A win will add to my fond memories of Bangalore
cussed the coffee that they serve. For the record I am tilted towards cold coffee and not filtered.
Another Chinnaswamy recollection is that of a tied World Cup game against England in 2011. What a match! The 2014 IPL title win also came here. But what Bangalore memories will I be sharing with my grandchildren?
Well, they will be from my days with the National Cricket Academy inaugural batch. It was year 2000. Yuvraj Singh, Mohammed Kaif, Murali Karthik, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and many more talented names were there.
One day we were all asked to fill an NCA form. It was all smooth except one section where one of my future India team-mate fumbled and left us in raptures. The simple question asked in the form was: “Mother tongue.” To which my friend replied “pink” thinking that NCA mandarins wanted to know the colour of the tongue rather than the language!
One more nugget came when the then NCA director Mr Hanumant Singh was speaking to another of my future India teammate. The late Mr Singh asked: “Vikas, (name changed to preserve my friendship), are you feeling home sick?” My friend replied, “No sir, nobody is sick at my home, all are healthy.” Let’s move on.
We are at seven wins in 11 games and have been searching for one more to be absolutely safe for playoffs. Well, I won’t mind if we win this game against RCB and another chapter is added to my love-affair with this city.
We had intense practice on Saturday evening. Both my injured teammates Chris Lynn and Robin Uthappa took active part. So, the good news is both are available.
With RCB crashing out, even the pitch here seems to have lost interest. Normally, it presents the best chance for batsmen but of late it has gone a tad slow and low. I am in two halves whether to go spin or pace. Let’s see.
In the previous two games we have been beaten by one batsman, David Warner from Hyderabad and Rahul Tripathi from Pune. They both were exceptional and I think I have already set my eyes on Rahul.
On both occasions our bowling Bowlers have taken hat-tricks in IPL. Amit Mishra has taken the most with three while Yuvraj has taken two. plans failed. We tried pace, change-ups and change-downs, spin etc but nothing worked.
More than the bowlers the buck stops at me. Maybe I wasn’t smart with bowling changes. Maybe there was a case of using Kuldeep Yadav and Sunil Narine differently at least against Pune.
I am thinking of going to watch Bahubali-2 with some teammates. Another plus of Bangalore is that one of my friends owns a multiplex, so houseful or not, there is always room for me and my friends. South Africa’s young pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada has made such good impression in the last two years that he is seen as the natural heir to Allan Donald and Dale Steyn. Rabada, only 21 but bowling with great maturity, impressed on Test debut in India two years ago. The 1.91m South Africa pace enforcer is now happy sharing notes with fellow pacers, including Aussie tearaway Pat Cummins, in the Delhi Daredevils dressing room in his first Indian Premier League (IPL) season. The fast bowler is a marquee Proteas player in the #T20 Global Destination League to be launched later this year, which he feels can transform South Africa’s cricket landscape. However, Rabada, in an interview to HT on Saturday, said virtues of Tests must be highlighted for T20 to reap benefits of its popularity. Excerpts:
It’s going well. It’s been a bit up and down with the team, but it’s a great experience. It is nice to have a bowler as captain. Zaheer Khan is experienced to be like a sponge to get us as much information as possible. Networking with the other bowlers and sharing ideas, it’s nice. It is nice to have a bit of time off the field. Half the time we’re talking about bowling and trying to help each other out using our experience, and see how we can really improve. Everyone is (open to sharing ideas), no one is blocking themselves off. It’s very enjoyable, but at times very tiring. But that comes with the territory. However, it is a great experience. T20 is a very exciting format and it’s what brings the crowds in. Test cricket too brings the crowd in, but it is mostly pure cricket followers. T20 brings in a wider range of fans. So, in my eyes, it is the way forward in terms of making good money for the game, and making a good name for the game. He makes a good point, and that is what is happening these days. You want international cricket to be the root of cricket. But it is all about perception. Cricket is seen as boring by some people, tedious. T20 is really exciting on the other hand, (but) you play little for lot of money.
Unfortunately, in the world, most people want money because it is needed for financial security. It is up to cricket purists to teach people about the game, so that some more people can fall in love with the true nature, Test cricket. If you are going to abandon it, no one is going to fall in love with it. If you are not going to show it, no one is going to fall in love with it.
Also, the youngsters; back in the day all they knew about was Tests, and they loved it. Now there are more things to take into consideration. A lot of people think about T20, come and smash a few balls. Once again, it is about realising the honour and prestige Test cricket holds.
It is again perception, but if you want Test cricket to be the dominant force, get the perception to them.