Thursday, November 14, 2013

End of an era

Today is Sachin Tendulkar's 200th and farewell test. I have literally grown up watching Sachin Tendulkar play. Now that he is retiring a part of my growing up seems to be retiring as well. I can’t remember the countless pleasures that he has given me, and billion others around the world, over the years, growing up and watching him play. I used to pray when he would go out to bat. Watching India lose in the nineties  was a common occurrence. What stood out in those matches was the resilient Sachin scoring in every match, against any opposition in any country. The way he dominated the opposition right from the time he went out to bat was an inspiration for an India still trying to find a footing at the world stage. 

I remember the days when the markets would come to a standstill when Sachin would come out to bat. People who were out of their homes would stand outside the shops selling TVs and watch the match. He has been the cricketer whom everybody looked up to and still does. He showed his genius at a time when the other batsmen in his team were falling around like nine pins. There was a time in the nineties when the matches began and ended with Sachin’s batting. In those days when he got out early the matches were as good as over.

The current Indian lineup has a lot of exciting cricketers and we are among the top teams in all formats of the game but somehow with no Sachin in the team it does not feel the same. I already have lost interest in ODI and T20 and I think his retirement will be the final nail in the coffin for the test matches as well. I will continue to watch cricket but it will not be the same anymore. No more having a Cricinfo window open when India is playing, not going out of the home and being glued to the TV when Sachin is playing, denying a remote to the rest of the family when the play is on , asking people in your surroundings to stay in the exact position that they are in when Sachin nears a century, lest he gets out. As they say- it is the end of an era.

P.S- I wrote this in a hurry. This is not a tribute to the genius of the man just the first thing that came to my mind when I logged on to the TOI website for watching the match.

Monday, August 12, 2013

Ashes...


I have been following The Ashes closely. There is something about the matches on grounds in England, Australia and South Africa. We are used to the noisy atmosphere in sub-continent grounds and either clichéd commentary by the likes of Shastri or verbal diarrhoea by the likes of Harsha Bhogle on TV. Not to mention Mr. Laxman Sivaramakrishnan with his school kid monotone of ' The grass is green....the sky is blue... yada yada". For some reason this guy is present in almost every match played in India. I think the broadcasters use him as filler. Probably he pays the broadcasters to put him on air. It helps if you have played for India.

All this changes in England. The noisy cacophony is replaced by a coherent symphony. From the general silence intermittently broken by claps for every good shot or a wicket to the loud boos for reasons like umpires leaving the ground after suspending the play due to bad light or some unsportsmanlike conduct- it all makes for good television viewing. One can sit at home and still soak in the ground atmosphere. The commentary is also a welcome change with the likes of Nasser Hussain, David Gower, Michael Holding, Bumble, Shane Warne etc behind the microphone. Even the after-match discussions that David Gower hosts seem like a breath of fresh air. The garrulous and diplomatic Harsha Bhogle could learn a thing or two from him about subtle hosting and the power of silence. They even have fantastic off the field programming. I remember watching Shane Warne, Nasser Hussain and Andrew Strauss displaying batting and bowling nuances on a practice pitch during the thirds day's play of the fourth Ashes test. The way Shane Warne explained how he approached setting up batsmen was a revelation. I am sure a lot of kids or, for that matter, even professional crickets, would have learnt a tip or two from him. 

Finally, another good part about the telecast is the reduced number of advertisements in between the overs. Broadcasters in India don't even allow the commentators to finish their sentences at the end of overs so that they can sneak in one more 10 sec adv. It ruins the viewing experience. The only thing that I wished was Australia putting up some more fight. They have shown spine in patches but have been outclassed by England so far. It is sad to see a meek Australian team after watching their predecessors rule the roost for almost a decade.