint. The chauffeured car had driven me to the hotel room and it was fabulous - a bedroom, a kitchenette and a nice living room. The bedroom had a nice flat screen TV, the living room had one of those long swivel chairs that you could lie down on and watch another flat screen TV. It was indeed super comfortable. But the World Cup was soon coming - the first thought to mind was "WOW - lying on this chair and watching the matches! Man am I in for some fun or what?!"

Switching on the TV and a quick scan told me that the channel which would telecast the live cricket was not available. Another quick phonecall to the reception told me that they were not about to telecast that channel either. Needless to say the joy quickly turned to consternation. I tried to think up several options - get internet - watch streaming video - too expensive. Ask hotel to buy the channel - flat refusal. And finally there was only one way out - make my way to a bar - sit there, glug a couple of drinks and watch the matches. After all it was the World Cup and there was no way I was missing that!

It was then with great hope and excitement that I made my way to the closest bar that telecast the match - Double Decker. It was a fantastic sports bar - a large screen for live action and several small flat screens to watch the action. Of all these - there were only 2 TVs with the cricket. The rest had live Rugby. Nevertheless I made my way to one of the two cricket TVs and settled down to watch the first match India had to play. Bangladesh - this was going to be a breeze right? The menu arrived and the prices were prohibitive - I got myself a beer and decided to nurse it through the inning. The beer nursed me through the collapse. 190 odd and indeed we were in trouble.

It was time for dinner though - remember the prohibitive prices I spoke about? Yeah those prices meant that taking a cab to a cheaper restaurant and getting back to Double Decker was a cheaper option than having dinner at Double Decker. So I made my way in a cab. Cabs in Dubai are driven by South Asians almost as a rule. It was a Pakistani driver - the radio on - listening to Pakistan lose their second match in a row and bow out of the Cup. He promised me India would lose against Bangladesh and get out of the cup. In all my infinite optimism I laughed him off and went to the bar - hoping to see a stirring Indian bowling fight back. It wasnt to be.

I was still confident we would not bow down. Not this team. We would crush Bermuda and beat Sri Lanka and make it to the super 8s. Double Decker was still my partner in crime as I saw my team rack up 413 against the hapless Bermudians. When Dravid and Sachin walked off - they had a emotional mini-hug signifying just how much it meant to them to fight back and make the next round.

We were to play Sri Lanka - I was sure we would win. ANd this time I wouldnt watch it at Double Decker which had no Indians or Cricket followers to enjoy the game with. No this time I was off to Karama - the Indian section of Dubai, at an Indian run hotel where I could follow the match and cheer with fellow Indians. All i remember of that game is our weak capitulation, the image of Sachin's ugly crouch to that delivery from Dilhara Fernando cant be wiped out.

Today was part.1 of the payback process. I lay down in front of my TV - the sound routed through the surround sound music system. No compulsion to buy drinks I couldnt afford. No need to go hunting for cheap food. I was home and India was thumping Bangladesh. Vengeance was to be had and was.

The Indian team paid back today for one bad day in Double Decker in Dubai. Nothing short of winning this edition will pay for the second bad day against Sri Lanka in Dubai. The start is promising. Its the World Cup after all

If and Sachin

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;

The World Cup 2007 was perhaps the biggest disaster India had been to. Starting as some sort of favourites - it ended a dream. Sachin himself got out to a ugly posture crouching as his stumps lay dismantled. The blame game had begun with doubts on Tendulkar's future, a noise created on his 'waning reflexes and skills'. It was the time for 'Endulkar' and Manjrekarian opinions to rear up their head. Guru Greg chose to absolve himself of all blame for the debacle and lay it firmly on the team's shoulders - even pointing fingers at Sachin. Sach meanwhile quietly made his protest known and got back to doing what he does best - play cricket

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;

There was a phase when Sachin would play not like the old himself - not the ravaging genius - but more a seasoned statesman. Not going for those lofted shots but for those nudges that would get the singles. Scoring effectively and doing what the team needed. And then hear people whisper - He isnt himself these days. He must Retire. Yet to win the Man of the Match award and announce to the world that he alone knew his game and what he was doing, it was fine to compare this to his old self but he would play as he chose not the way his 'fans' demanded.

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

And that phase when he traded his big shots and domination for percentage cricket and maybe to an extent chose to let the sheen dim off a little, letting himself be deemed mortal - when he took hits on the body on that England tour to keep playing for a country needed him to be there. Or when he chose to play a full inning of 241* without once falling to the temptation of the off side drive. When he believed that he could look ugly, could let his shine dim because in the end it was all for a larger cause - a team getting a gritty middle order batsman who was up for a scrap even if not beautiful.

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;

As a kid - taken by his brother for coaching with Ramakant Achrekar. To sacrifice his education to follow a dream to play cricket. To play and practice till he was tired. To proclaim to the world that all he wanted to do was play cricket for India. And to do that more successfully than anyone else and then when that dream was achieved, to change the dream to play for India as long as possible and keep achieving that with the mischeivious enthusiasm of a 16 year old.

If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

The equanimity with which he accepts both accolades and criticism - to have the grace to smile and say that in a long journey, you get stones thrown at you - you simply convert them to milestones. To accept the pain of seeing a masterful 136 in Chennai go waste only to come back there years later and hit another masterful 103* to seal a win. To see 175 of his best get wasted by a bat not grounded but to come back and non-chalantly score 200* and then have the humility to simply raise his arms and dedicate it to a nation of adoring fans.


If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;

To play like no one ever has in a WC, to hit the fastest bowler out of the attack - to take the team to the finals and then fail in the finals chasing a mountain. But to have gumption enough to fail in another edition and still be determined to come back and claim what should have been rightfully his. And then start playing again better than ever before - with a consistency that mortals will only dream off. To have the critics who wrote him off , lineup yet again to praise him AND for Sachin to be unaffected by either reaction

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

To be 37 in a game of youngsters, to have played for 20 long years and show no sign of tiring. To carry on for what can be nothing but sheer love of the game. To outdo oneself for others were left gasping for breath way behind. To have a host of youngsters wishing that they could be a third of his brilliance and yet outlive the careers of those who idolised him.

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;

Humility is an hallmark that has been true through his career - whether in form or out of it. Whether it was the time when he signed multi million deals or when he was booed at the Wankhede. When he accepted the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna or when he was out for 4 in the WC finals. When he hit his 200 or when he had to read the prophets of doom attempting to push him out of the team.

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

For 20 years of outstanding sportsmanship, unparalleled batting, unquenchable thirst for the game. For being the game's greatest idol and its greatest worshipper. For taking us to places we never imagined. For fulfilling our repressed dreams - for making India dream. For being the impeccable role-model we all looked upto - in the days of Tigers. For being the man for whom the earth awaits! Thank you Sir!


The poem is 'If' by Rudyard Kipling. If only he knew how that he was predicting Sachin Tendulkar's career when he wrote it.

Marketing & Cricket

You make profits in marketing when you sell your larger sized SKUs (Stock Keeping Units). So say a 400ml Clinic Plus bottle is likely to make more profit than a Re.1 Clinic Plus pouch. But yet both these SKUs play extremely different and yet extremely important roles in the marketing portfolio.

Ideally you want all your consumers to buy the 400 ml pack and be wed to your brand for a longer period of time and along the way make a higher profit. But therein lies the catch - not everyone can afford the 400 ml pack, not everyone uses shampoo at all and for a non-user - fat chance of ever jumping into the category with a 400ml buy, Not everyone even buys your brand and perhaps for them to try it out for the first time - the 400 ml might be overkill.

So thats where the 1 Re SKU comes into the picture. It plays the role of expanding the category itself by recruiting new users to the category - people who never used shampoos. It also allows people using other brands to take a peek at your brand and maybe convert. Finally it also allows people to get what they want in lesser quantity and at an affordable put down price.

So in a nutshell if profitability and loyalty is the task for the large SKU, expansion is the thing to do for the smaller SKU and thats how they both co-exist peacefully.

Wait! FOUR full paragraphs and not a single mention or reference to cricket? Wondering if you are on the right blog? Oh yes you are!

Time now to pan to cricket and look at its SKUs - The Large SKU - Test Cricket. The Middle Sized SKU -ODI cricket and finally The Small SKU - T20 cricket.

Lets start with the simple one - T20. Very clearly the format of the game which will add more viewers to the game. People uninterested in sports will not mind spending some time watching a T20 game because of the basic nature of the format - quick and exciting! Hardcore fans of other sports like Football who had very little interest in cricket might also want to enjoy the T20 phenomenon (an analogy for gaining users from competing brands) and finally given that the format is extremely short and quick - those fans who like watching cricket but simply dont have the time to devote to it now have it good. (analogy for the affordable put down price)

But a moment here to step back and check the glaring difference hitting one in the face. While typically the small SKU is low profitability, this format of the game is the highest profit garnering version.

So while the ultimate aim should have been to recruit new fans through the T20 mode and then gradually upgrade them to Test Cricket - from an economic perspective it may not hold much water. From a pure economic perspective, it makes sense to promote and maintain T20 and hold the attention of viewers there.

So what is it that the oldest and longest and biggest form of the game have to offer? For starters - it IS the REAL version without doubt. It is the truest test of temperament and skill for T20 reduces the gap between skill and result and Tests tests it over 5 days. It allows you to appreciate strategy in the game and see a duel build up between bat and ball without the constraint of field placements or over limits. The thrill of seeing people going for it without inhibition. The field where a player well and truly proves himself.

But thats for the hardcore fan. Cricket's marketing dilemma lies in the fact that without Test Cricket - subtlety and skill will desert the game and convert itself into a more 'wham bam' power / hand-eye coordination game.

And it will mean turning around conventional economics or marketing and have the small SKU generate funds to invest in the larger SKU for long term sustenance. Because if we are to see player temperament being tested and for players to be able to triumph over conditions - Test Cricket is the only way to go.

But till the time pure and shortsighted economics continues to rule - this will be a pipedream!

Chennai Redux

As it was clear that the day was going to be a total waste, the match had started and Australia had already raised visions of a humongous score. And so it was - 350 on the board. Whenever Australia scores 350, the only match that comes to mind is the World Cup 2003 final. I always wondered what it would have been like if Sachin hadnt fallen in the first over and instead stayed on to fulfill his advice to the team "If we score a boundary an over, we only have to get 158 off 250 balls"

But that wish came true today and unfortunately it did not quite end the way it has played out so many times in my head.

When Murphy decides that its his day - things are destined to go wrong. So the flight out of Baroda was delayed. The flight landed and taxied to the farthest possible parking bay. The bus did not show up for 15 minutes. The bus took 17 minutes to the terminal. The luggage had not shown up. The luggage came only 20 minutes later.

When the flight landed - Sachin was on 112. By the time the bag came through he was on 162. Never before has the temptation for vandalism been so severe - God knows what saved the airport from having a few broken glasses! Naresh Goyal - may your pilots strike again and again!

The taxi had a radio and the match was on and by then both Raina and Bhajji had been lost. Oh the excitement of cheering Sachin on to scale 350 and atleast avenge 2003 WC.

But the ghosts of Chennai have never been too far behind. If it was Joshi, Srinath and Prasad there - It was Jadeja, Nehra, Munaf and Praveen here. Sachin cried then and it took him 9 years to wipe those scars off.

It is unlikely he has 9 years more to wipe this one off

Memories and Associations

It was that time in class XII - India playing South Africa at the Eden Gardens - lunch break at the Electrical Maintenance - a barely working transistor , just about time to get into the practicals and suddenly Javagal Srinath picks up two wickets in two balls. The chance of a hattrick and the practicals just about to start -oh the torture! We huddled around the transistor - kept the practicals waiting and heard a huge shout from the commentator as the ball travelled to Saurav in the slips. We cheered - the hattrick under our belt - and rushed into the practicals only later to find that Dada had picked the ball first bounce.

Then there was that outstanding series where India beat Australia in an epic test series - the series where Laxman became Very Very Special. It was the first year of engineering. The same transistor. The final day and a chance of a victory - remote but yet a chance, the half flight of the sixth floor and 4 heads huddled around the transistor. Sachin bowling and picking three wickets, Bhajji playing like never before or after. The shouts of pure delight when the last wicket was had and the admonishing Mechanics professor who gave us our marching orders. Ah the bliss of having seen India to victory!

And then when we played New Zealand and it was 29th October 1999 - a day for Joshi Sir's Chemistry Classes and tests followed by Perreira Sir's Mathematics Classes - but also the first day of a test match with Sachin in great form and nervous in the 90s - Hitting two airy shots - catches which should have been taken but were dropped by Adam Parore to let Sachin get his 100. Signs were ominous - with my birthday following up and luck behind him, it was the moment for SRT to notch up his first ever international double ton. And so he did on 30th October - a birthday gift

Or that series where the Nagpur groundsman sold his nationality to the Aussies. A dead rubber in Mumbai on a minefield. Sachin and VVS played brilliant knocks to setup a meagre target of 108 for the Aussies. But there was the APplication EXercise (APEX) project to be submitted to the most fearsome of all IIMB Profs - Rambo and chasing 108 - Murali Karthik weaved magic - 25/3 and a rush from the Computer Centre to the Rec Room to watch the match. While the Apex waited, Murali and the pitch exploded to win the match. Aah the joy of watching India pull off a miracle!

Or that time with the Class X exams approaching and an exam the next day, trying to study and ignore the India Pakistan match at Dhaka. Pakistan putting up 314 to win for us and Sachin hitting an attacking 41 before holing out to Afridi, getting into a room with the door closed to try and concentrate on the match and still try to catch glimpses of it from time to time from the crack in the door. To see Robin Singh stride out at no.3 and hit a 81, to see Dada play a resolute 124 and then to sit in front of the TV and see Azhar and Dada refuse to leave the field for Bad Light. And finally to have Hrishikesh Kanitkar play the boundary in the last over (which won him a place in the squad for 20 matches)

Its funny how many mundane moments of life seem interesting simply because the associations we make for them with other exciting moments. Calvin in a dialogue with Hobbes once commented "I have this homework to do but i really want to go play outside. I know that doing my homework is important for me in the long run but playing outside will give me joy in the short run!" Cut to the next scene with Calvin on his sledge outside with Hobbes saying "But in the really long run, I know what will make better memories!"

Cricket has that ability of throwing up those moments which will make better memories!

Swagger Cricket

Legends say that the West Indian teams of yore played cricket that made you love the game - that they used to stride to the ground with a swagger, an air full of confidence - not arrogance but simple honest confidence that they were the best and indeed they were!

Legends talk about how the crowd used to be one with the game - dance and rum and chanting and the calypsos. Why wouldnt they be one with the game? After all the legends also spoke about tall lanky dangerous pacemen who could shatter you with their mere speed, about bowlers who never spoke a word but a cocked eyebrow was enough to send shivers through spines, about batsmen who could hit 189 in the company of a no.11, about batsmen who were so elegant that they drew comparisons to feline beasts, of bowlers who could run through lineups even with a fractured wrist.

But mainly the legends spoke about how this set of talented individuals gelled together as a team and well and truly enjoyed their game. The word swagger keeps swelling these legends.

However when one has started watching the game with the Windies in terminal decline, with cricket as a sport dwindling in popularity in the Carribeans - it always has been extremely difficult to associate with these legends. Its difficult to see why the Windies were everyone's favourite team inspite of being champions. Or how they were everyone's favourite team after their own.

Till the Champions League - till Trinidad and Tobago raised the question as to HOW and WHY the Windies could be in such terminal decline inspite of such beautiful and boundless talent available with them in just one set of islands! How can a team which has access to players who play such attractive and fearless cricket, a bunch of cricketers so in sync with each other and so openly and completely enjoying their game and playing with complete pride- lead to the West Indies being so pathetic?

The T&T team has given me a glimpse of what the West Indies heydays would have been like. To have a Richards and a Haynes and a Greenidge blasting away and a Marshall and a Garner and a Holding bowling those fearsome spells - oooh this T & T team has offered trailers of what could have been.

And yet one can only wonder and marvel at how a great giant of a team has self destructed to go from top of the pile to near bottom. But till such wonders cease - I will be supporting the fearless and attractive cricket that perhaps only Carribean cricket can bring to the table

T20 is exciting when ...

... the bowlers dominate the batsmen. What joy to see low scoring thrillers!

Also South Africa is proving to be an inspired choice for a location. With the pitches supporting the bowlers - it is clear that the fly-by-night lesser skilled batsmen are not going to make the cut.

Which means that we get to watch real talent fight real battles out there. It also means that the Jaffers and Chopras of the world have a right to play their trade in the IPL. It will also mean that teams will actually relook their batting lineups and go in with one anchor and one hitter kind of a lineup.

The thing with the last IPL was that the batsmen started on top and the bowlers had to learn new tricks to keep the scoring down. In this case - the learning curve is all for the batsmen and hence the old experienced hands are going to be the ones most succesful.

Cheers to the new IPL ~ its like a Hamam. Everybody has a chance here

The IPL and the stock market

While there will always be many ways to make money in the IPL - one of the long term solutions is investments. Not investments in shares but investments in players.

The way to make big money is to contract players cheap - make them successful, have them capture the public imagination and then sell them at much higher rates.

It makes for an interesting conundrum for any team then! You need to have established stars to get audiences riveted to your team, to ensure that you have fans and to ensure that you win matches. And yet these stars dont come cheap. So you need to get a mix of stars, good steady known players and then the unknown guys - young talented but with no pedigree to show that they can really shine. These are the ones you take your chances on.

Ofcourse as was shown in the case of Hyderabad last year - even buying the best players on paper can get you to bottom place. However the IPL mandates that you balance your portfolio well. For every Sachin and Sanath that you buy - you need a Nayar and a Rahane and equally you need the mix of Dhavals and Rajes. The Sachin and Sanaths will win matches alongside Nayars and Rahanes being the supports while the Dhavals and Rajes will come out of nowhere to make a name for themselves.

The Sachins and Sanaths are high short term returns - they win matches and are attractive to sponsors and hence get immediate money. They also sell the shirts. They would however also be the depreciating assets - resale value would be lower than the buying price for sure
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The Nayars and the Rahanes are possibly the known future stars - the ones that come inexpensive and can weigh in with their performances. The Dhavals and the Rajes are the ones who come at prices tending to zero - can make a name for themselves and get sold for astronomical prices. These are the logn term investments. High Risk if they dont fire as even one really bad over in a T20 can have the match lost - as to make these guys future stars and marketable - they have to be played in a fair smattering of matches.

So one has to be a strong scout and spot the ones with the talent and get them in - take your chances and play them even if it means one can lose the match. Because if you nurture and market that talent well - you have a big fat profit on your hands.

The strategy is also very useful when it comes to players on the brink of national selection - say for eg Shaun Marsh last year. If he were to be sold - there would be some buying to be done.

So the long term profits depend on who one picks to be the future star. They could perhaps pick a trick or two from The Rajasthan Royals. Buy low - sell high - they have it made!

A cycle of life

Most parents strive to provide their kids with all that they missed out on. In doing so they make some sacrifices and bear some pain but in the end its all good and they end up happy if their kids get what they were aiming for.

Similarly when the parents get older, most good kids take care of their parents. The parents on the other hand try their best to pull their own weight and be no liability and enjoy all that their kids are providing them with.

So then lets classify Sachin, Rahul, VVS as the elders/parents of the Indian team and Gambhir, Dhoni, Zak et al as the young kids of the family.

Sachin and Dravid have perhaps had the most frustrating of times in their prime. 20/2 would more often than not be the scoreline they would see when they came together and then both would play to save our asses. They did it on numerous occasions but rarely had the bowling to back them up. And when they failed we failed. However they soldiered on - rising way above the mediocrity around them - taking those overseas losses one after the other on their chins. Hearing them be called chokers but yet carry on. They had to - after all they were upholding the standards for performance for an entire country. These were the guys who would spawn the next generation of Indian batsmen - who would have taken to the sport having fallen in love with the superlative batting. Or if someone idolized Kumble, superlative bowling.

Their efforts were almost like the provident fund being deducted every month - an investment for the future. The hope was that it would pay off sometime. That they would inspire those few cricketers who would turn and become world beaters.

They came forth. A Gambhir who showed that he can bat like a Geoff Boycott to save a test or play an attacking game like his own self to setup a victory. That he can take on the fast guys or stride down the ground to those pie-chuckers. An Ishant Sharma who can in one fierce spell of fast bowling scythe down Australian skippers and others to create breakthroughs. Or a reborn Zak who with accurate and experienced bowling crash through any batting side.

That the big guys like Sachin and Rahul and VVS were deprived in their early days means that now is the time for redemption. Its time for the kids to pay back the seniors for their efforts and investments. With test wins outside the subcontinent - anywhere, everywhere against anyone and everyone.

And make no mistake - not only are the seniors carrying their weight - they are worth their weight in gold. Playing gem like innings which win matches.

And series wins outside - just like the one in New Zealand - are just reward for everyone - irrespective of age, experience of seniority. Because its the cycle of life. As you sow so shall you reap.

The opening batsman

Traditionally the opening batsman was likened to a dam - someone who holds the water long enough for the others to prosper. He would take the shine off the ball and hold fort in difficult conditions. His vigil would ensure that the dangerous bowlers would be blunted when fresh and fairly tired when the new batsmen eventually came out to bat.

Fairly similar to a college or even a corporate scenario when there are some n people to be reviewed by the boss for their performance. The first man in has a job to do and perform a duty to the rest of his/her colleagues (yeah the man in this case can be interpreted as man/woman). The opener here has to bear the brunt of a fresh boss bowling the unplayable short deliveries, the zippers that you have no clue about, the ones that have you playing for the in-coming delivery but go out instead. He has to ensure that he consumes time and in general drains out the enthusiasm from the boss. So when the others come in to play - its already a placid pitch as they know what questions to expect and are generally prepared plus fatigue would have already set in for the ever-questioning-boss.

Invariably the opener who gets out early exposing the middle order to a boss on rampage partly ensures that everyone has a torrid time. A bad opener can ruin the team's fortunes.

Lately however there has been another breed of openers. The ones who choose not to defend but aim to get to their 100 before the crowd has even settled into their seats. I ofcourse have the likes of Sehwag and Hayden in my mind as I write this. They pulverise the bowlers and generally put them on the backfoot so that they dont have much enthu left for the day even when there is new guy at the crease. Also given that this opener has put on runs so fast on the board - it lets the remaining guys bat without pressure and get their collective eyes in.

Yes - there is an analogy coming up here too. Just imagine a presenter in the review who instead of getting hammered by the boss - suddenly starts questioning his boss about stuff that has gone wrong, about all the support promised but not given. Someone answering everything aggressively - maybe even putting the boss in a good mood with all the forthcoming answers - Oh yes that eases up the pitch too.

Then there is that utility of the opener to put up the first runs on the board - to break the ice. Its the opener who has to break the awkward silence and get things going.

So here is a tribute to all good openers - Be the Akash Chopra variety or the Sehwag. Whether they get a ton in half an hour or half a run in an hour - they play the most unique and difficult role in cricket and otherwise.

The components

Talent is what you are born with, the ability to get that bat hit the ball in time, the ability to turn around that arm and see the ball reach with some pace down the 22 yards. The ability to middle it and the ability to turn it. Talent is bestowed.

Technique is what your hardwork builds onto your talent. The long hours spent as a kid with your unrelenting coach. Hours and hours of hitting a ball hanging in a sock right in the middle. Hours of putting that front foot forward and keeping that head steady. Recursive strides to the pitch to get that high arm action, the numerous efforts to roll that wrist over - to land the ball on the proverbial penny.

Experience is knowing what to do when. Experience is also telling the rookies what to do when. Experience is the instinct that life gives you after years of run-ins

Temperament is the ability of doing what needs to be done under pressure. Over and over again. And again.

Flair is the ability to make people forgive you for the lack of all the above.

Form is the resultant effectiveness when either all the above desert you or all the above align with you.

Luck is what precludes any of the above.

The Checklist

Just prior to the 2003 World Cup began, India were on a lean patch - losing effortlessly in New Zealand and generally having a bad start to the Cup with a less than convincing victory v/s Holland and a thumping defeat to the Aussies. Which is when Sachin took over and quite literally charged us through to the finals - with sterling contributions from Dada and the others too. But till that final it was truly Sachin's Cup. The final was another story of us choking in a final. I assume Sachin looked back at that, looked around at the young team that was promising to be so much and said to himself- "Well Never mind, I still have another go in 2007" and perhaps left it at that.

Come 2007 and yet again India were faltering but had turned things around in the home series v/s SL. But there was disaster waiting. First a loss to the Bangladeshis, then a thumping critical win against the Bermudans and finally the loss that kicked us out - a loss to the Lankans. India - one of the bets to win the cup were out - in the First Round. Total and complete disaster. Sachin had played his part in the exit by not contributing much. And thats when I believe, the checklist must have been born.

SRT would have been more disappointed than anyone else - heck it was his 5th attempt at the Cup and the runners up trophy in 2003 was the best he had to show for it. He could have had the Cup in 96 but for Azhar's dumb decision at the toss. He could have had it in 2003 but our nervousness was too much compared to the Aussies.

So then there he was - 18 years in the business, great reputation, huge achievements, many records, many accolades - but he must have felt the pinch of several things missing. Firstly and most importantly - the World Cup was not there. How could HE - the greatest of his generation leave the game without the Cup. How could HE - the best that India ever produced - tolerate 2 penny critics raising aspersions about his achievements? That he never played when it mattered? Or that he choked in Finals? Or that he could never really play in a 4th inning!

He had it all - but perhaps the thought was to put his legacy beyond doubt. After all, no one nitpicks the Don's record by saying that the Don never had to contend with so much cricket or with ODI cricket which corrupted the purity of technique.

And while the young team played without him in Bangladesh - Sachin set out a 4 year plan for himself. Yes it had to end with the World Cup in 2011 - He would win it in front of his adoring home crowd at the Wankhede. But what till then ? What would keep him motivated for 4 long years? For if he did indeed play till 2011, it would mean that he had pushed his body in international cricket for 22 years and across 4 decades.

So thats where Sachin decided that the critics after all must be put to some use - and out came all the accusations on a piece of paper.

1. Never Plays in Finals
2. Never saves matches for India
3. Never plays in the 4th inning of a match
4. Has never played under pressure (admittedly he laughed for a good 5 mins after writing this one down. After years of walking in to bat at 20/2 in test matches - cant take pressure was surely one of the best jokes he had heard)
5. Has lost the capability to play attacking cricket
6. Has never played at the Wankhede
7. Is not fit enough for International Cricket
8. Is blocking places for deserving youngsters to get into the team

And out of these - with the final aim to take the World Cup back home (so that stupid political protesters could break it again), Sachin created his checklist to start ticking off till he chose to take off from the Cricket Scene in 2011 with the Cup in his hands.

The last two years have been testimony to the pursuit of this checklist. The consistency and aggresiveness of his innings in England, the purity and reflexes of his knocks in Australia. The twin big innings in the finals in Australia to win a BIG tournament. The fighting 49 in Bangalore v/s Aussies in Bangalore to secure the draw. The 103* at Chennai to exorcise old demons. Sachin has been busy ticking off aims.

One only hopes he has a triple hundred written down somewhere on that list and perhaps a century to win the World Cup final at the Wankhede while Pushkar watches on.

Till such time, Shine on Sachin

The bores.

It was the 12th of March 2006, placements were on at IIMB. Placements are usually like a chaotic job fair where candidates jump in and out of interviews and superbly manage to switch between how consulting is the ideal career for them to how they are exactly cut out to make money for the ibank they are interviewing for. Sometimes people end up telling Citibank how it would be the greatest honour of their life working for StanC. Yeah - you get the picture - a high stress situation for all involved. That day I was through with my first round processes for HUL (the company that eventually picked me) and was waiting for an interview with P&G ( first being told that i was not on the shortlist - they had lost my form - then being told that they would interview me - then eventually not being interviewed at all)

In between all this, I was hearing news of the Australians having piled on 434 in 50 overs at the Wanderers. Looks like another thumping win for them we discussed and rushed on to the next process. Till Gibbs took control , till Smith badgered out 90 in 55. Till suddenly it seemed as if it was a match on.

When the last 10 overs started, the placements were already secondary - Recruiters, candidates, trackers, company volunteers were all in the TV room - watching South Africa - create history - willing them to win. Willing Kallis to get out, willing Van der Wath to get those runs. Cheering every boundary as if it was India beating Pakistan in a world cup. An apocryphal story goes that one of our batchmates was called in for an interview with GS India and he told them to wait as SA charged up against the Aussies. And when they chased it down we all cheered wildly.

And it was so out of character for the South Africans. South Africans are supposed to be the most boring cricket team ever - clinical cricket minus of passion. And yet there they were launching the best offensive ever. Creating conditions to have a bunch of Indians - some of us under stress of placements - waiting there and cheering them on.

South Africans continued to choke after that match - notably in the T20 WC against India and in the WC in the Windies. But for that one match the bores of international cricket had the world on their side.

Perhaps its what Graeme Smith brings to the game. The unbridled aggression and passion for a win, for proving people wrong. And that is exactly what he set out to do on 20th Dec 2008. A record run chase in the 4th inning v.s the World No.1 Australia in their own backyard at Perth.

And outstanding century at the top and with support from everyone else, the South Africans yet again had most of the non - Australian world cheering for them. As yet again they dragged themselves out of their boring mode to a interesting team that could breathe passion into the game.

First the 387 chase at Chennai and now 414 at Perth - this has been a fantastic week for Test Cricket. Outstanding stuff.

The Final Flight

A bespectacled young man who confused batsmen by calling himself a spinner and did not turn the ball. A nerd who came up with a computer game on cricket - self titled ofcourse. Highest ever Indian wicket - taker. Captain. But above all a fighter who shaped his own career on his own terms.

If the wolves would have had their way, Jumbo would have been out of the team in 2003. Harbhajan by then was the first choice spinner for us. Abroad Jumbo was termed ineffective for ages. But Jumbo has not been a champion for nothing. He has not been known for his resilience or his fighting spirit or his commitment for nothing. If anything then at age 34, he refused to walk away quietly. He refused to remain a old 2nd choice spinner and he fought back. That Adelaide test might be remembered for Dravid's double hundred and Agarkar's six wickets. But for Kumble it meant that he was back in the reckoning with a 5 wicket haul. For he had converted what was expected to be his last tour down under into the start of a second inning for himself. He then bowled at Sydney to pick up 8 wickets in the first inning with 4 more in the second and had it not been for a blind Bucknor and a butterfingered Parthiv, he might as well have won us the series and bid adieu to another great - Tugga - with an Indian victory.

For someone who was expected to fade away in 2003, he came back strongly not only to be play a strong role in most overseas Indian victories but also to return to Australia as the captain. And he pulled off a victory at Perth - the mecca of fast bowling.

Kumble has always been a great bowler but he has been criticised for being non-conventional. He shrugs that off and soldiers on picking up wickets - proving himself to be India's greatest match winner. But at no point of time reaching the levels of popularity enjoyed by the Fab 4 or heck even Yuvraj. He was always in the shadows - but never shying from picking up responsibility for the team. Ever ready to toil and throw down over after over in fast bowling friendly pitches while a usually ineffective pace attack had done their no show. Ever ready to pick up the baton while negotiating central contracts for the players.Ever ready to do a job not primarily his - bat hard when the batting had collapsed and guide India to a better score. Ever ready to realise his limitations and fight hard to achieve above those.

His batting was a story of two parts - A useful tailender at the start and end of his careers and flabby in the mid. His 88 in company of Azhar at Eden was in the first phase while that awesome century in England at the end. Towards the end of his career he was a much better batsman than in the other parts. Yet again a testament to his immense commitment to the game. Rarely would you find a Kumble playing a nothing shot to throw it away. He would want to be there at the pitch and add to the tally so he and the other bowlers would have something to bowl at.

Commitment or resilience for Kumble usually is associated with his courageous act in the Windies when he came out with a fractured jaw and bowled to get rid of Lara. He typified the same spirit in his final test (fittingly at Kotla) when he braved 11 stitches and an ungainly bandage to come out and contain the Aussies and pick up 3 wickets. His last wicket in Test Cricket captured everything that he was. He toiled for many overs to get the wickets he did, he showed commitment in going for a tough catch and taking it and then expressed his emotions with a throw at the stumps. But what made it special was that he braved the pain to get his wickets and came out because the team needed him. He was way off his best form but never ever off his spirit.

If Kumble was a batsman and had achievements similar to his own - he would have been feted as a great hero. Here in the sparkling light exuded by Sachin, Dravid, Dada, VVS and Sehwag we were blinded and for most part Kumble has been the unsung hero. However History will be much kinder and fairer to the man who has been the workhorse of the team for almost 19 years. A man who has won us more matches than any other bowler.

We would do well to remember that its the team which takes 20 wickets that wins a test match. Kumble did more than his fair share to that cause. Today at the Kotla, Jumbo landed his final flight and was on his way - as usual with no fuss.

Thanks Jumbo for all the years, for all the wickets and for all the memories.

The IPL situation

Note: This is one of the rare posts that I had left as a draft after writing the first 2 points and than actually came back to finish it off. Started writing this before the IPL - got a bout of NED (No Enthu Da) - quit the post and now am continuing it again once the IPL has started. So the latter part of the post also has the benefit of hindsight.

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Lot of people have expressed their concern over IPL - ranging from resentment over India's growing and now evident power in World Cricket to IPL's effect on International matches and even the future of Test and ODI cricket and even the impact on the purity of the game.

Lets try and look at it point by point

1. India's Power in World Cricket

Thats just some countries being sore about India and the shift in balance of power from traditional English-Australia stronghold days. Lets face the fact - India is where this game has gargantuan proportions and tremendous fan following and the money. India will be powerful and should use some of that power. However to quote Spidey's Uncle - With great power comes great responsibility and BCCI will have to tread that line carefully. But the point is that the IPL for the first time has opened up the treasure box of cash not just for itself but also for the players. For the first time players are not being paid according to Board Policies or Prize Monies but according to their market value - and astronomical sums. I have for long argued that a cricketer has a limited shelf life - open to injuries ruining his career - and if he isnt articulate enough then a career in commentary is not open either. Hence it is only fair that the cricketer cashes in on every possible opportunity to earn and secure his future. Indian money now is directly flowing to good players of any caste creed or origin. A relatively unknown David Hussey also has the chance to make a killing here and from the players point of view - this has to be a good thing.
The biggest stakeholder however is the spectator - and he now gets the chance to watch the best players play against each other far more regularly. While it may lack the national rivalry flavour - soon enough we might find that we the spectators will rally behind some franchisee or the other. And this may not even be region based - but largely on the following that the players will command.

2. The International Matches

The IPL is a 45 day window with 8 teams. Teams will purchase players on the basis of their performance not only in the IPL which happens only once a year for a 45 day window but primarily on the basis of their performance on the biggest stage that is World Cricket. For any player to connect to the adoring masses who will eventually bankroll the entire IPL - that player needs to shine for the country at the International Level. Unless he does that he will not be able to command a price premium. Given the intensity with which players have been playing in the IPL - it does not at any point of time seem that they look upon this as a carnival (except ofcourse Graeme Smith's stumping off Pollock). It is serious intense cricket with both the foreign and local players giving it their all.

What this means is that International Cricket will not be devalued by IPL - infact the importance will increase tremendously. The ICC here has a huge role to play by actually trying to accomodate the IPL in its FTP calendar as without that the player will be forced to choose for those 45 days between money (really big money) and country. With the shortsightedness that most cricket boards carry - it can end up having serious consequences for the player. My hypothesis obviously is that if a player only plays 45 days of IPL and no international cricket (unless he is a retired star like Warne or McGrath) he will lose bargaining power with the IPL.


3. Devaluation of Test / ODI cricket

When ODI cricket came in - it was argued that Test Cricket would die a death. On the contrary ODI has made Test Cricket more interesting with the fast pace of scoring boiling down to more results and hence more interesting cricket. Test cricket will always have its own charm - the charm of seeing 7 players crowded around the bat with the bowler attacking with full steam is something that has its own joy. Or the excitement that a tense close draw can generate with the no.11 batsman looking to play out the last over of the day to earn a draw by the skin of their teeth is unmatched.

Similarly T20 is going to make ODI cricket a more exciting place. Last 10 overs 134 to chase is no longer going to be outside the realms of possibility. The fielding is only going to get better and running between the wickets is going to improve.

Also the good part is that most matches have seen clean hitting and not slogging - which is good for the game.

4. The Good Things

This is not a concern obviously. One thing that IPL will do is increase friendship and tolerance amongst players from different countries and that is one thing that cricket desperately needs. Also now player weaknesses are going to be out in the open - so that again will make cricket more interesting and put the onus on the player to perfect his game to the largest extent possible.


All in all - IPL can only mean good things for the game. Ofcourse it could have been done in better ways but that doesnt take anything away from it. Its an outstanding idea executed well and the BCCI and the players will earn some deserved moolah.

Bowl Outs

The T20 WC saw the first bowl-out of its kind between India and Pakistan. While Sehwag Bhajji and Uthappa hit the stumps giving India a 100% hit rate - the Pakistanis missed on all 3 chances.

Now today in the ICL final (why oh why is there a bowl-out in a best of three finals anyway??) - the match between the Heroes and the Badshahs was tied. Out came the bowl-out and yet again all three Pakistanis missed.

And with sufficient minimum datapoints - we have the Bowl Out Theory. "Pakistanis cannot hit the stumps."

QED