When Oldies Took The Centrestage…
Width offered outside the off-stump. The
bat comes down like a Magic Wand, slashes the ball over Point region. No foot
movement. Simply Stand and Deliver. Third Man doesn't get a chance to move. The
ball wins the race, as it always has since 2001. That's Virender Sehwag for
you.
A left-arm Off Spinner flights the ball .
The bat comes down in an arc. A full-swing. It’s a perfect connection with the
white leather. By the time heads turn, the ball is soaring high into the night
skies for a maximum. Umpire raises his hands, crowd loves it, opposition
admires it. That's Yuvraj Singh for you.
Last night’s match between Delhi and
Punjab in the on-going IPL was one which gave us the sheer pleasure of watching
two greats of the game coming together and construct match winning innings for
their respective teams. Alas, there could be only one winner. But not often
these days you find matches when Viru and Yuvi come together to give the crowd
their money’s worth. What more could a person wish for than seeing two of the
finest stroke makers of the game, find their lost touch and bat as if all’s too
easy for them. It was a night when the ‘oldies’ shone the brightest. The
strokes were back, the runs were flowing, they surely took the Centre Stage.
I would like to stick
my neck out and say that the Match Fixing scandal was in a way a blessing in
disguise for Indian cricket. It allowed new faces to emerge and take charge of
a sinking ship, and redefine the way cricket was to be played in India for
years to come. Of course, a big plus also was having a leader like Sourav
Ganguly, who steered the team perfectly to the safe shores. Ably assisted by fellow seniors like Sachin,
Dravid, Laxman, Kumble and Srinath, the Indian cricket team post-2000 was a
cynosure for every cricket lover’s eyes in the country.
Two youngsters, out of
the many who made their debut in Ganguly regime, were to become the finest of
their generation. One of them even went a step ahead and stamped his authority in
Test Cricket as one of the All Time Great openers of the game. Virender Sehwag
and Yuvraj Singh.
A brief look at the
history of Indian cricket over the last 15 years, would suggest that the Indian
team’s success was often dependent on how these two cricketers played. If the
team had a good day at the office, no deep research was needed to find out who
turned the tables during the course of the game. It was often either of the two
who had left his footprint on the game. India, in them, had found players who
did not need centuries to win matches – suddenly their quick fire 30 or a 40 had
found their way to admirable levels amongst the spectators and were enough to
dent the opposition. No more the team depended only on Sachins, Souravs, Rahuls
etc., who had the art of accumulating the big scores but lacked that Knock-Out
Punch to run away with the game. Any statistician can figure out, that in the
last decade or so, whenever the Indian team has gone through a lean patch, it
has coincided with Viru or Yuvi’s loss of form. Such was their overall impact.
With them, there was a belief that India can chase down any total or can put up
a daunting one.
It’s hard to see, as a
cricket lover, these two geniuses spending the latter half of their careers trying
to figure out ways to get back into the Indian team. One which could not have
been thought of for the better part of last two decades. Having been out of
favour for far too long, it’s a distant dream, for them as a player and for me
as a fan, to see them donning the Indian colours once again. Maybe a lot of us watch
IPL because of the charm these payers bring with them to the field, evoking the
cherished memories of yesteryears, telling the world that they still have it in
them to take on the opposition. That their names are still the first ones for
whom the teams plan out strategies. That the impact they have cannot be
measured by the runs scored alone, it’s on the psyche of the bowler, who can
get dispatched for a six or a four even when he has bowled a fine delivery. It’s
the suspense attached to them, what’s next, that makes the game worth watching.
There are plenty of amazing new talents in the frame these days, yet the name
Viru or Yuvi is enough to attract crowds from far and near to fill up the
stadiums. That there might be a Maxwell or a Miller waiting to unleash their
powers, but it’s Sehwag’s dismissal which is enough to get people back to work.
The cuts, the pulls, the drives, the glance – where artistry meets brutal
force, that’s what these two have always bought to the table. That’s what they
did last night. They say the memory of an Indian fan is a short one. If that’s
the case, then those of all the great innings played in the last 15 years would
have been refreshed in an instance. Somewhere you think, is this their last
waltz or is there a hope to see them win games for India once again. You think
that inspite of India’s brilliant campaign in the World cup, could their presence
have made a difference? That did India went a bit too far in ignoring them for
the Cup? It’s all over now so no use to mull over the past. If’s and But’s have
made and destroyed a whole lot of careers.
They both still have a more than a
month of cricket to play and carve out such specials for their teams and fans. Who
knows that by the end of it all they might find favour with the selectors. All
I can do is sit back and enjoy each run scored by them. How I wish the Oldies
take a Centre Stage each time they go out to bat.
Comments
Post a Comment