Friday, September 14, 2012

Virat Kohli - The Rising Star of Indian cricket !


Born on 5th November, 1988 in Delhi, Virat Kohli is a talented young cricketer in India. Virat Kohli began playing cricket for his Ranji team, Delhi in 2006 when he was 18 years old. In 2008, he led the India U-19 side in the ICC U19 world cup in Malaysia which India won and from where on his rise as a cricketer began.

In the same year i.e, August 18, 2008, he played his first match for India against SriLanka. He didn't have a great start to this career. His career kick-started during the 2009 Champions Trophy in South Africa.Virat Kohli is an intelligent cricketer which makes him suitable for any form of cricket be it test, one day or T20. He can be aggressive as well as defensive. His dedication and commitment towards his game has made him mature and grow as an international player. Virat Kohli has never let distraction come along his way. His passion, dedication and commitment has helped him reach great heights. When he is on the field, he gives his 100% to the team. When his team has required him, he has always delivered. In short, Virat Kohli has always lived up to the expectations of his team and the public. This trait makes him one of the brilliant rising stars of Indian cricket. He has been having a dream run since the last two years scoring centuries against Pakistan, SriLanka and australia. Most importantly, whenever he has delivered, India has won. He was also part of the Indian team which won the world cup in 2011 after 28 years. Virat Kohli did have a role to play in that tournament as he hit a crucial 35 in the final against SriLanka. Plus he started off the tournament with a Bang scoring a century against Bangladesh. In the IPL too, he is one of the key performers of the Royal Challengers Bangalore side and this year round, he led them during the later stages of their campaign. He is considered by many former greats and analysts as a future captain of the Indian team.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Yuvraj Singh - The True WORLD CHAMPION !


Yuvraj Singh, born on 12th December 1981 in Chandigarh, India, is a cricketer who plays for the Indian team.

Yuvraj Singh made his debut for India during the Champions Trophy in Kenya in 2000. In just his second match he scored a match winning knock of 84 runs against Australia which was just the start of many more to come. India eventually going on to qualify for the final of the tournament. Yuvraj Singh has throughout been an integral part of the Indian side and is one of the most valuable and important players in the Indian team. Not just for his batting but also, for his bowling and most importantly, his fielding. He has always risen up to the occasion. For instance, during the 2007 T20 w'cup in South Africa, Yuvraj smashed six sixes in a a single over of the bowling of Stuart Broad. India winning that match and eventually, going to win the inaugural T20 w'cup. In 2008, ICC felicitated him with the ICC T20 International performance of the year.

Yuvraj Singh again had a big role to play when India were crowned CHAMPIONS of the one day format in 2011. He was exceptional both with the bat and ball and eventually went on to be named as the man of the tournament. It was a w'cup victory after 28 long years. A moment that will always be cherished by every player in the Indian team and by Indian fans. This could not have been possible without the efforts of Yuvraj Singh. In my opinion, the 2011 world cup performance ranks among the BEST tournament Yuvraj has ever had.

Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with a rare germ cell cancer. He went to the US to get treated and like always, Yuvraj Singh was a fighter and successfully beat the illness he was suffering. Nine months away from cricket, today, Yuvraj Singh makes a comeback to the Indian team against New Zealand in a T20 match in Chennai. In my opinion, he is a true Inspiration not just for every cricketer but for every human being. In short, his passion and commitment towards the game makes him a True World Champion ! I just wish him all the luck and hopes that he continues from where he left bringing more glories for Team India.

It is rightly said :- 


" where there is a will, there is a way " .



Monday, September 10, 2012

VVS Laxman - The Cricketing artist !


Born on 1st November, 1974 in Hyderabad, India, VVS Laxman was an integral part of the Indian team for nearly sixteen years. Recently, before the start of the test series against New Zealand, Laxman announced his retirement from International cricket.

Laxman made his debut for India in 1996 against South Africa. The start wasn't great. Until January 2000, he hadn't scored a century. But on 2nd of January, 2000 in Sydney, he scored his maiden international century against Australia. That was just the start of many more to come. He loved playing against the australians both in australia and at home. He probably played his finest innings against them at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Following on in the second innings, Laxman came up with a master class 281 which eventually proved to be match winning. It goes down as one of the BEST innings an Indian has ever played in test cricket.

2000 to 2004 and 2007 to 2011 were among his best years when he piled on the runs. During this period, he scored over 6,500 runs with a decent conversion rate scoring fourteen centuries and fourty-one half centuries.

In my opinion, Laxman will always remain as one of the finest players that cricket has ever produced. It wasn't all about style and elegance whenever he came out to bat but he was someone who was ready to fight it out in difficult conditions, in difficult situations and against formidable attacks from around the world. That is what makes a player like Laxman a world-class player !



Rahul Dravid - The Ultimate Star of Indian cricket !


Born on 11 January 1973 in Indore, Rahul Dravid played cricket for India for nearly 16 years and is one of the greatest that India has ever produced. He is best known in the world for his style and approach of playing the game.

Rahul Dravid made his debut for the Indian team in 1996. His first match was against England at Lords. It was also Sourav Ganguly's first match. It was a dream debut for both the cricketers, Sourav Ganguly eventually going on to score a century and Rahul Dravid missed it by four runs. He was gone on 96.

For sixteen years, Rahul Dravid has been an integral part of the Indian team both in tests and one dayers. Rahul Dravid wasn't an aggressive player like a Tendulkar or a Ganguly, however, his passion, temperament, technique and dedication towards the game helped him to mature as a player and win many matches for India. His defensive approach of playing the game and his temperament especially in Test match cricket has inspired many young talents over the years. 2002-2004 were his best years when he piled on runs and scored hundreds against England in England, Australia in Australia and Pakistan in Pakistan. He was hereby felicitated by the ICC as ICC player of the year 2004.

Sachin Tendulkar is considered as the God of cricket. But in my opinion, I admire Rahul Dravid more than Sachin in many ways because Rahul has not just won matches for India but has come to India's rescue in many tough situations. In difficult times, his match saving efforts have helped Team India save a lot of games. The reason why i consider him as the Ultimate Star of cricket or the Unsung Hero !


There is a quote very appropriate for a player of Rahul Dravid's caliber : -


      " When the going gets tough, the tough gets going "

Rahul Dravid has always lived up to the expectations of the team. He has always been a self-less cricketer. In short a team man. He did whatever the team required him to do. If the team wanted him to keep wickets, he did it. If the team wanted him to open the innings, he went out and opened the innings. This trait of Rahul Dravid makes him unique. Not many in the cricketing world are like him. Reason why I feel that he will be missed in the Indian Team and as to why i will miss him whenever I watch India play.

But Rahul Dravid does play for the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL. In 2012, he was their captain and he did have decent season with the bat. I just hope and pray that Rahul Dravid plays one more season of IPL scoring like he has always done and leads Rajasthan to a successful campaign !

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Sourav Ganguly - India's most Inspirational captain !


Born on 7th July, 1972 in Kolkata, Sourav Ganguly played for India for nearly 12 years. He was the captain of the Indian team for most part of his career ie; from 2000-2005 and he is considered by many as the most successful Indian captain. Sourav Ganguly's record as Indian captain is as follows 

Test :-   49 matches, 21 wins, 13 losses, 15 draws.
ODI :- 147 matches, 76 wins, 66 losses.

Under the leardership of Dada, India were joint winners of the Champions Trophy in SriLanka in 2002, India won the Natwest Trophy in England - a moment considered historic by many, India reached the final of the 2003 w'cup, India won a test match against Australia in Adelaide and leveled the series 1-1, India won a test match against England in Leeds again leveling the series 1-1 and the biggest of all, India beat arch-rivals Pakistan in Pakistan 2-1 in 2004.

But unfortunately, due to controversy and form, he was dropped from the team in 2005. But he still had the desire to make a comeback. He was determined enough to do so as he went back to domestic cricket and played for Bengal for one whole season. He went to English county cricket to gain some form back and finally, his dedication and commitment towards the game payed off. The day finally arrived when Dada got his second chance to play for India. On the tour of South Africa in 2006-2007 just before the w'cup, Dada was picked in the test team. Many considered that he would struggle in the bouncy pitches of south africa. But, he proved everyone wrong and eventually, he was the highest run scorer for India in that series. Since then Ganguly never looked back and he probably had the best of his time during the last two years of his career. In 2007, he was the highest run scorer for India in test matches and the second highest scorer for India in one dayers. In 2008, just before the test series against australia in India, Ganguly announced that it would be his last. N what a way it was to end a glorious career ! what else could he have asked for- India won the series 2-0 and Ganguly had a decent run with the bat scoring a century in Mohali and a brisk 89 in his last test at Nagpur.


This dedication and passion of Dada inspires me and the reason why he is my role model. In my opinion, he is truly an inspiration  not just for someone like me but for budding cricketers. He showed the world that if one is dedicated, committed and passionate enough to achieve what one wants to in life, one can gain success. Therefore, in my opinion, he remains one of the world's best players.

Sourav Ganguly plays for the Pune Warriors in the IPL (Indian Premier League). He is the captain of the franchise. Being a strong supporter and an avid Dada fan, I hope and pray that Dada gets another chance to play in the IPL in the 2013 season and like he has proved before, comes back with a bang !

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Sachin Tendulkar - The Greatest Batsman of all time !


Born on 24th april, 1973 in Mumbai, Sachin Tendulkar remains the undisputed Champion of Cricket.





He began taking interest in the game when he was just 6 years old and was encouraged by his elder brother to pursue the sport. He began playing for the Indian team when he was just 16. He was one of the youngest players to be playing international cricket. He scored his first International century against England in 1990. His passion, commitment and dedication towards the game has been the talking point all through his career and this has eventually helped him in reaching and achieving great heights and breaking records. He captained India for a short period but later relinquished it as he felt that he needed to concentrate more on what he did the best for his team ie; scoring runs. Sourav Ganguly took over as captain and Sachin Tendulkar from there onwards proved to be unstoppable. Before the 2011 w'cup, Sachin had been part of five w'cups but never got a chance to taste a w'cup victory. That was his long standing dream- a w'cup win ! N finally, in 2011, in front of his home crowd at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, India beat SriLanka in the final to be crowned World Champions bringing an end to a long standing desire of Sachin Tendulkar !

In 2012, Sachin created yet another record that no one had ever come close to achieving- 100 International centuries and the 100th one coming against Bangladesh in Dhaka during the Asia Cup 2012.

This was what Sachin had to quote after getting his 100th International century :-


" enjoy your game and chase your dreams " - Sachin Tendulkar . 
The Reason why he is considered a Genius and a Real Inspiration in the Cricketing world !

Sachin Tendulkar has annonced his retirement from the limited overs format of the game ie; one day cricket. He shall be remembered for not just for the records that he has surpassed and created but also, for the number of matches India has won due to his efforts. Not to forget the match against australia in Sharjah which according to me ranks among the BEST ! Sachin Tendulkar, the Greatest Batsman of all time is going to be missed in International One-Day cricket. He, however, would continue playing test matches. Looking forward to seeing him play and score many more runs in the longer format of the game.

His records speak for himself- shows the true Greatness of the Man who has shouldered responsibility of a billion for more than 20 years :-

463 matches, 18,426 runs, 96 half centuries and 49 centuries- Incredible !