India West Indies test match series finished with an exciting match at Wankhade Stadiaum.Ironically cricket lovers were expecting this test match to be remembered for an individual performance that of Sachin.But the glory of cricket that is uncertainty has once again played its role.The most experienced player master of almost all records struggled and failed to score a century where as a new comer who is not even established himself as a batsman has scored a century very easily. That is the mystery of cricket. Four kinds of results were possible till the fourth ball of the last over of the last day’s play of a five day match. In the end test match cricket has once again shown that why experts say that this is the basic form of cricket. Of course this is a game of statistics.13000 runs, fifteen years of test cricket 100 centuries etc etc….But tremendous excitement the test cricket brings out is simply superb. Test cricket is a game of techniques, patience, hostility, intelligence, surprise moves and perseverance. The young inexperienced windies has put up a brave performance in this series.Ofcourse their inexperience brought the down fall of the team in the second innings and paved the way for an exciting finish. We shouldn’t take the credit from the Indian team which still rely on the experienced old heroes,india has found a real hero in Ashwin and a plenty of young bowlers and a batsman in Kohli who played superbly in the second knock under tremendous pressure.
This match has taken my memories to mid eighties when Australia visited india.The Chennai test match which ended in a tie. Almost similar to this match Australia scored above five hundred runs in the first innings and India with the help of All-rounder Kapil Dev avoided follow on. In the second innings Allan Border the Australian captain declared innings posting a challenging 349 for India to win on the last day of the match. Indeed this was a sporting declaration. The which was heading for a draw had suddenly came live. India got a flying start with Sreekanth and Gavaskar and Mohindar Amarnath.India was nearing 200 at tea,with nine wickets to spare. Then India decided to force a win. But suddenly wickets started to tumble. Ravi Shastry fought bravely and India got near the target.Idnetical to the last test match at wankhade India needed three runs to win in the last over with one wicket in hand .All the four results were still possible.Shastry on the strikers end and Maninder at the other end. Greg Mathews the exciting spinner was in charge of the last over.Shastry took two runs in the first ball and got a single in the next ball. The last man was exposed but scores were at level .India will not loose from there.Maninder negotiated two more balls. But Mathews trapped him right in front of the wicket and Maninder was declared out LBW!!!...Although the decision was controversial what an exciting match that was!!!.The match ended in a tie.
I do remember that day was my college days. That was a holiday. I spent the post lunch session in the house of my friend Sakharam Shenoy.Radio was tuned on near the shuttle badminton court. I and Sakharam had a couple of game. We were discussing about the prospect of an Indian win. After lunch I spent my time in my house tuning the Murphy radio. I was tense during the final stages of the match, walking along the backyard of my house with radio on my shoulder. In contrast I had the tense moments of the Wankhade test match yesterday almost 25 years after in my office through the cricket update in Internet. The real fact is that I still didn’t lose my interest in cricket. I still follow the cricket updates with as much interest as it was twenty to thirty years back.
Let such matches be played again and again with high spirit. There is a complaint that test match consumes lot of time not only that of players but that of followers. Let us enjoy the cricket or any games sticking to our duty. Let such exciting matches refresh us entertain us and help us to power our way to success in life.
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