Indra Vikram Singh's heritage and myriad strokes

Indra Vikram Singh’s books are available at attractive prices on Amazon:

The Big Book of World Cup Cricket 1975-2011

Published in India by Sporting Links

ISBN 978-81-901668-4-3

Crowning Glory

Published by Sporting Links

ISBN 978-81-901668-6-7

Don’s Century

Published in India by Sporting Links

ISBN 978-81-901668-5-0

A Maharaja’s Turf

Published in India by Sporting Links

ISBN 978-81-901668-3-6

Indra Vikram Singh’s latest books:

Indian Spring, on India’s triumph in the cricket World Cup 2011

Wonder Down Under, special souvenir on the cricket World Cup 2015

Thursday, May 23, 2019

Chris Gayle and Martin Guptill hit up the first two World Cup double-centuries in 2015 after 40 years of the tournament

Sometimes it takes 40 years to bridge a schism of 29 runs.

New Zealand skipper Glenn Turner hit up an unbeaten 171 on the first day of the World Cup, 7^th June 1975. It came against East Africa, a team never heard of again, except that one of its constituents Kenya emerged 21 years later to become part of the One-day International circuit. This monumental essay spanned 201 deliveries, the only 200-ball innings in One-dayers. Only 18 One-day Internationals had been played before this, and it was the highest score at the time.

The Indian captain Kapil Dev broke this record with his exhilarating 175 not out in the heroic rescue act, also against first-timers Zimbabwe in the 1983 World Cup.

In another rearguard strike, the supercilious marauder Vivian Richards smashed an unbeaten 189 off the English bowlers in 1984. This was now the high mark in all One-day Internationals. He took the record in the World Cup too, blasting the Sri Lankans for 181 in 1987.

South African left-handed opener Gary Kirsten carved out 188 not out against unheralded United Arab Emirates in 1996, the highest in the World Cup till the 2015 tournament.

Meanwhile in 1997, another southpaw opening batsman, the Pakistani Saeed Anwar, hammered 194 versus India, taking the One-day record. Little-known Charles Coventry of Zimbabwe emulated the feat with an unbeaten knock against Bangladesh in 2009.

The first double century was smashed by the little champion Sachin Tendulkar, a round 200 off the South African attack in 2010. This set off a flurry of double centuries by Indian batsmen. Inevitably, it was the irrepressible Virender Sehwag who knocked up 219 against the West Indies the next year.

Rohit Sharma was fast becoming a phenomenon in the One-day game. He stroked 209 against Australia in 2013, and the following year hoisted a monumental 264 off the hapless Sri Lankans, still the One-day record.

A double-century in the World Cup was bound to come sooner than later, and it did in 2015. Not surprisingly, it was the belligerent Chris Gayle who was the first to the milestone. He tonked the Zimbabweans for 215 off 147 deliveries, the first non-Indian to hit up a double century in One-dayers. The 16 sixes that he rocketed are the maximum in a World Cup innings, equalling the feats of Rohit Sharma and A.B. de Villiers in all One-day Internationals. He also crashed 10 fours. These 136 runs in boundaries were the highest in an innings in the World Cup at that stage.

Gayle’s 372-run partnership for the 2^nd wicket with Marlon Samuels is the highest ever in the World Cup and in all One-day Internationals. It bettered the 318-run stand between Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid for the same wicket against Sri Lanka in the 1999 World Cup. Gayle had a dream match. Besides his historic double century and record partnership with Samuels, he also grabbed two wickets for 35 runs off his 6 overs and pouched a catch.

In all One-day Internationals, Gayle and Samuels beat the 331-run association between Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid versus New Zealand, also for the 2^nd wicket in 1999. In May 2019, John Campbell and Shai Hope came close to the Gayle-Samuels record when they posted an opening stand of 365 off the Irish attack. The only other triple century partnership in One-day Internationals is the 304 raised for the first wicket between Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman against Zimbabwe in 2018.

Less than a month after Gayle blasted his double-century, New Zealand opening batsman Martin Guptill racked up an unbeaten 237 off 163 balls, ironically against Gayle’s team West Indies in the quarter-final. This was a consecutive hundred by Guptill, following his 100-ball 105 off the Bangladesh bowling. He became the 14^th batsman to carry his bat through a completed World Cup innings, scoring over 60 percent of his team’s total, with no other batsman scoring even a half-century.

The 162 runs in boundaries, comprising 11 sixes and 24 fours, hammered by Guptill are the most in a World Cup match, surpassing Gayle’s 136 (16 sixes, 10 fours) in his own double-century earlier. Guptill’s 24 fours are the most in a World Cup innings, two more than Tillakaratne Dilshan against Bangladesh at Melbourne in this 2015 tournament. The 11 sixes smashed by Guptill are the second-highest in a World Cup knock after the 16 rocketed by Gayle.

Chris Gayle’s record may have fallen, but he was not completely put in the shade in this match. He smashed 61 off 33 balls, racing to his fifty off just 26 deliveries. There were 8 sixes and 2 fours in his blitzkrieg, 56 runs in boundaries, an amazing percentage of 91.80.

Gayle’s double century helped the West Indies pile up a total of 372 for two, their highest in the World Cup and also, at the time, in all One-day Internationals. Similarly, Guptill’s knock raised New Zealand’s biggest World Cup score of 393 for six.

Amazingly, Rohit Sharma smashed a third double hundred in 2017, an unbeaten 208 against Sri Lanka. Pakistan’s Fakhar Zaman knocked up the eighth double century in One-day Internationals with his 210 not out versus Zimbabwe in 2018 in that huge stand with Imam-ul-Haq.

Will the swinging and seaming conditions in the first half of the English summer of 2019 permit a World Cup double ton? Sourav Ganguly came close with his 183 at Taunton twenty years ago.

The schism is just 17 runs now.

(Author Indra Vikram Singh can be contacted on email singh_iv@hotmail.com).

Follow his blogs:

Indra Vikram Singh’s books are available at attractive prices on Amazon:

The Big Book of World Cup Cricket 1975-2011

Published in India by Sporting Links

ISBN 978-81-901668-4-3

Crowning Glory

Published by Sporting Links

ISBN 978-81-901668-6-7

Don’s Century

Published in India by Sporting Links

ISBN 978-81-901668-5-0

A Maharaja’s Turf

Published in India by Sporting Links

ISBN 978-81-901668-3-6

Indra Vikram Singh’s latest books:

Indian Spring, on India’s triumph in the cricket World Cup 2011

Wonder Down Under, special souvenir on the cricket World Cup 2015

Saturday, May 18, 2019

Road to the Cricket World Cup 2019. Fairy-tale crescendo on home turf. Excerpt from Indra Vikram Singh’s book ‘Indian Spring’

INDIA v SRI LANKA (FINAL)

WANKHEDE STADIUM, MUMBAI, 2 APRIL 2011

Gautam Gambhir

Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Sachin Tendulkar

A supremely confident Indian team appeared to be peaking at the right time. Such was the din at the Wankhede Stadium that none at the toss heard skipper Kumar Sangakkara’s call correctly, and the coin had to be flipped again. The Sri Lankan innings was built around a superb hundred by Mahela Jayawardene. Even as Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sangakkara forged a 43-run second-wicket stand in just over 10 overs, the innings got impetus when the classy Jayawardene walked in. He put on 62 with Sangakkara at a-run-per-ball, and another 57 with Thilan Samaraweera at about the same rate, bringing up his own fifty off 49 balls.

Sri Lanka took the Powerplay only in the 46^th over at 211 for five. Nine runs came off Zaheer Khan’s over and eleven off Munaf Patel with 2 fours. Nuwan Kulasekara slammed Zaheer over mid-wicket for a six, and Jayawardene hit two cracking boundaries to raise his century off 84 deliveries. But Kulasekara was run out. In the final over Thisara Perera smashed Zaheer for 2 fours and then a six off the last ball. The final 5 overs yielded 63 runs. Jayawardene leapt in joy. Sri Lanka had equalled the highest losing total of 274 in a World Cup final. No team batting second had scored so many in a World Cup final, but every team with a centurion in the final had won the Cup. This was not for the fain-hearted!

‘Slinger’ Malinga trapped Virender Sehwag leg-before second-ball. The stunned silence turned into a mighty roar as Gautam Gambhir glided his first delivery to the boundary. After a couple on the off-side, Sachin Tendulkar drove Kulasekara straight in trademark fashion and then cut him for boundaries, to bring the house down. He then lost strike for a while. Sure enough he nicked Malinga, and Sangakkara grabbed it, flinging himself to his right. Tendulkar was not to score his 100^th hundred in the World Cup final. The crowd gave him an extended standing ovation. But there was despondency too as India were 31 for two, with a mountain to climb. Gambhir and Virat Kohli regrouped, rotating the strike, coupled with the odd boundary. They then struck Kulasekara for a four each in the 12^th over. India started to breathe easier, but this was an all-or-nothing game with lots of serious work to be done. The pair batted with maturity, bereft of histrionics. The left-hander clocked his half-century in 56 balls. Kohli was beginning to open out when he drove hard at Dilshan who took a brilliant return catch. They had put on 83 in 15.3 overs, priceless in this situation.

Dhoni resolutely promoted himself, perhaps intending to retain the left-right pairing too. He began studiously, striking a boundary only off his 25^th ball. Progress was steady; Dhoni hammered one through the covers to reach fifty off 52 deliveries. Gambhir by now was 90, and India 204 for three after 38 overs. Runs now came easily but Gambhir sent shock-waves, trying to smash one, only to be bowled for 97. He had played anchor in the high-voltage game, his 122-ball knock comprising 9 boundaries. Yuvraj Singh joined in with 52 required off 52 balls. Dhoni rocketed one over point for a six. They raised the tempo in the 47^th over with a boundary each. Dhoni hit Malinga for two more fours in the next over. With 5 runs to get in two overs, Dhoni nonchalantly lofted the ball above long-on into the stands. He returned triumphant with 91 off 79 balls studded with 8 fours and 2 sixes. Dhoni lifted the Cup; the joyous teammates hoisted Tendulkar. Kohli remarked famously: “He has carried the burden of the nation for 21 years. It was time we carried him.” Dreams do come true.

Sri Lanka 274 for 6 wickets (50 overs)

India 277 for 4 wickets (48.2 overs)

(Author Indra Vikram Singh can be contacted on email singh_iv@hotmail.com).

Follow his blogs:

Indra Vikram Singh’s books are available at attractive prices on Amazon:

The Big Book of World Cup Cricket 1975-2011

Published in India by Sporting Links

ISBN 978-81-901668-4-3

Crowning Glory

Published by Sporting Links

ISBN 978-81-901668-6-7

Don’s Century

Published in India by Sporting Links

ISBN 978-81-901668-5-0

A Maharaja’s Turf

Published in India by Sporting Links

ISBN 978-81-901668-3-6

Indra Vikram Singh’s latest books:

Indian Spring, on India’s triumph in the cricket World Cup 2011

Wonder Down Under, special souvenir on the cricket World Cup 2015

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Road to the Cricket World Cup 2019. A thriller for Lara’s farewell. Excerpt from Indra Vikram Singh’s book ‘The Big Book of World Cup Cricket’

ENGLAND v WEST INDIES

KENSINGTON OVAL, BRIDGETOWN, APRIL 21, 2007

Neither side had a chance to qualify for the semi-finals but it was Brian Charles Lara’s farewell. So for the first time in the tournament there was a sell-out crowd. It was, however, not the fairy-tale farewell that the multitude had hoped to see, for though there was a thrilling penultimate ball result by a razor-thin one-wicket margin, the West Indies lost, and Lara’s promising innings was cut short by a tragic run out.

Chris Gayle provided the fireworks as he raced to his fifty off a mere 29 balls. He smashed 10 fours and 3 sixes in his 79 off just 58 deliveries. Devon Smith, the diminutive left-hander from Grenada, helped post 131 runs in their opening stand in only 23.5 overs. Gayle’s departure saw Lara walking in to a gracious guard of honour from the England team. He looked in superb touch and was determined to play one last memorable innings. A vintage square-drive had the crowd on its feet. He had stroked 3 fours in his 18 off 17 balls when Marlon Samuels pushed one to mid on and called for a sharp single, then changed his mind. Kevin Pietersen’s smart direct hit found the legend short of the crease. The standing ovation ceased much after he disappeared into the pavilion.

As if to atone for this sacrilege, Samuels smashed 51 off a mere 39 deliveries with six hits to the ropes and one over it. His fifth-wicket partnership with Shivnaraine Chanderpaul realized 77 runs in a matter of 9.3 overs. A couple of run outs in the last over meant that the West Indies were bowled out for 300 with one delivery remaining. Skipper Michael Vaughan took three wickets for 39 off 10 overs with his gentle off-breaks.

Vaughan then carved out a superb innings of his own. He was the dominant partner in a defining second-wicket stand of 90 in 13 overs with Ravi Bopara. His partnership with Pietersen realized 53 in 11 overs. When Dwayne Bravo inflicted the second of his run outs, Vaughan had already set his side on the high road to victory. He stroked a classy 79 off 68 balls with 6 fours and 2 sixes. Pietersen then took charge as only he can, striking the ball belligerently and innovating audaciously. But wickets began to tumble.

Parity was restored when Paul Nixon joined Pietersen. They smashed 80 in ten-and-a-half overs for the seventh wicket. Pietersen reached his century off 90 deliveries but was bowled next ball by Jerome Taylor. He had smashed 10 fours and a six. The match swung yet again. With 29 to get off three overs with two wickets left it seemed that Lara would bid a victorious goodbye. Nixon then hit 3 fours off four Corey Collymore deliveries. The fifth was short and went screamimg for four byes. Nixon took a single off the last ball. A run per ball was required off the last two overs. The penultimate over yielded 8 runs. Lara brought on the canny Bravo. Nixon was bowled off the second delivery with three still to get and the last pair in. Two deliveries yielded one run. Stuart Broad hit the fifth over cover to bring up a heart-stopping win. Feted at the post-match presentation, Lara’s last words to the crowd were, “Did I entertain?”. The “yes” in unison was heard by billions around the globe.

West Indies: 300 all out (49.5 overs)

England: 301 for 9 wickets (49.5 overs)

(Author Indra Vikram Singh can be contacted on email singh_iv@hotmail.com).

Follow his blogs:

Indra Vikram Singh’s books are available at attractive prices on Amazon:

The Big Book of World Cup Cricket 1975-2011

Published in India by Sporting Links

ISBN 978-81-901668-4-3

Crowning Glory

Published by Sporting Links

ISBN 978-81-901668-6-7

Don’s Century

Published in India by Sporting Links

ISBN 978-81-901668-5-0

A Maharaja’s Turf

Published in India by Sporting Links

ISBN 978-81-901668-3-6