A quick look at the good, the bad and the ugly - all the moments that defined cricket this year.
Lest we forget
Moments to remember 2011 by, and one moment that never arrived
THE DEFENSIVE TACTIC (January 5): With India smelling their first series win in
South Africa
and Harbhajan Singh in cracking form, Jacques Kallis came out to bat
with excruciating pain in his back in Cape Town. MS Dhoni had a
brain-fade and decided to set defensive fields. The result? Kallis made
his second hundred of the Test, saved the game and the series.
Sachin Tendulkar's epic 146 in the first innings would be forgotten.
ENGLAND END THE HURT (January 7): Andrew Strauss's team whipped
Australia 3-1 to retain the most famous urn of them all, ended 24 years of hurt, and celebrated with
the sprinkler dance. All three of England's wins were by an innings -- the first time
Australia
had suffered such an ignominy in any series. It was a team effort by
England but the stars for the tourists were Alastair Cook (766 runs) and
James Anderson (24 wickets). This humiliation would eventually lead to a
complete overhaul of Australian cricket.
THE EPIC TURNAROUND (January 11-15): Wooden spoon winners in 2010, Rajasthan shocked one and all by
winning the Ranji Trophy in 2011.
A quirk in the tournament rules helped. The Plate Division team had the
chance to play the Elite Division knock-out games. Once there, they
beat heavyweights like Mumbai, Tamil Nadu and Baroda (in the final) to
wrap up an extraordinary season which had begun with them bowling
Hyderabad out for 21.
(Image: Aakash Chopra)
INDIA'S PERFECT START (February 19):
India gave the World Cup the kick-off it deserved. Virender Sehwag and
Virat Kohli smashed centuries out of Bangladesh, who fell 87 short
chasing a massive 371 in Mirpur. [
See commentary for in-line video highlights]
THE NERVE-JANGLER (February 27): The two best sides in the world didn't disappoint in a dream clash at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. India, fuelled by
Sachin Tendulkar's
120, seemed to have it under control. But Andrew Strauss' incredible
158 took England to the brink. Zaheer Khan's fine spell in the Powerplay
shifted the momentum back before two sloppy overs from India helped end
the game in a tie. [
See commentary for in-line video highlights]
THE UPSET OF THE YEAR (March 2):
Ireland all-rounder Kevin O'Brien smashed a 50-ball hundred, a World
Cup record, to lead his team to a three-wicket win over England. They
were chasing a stiff 328 and looked out of the game before O'Brien
started teeing off. His 63-ball 113 and 162-run partnership for the
sixth wicket with Alex Cusack (47) set up one of the great upsets of
World Cup history.
THE COSTLY MISS (March 8): After their never-ending losing streak, something had to give for New Zealand. It did against Pakistan where
Ross Taylor and Jacob Oram clocked 92 runs
off the final four overs in Pallekele. One of the highlights was Kamran
Akmal dropping Taylor, prompting this reaction from Shoaib Akhtar, who
would later have a fisticuff with the 'keeper. The controversial pacer
announced his retirement during the tournament, not knowing he had
already played his last game here.
THE REVERSE GEAR (March 12):
India had their foot on South Africa's throat in Nagpur when they
started batting cautiously against the run of play. Tendulkar completed
his 99th hundred and set the innings up for the slog which never
arrived. India lost 29-9 to be bowled out for 296 when 375 looked
possible. South Africa nearly botched the chase before Robin Peterson
took them home, taking 16 off Ashish Nehra's final over. [
See scores and in-line videos]
THANK YOU FOR COMING, AUSTRALIA (March 24): After 15 years,
Australia
finally lost a World Cup knockout, against eventual champions India in
Ahmedabad. It wasn't easy. On a difficult pitch, the off-colour Ricky
Ponting struck a heroic 104. Determined fifties from Tendulkar and
Gambhir took India close, before Suresh Raina's cameo made the final
difference. Yuvraj Singh's William Dafoe act (
above) after the winning stroke should sum up what the win meant to them. [
Scores and in-line videos]
RHYMES WITH POKER (March 25): Yet
again, South Africa started as one of the World Cup favourites but took
the first chance to be knocked out. 222 in the quarterfinal didn't seem
to be a big target. But a wicket here and a wicket there, and Graeme
Smith's men were spooked. Jacob Oram's running catch of Jacques Kallis
above was a match-turner. Smith was devastated. He resigned as the ODI
captain, one of the four big changes to South African cricket, including
the appointment of Gary Kirsten as their coach.
THE GAME OF THE YEAR (March 30): The
India-Pakistan World Cup semifinal was undoubtedly the biggest contest
of the year, garnering more attention than the final. Premiers of both
countries attended it, making the Mohali game a nightmare for security
forces.
Sachin Tendulkar,
dropped thrice and let off by a curious HawkEye reply, made 85. It
wasn't his prettiest innings, but factoring the mind-numbing pressure,
it was one of his most precious. [
See in-line videos with text commentary]
THE CHERRY ON TOP (April 2): Few
would remember Zaheer Khan's first spell with three straight maidens,
Sri Lanka's struggle with the bat, Mahela Jayawardene's brilliant
hundred or the Gautam Gambhir-led fightback. What would remain in
everyone's memory is this six that ended India's 28-year wait for a
World Cup. [
See in-video clips with commentary]
[Continued below]
One of the memorable moments during India's celebration of the win was when
Sachin Tendulkar,
who has maintained a carefully cultivated public image and never
endorsed alcohol or cigarettes, for once stopped being careworn and took
a swig from the celebratory champagne bottle in his hand. The crowd of
45,000 at the Wankhede saw this on the giant screen and roared in
approval.
MINNOWS MASSACRED (April 11):
With bigger, smarter bats, shorter boundaries, Powerplays, and what
not, it doesn't take a wise man to see how cricket has become
increasingly batsman-friendly. That's how it was when Shane Watson
hammered 15 sixes and 15 fours -- that's 150 runs in boundaries -- en
route to an unbeaten 185 off just 96 balls against Bangladesh in Mirpur.
Ridiculously good hitting. But does anyone care about bowlers?
THANK YOU, GARY; WELCOME FLETCH (April 27): India bid adieu to coach Gary Kirsten
after the World Cup as he wished to be closer to his family. The man
chosen to fill in his shoes was former England coach and Zimbabwe
captain Duncan Fletcher. Fletcher got off to a shaky start with the
Indian media. He was then criticized for not pushing for a win in the
final Caribbean Test. This was followed by the England disaster. For a
while it seemed like Kirsten had taken India's good fortune with him.
G-FORCE (May-June): Bowlers
in IPL suffered the repercussions of the ridiculous stand-off between
the West Indies board and Chris Gayle. Dropped from the WI squad after a
radio interview in which he was critical of the board, Gayle went to
India and smashed every bowler in sight. In 12 innings, he made 608 runs
to top the charts. The highlight was a 37-run over off Kochi's Prasanth
Parameswaran. Gayle failed in the finals though, making 8 and 0 against
Chennai Super Kings. [Continued below.]
Gayle's
problems with the board continue. At the height of their dispute, some
West Indies cricketers (like Marlon Samuels, above) showed where their
loyalties lay when they joined Gayle in the stands to celebrate a win
over India in Jamaica. Gayle scored heavily in the Champions League T20,
the Zimbabwe T20s and Big Bash in
Australia. But the national call-up is still due.
THE RETIREMENT THAT WASN'T (May 30):
Shahid Afridi led Pakistan to the semi-finals of the 2011 World Cup,
but soon after announced his retirement following a feud with then coach
Waqar Younis and the PCB's decision to strip him of the ODI captaincy.
Afridi then had his contract suspended by the PCB, which also fined him
$52,300. The board and Afridi would eventually reach an out-of-court
settlement. Afridi withdrew his retirement after Ijaz Butt was replaced
as PCB chairman and has since made a successful return.
SPIRIT OF CRICKET VS CRICKET'S LAWS (July 31):
MS Dhoni granted England's Ian Bell an extraordinary reprieve after he
was run out in the Trent Bridge Test. Bell took a casual walk at the
stroke of tea, believing he had struck a boundary off the last ball.
Dhoni ran him out. At first, Dhoni decided not to withdraw his appeal.
But he did so at the insistence of coach Duncan Fletcher. In trying to
uphold the spirit of the game, the authorities unwittingly broke a rule
that a batsman couldn't be recalled once he's left the field of play.
The boos for India after tea turned to applauses once the public saw
Bell returning to the crease. But the incident
divided cricket experts.
THE WHITEWASH (July-August): The
Andrew Strauss-led England took India's No.1 rank with their 4-0
whitewash, their first over them since 1974. The end to India's 19-month
reign at the top couldn't have been more shambolic: it was their worst
defeat in recent history, and nearly all their front-line players had
injuries.
THE MYSTERYMAN STRIKES AGAIN (August 8): Ajantha Mendis took 6-16 against
Australia in Pallekele, a new record in T20 Internationals. Chasing 158,
Australia were cruising at 71-0 in the sixth over when Mendis unfurled his magical spell to leave them eight runs short.
ZIMBABWE RETURN (August 4-8):
After a self-imposed exile from Test cricket in 2005, Zimbabwe cricket
is on the mend. On their return to Tests, they beat Bangladesh by 130
runs. The current team lacks the brilliance of the old guard, but the
comeback is a start. Their new domestic club structure promises good
things.
CHANGE OF GUARD (September 9): Shaun Marsh made 141 on Test debut against Sri Lanka in September and has since replaced Ricky Ponting as
Australia's No. 3 batsman. Ponting also lost his captaincy to Michael Clarke, but he was at the helm during
Australia's humiliating Ashes debacle as well as the quarter-final loss to India in the 2011 World Cup.
THE TERMINATION (September 19): The
BCCI terminated IPL franchise Kochi Tuskers Kerala for non-payment of
their bank guarantee, ending the Kerala team's shaky association with
the cash-rich league after just one season. The franchise was neck-deep
in controversy since the day it was bought by a consortium of seven
separate entities/investors.
RESILIENT MUMBAI (October 9):
Mumbai Indians won the Champions League Twenty20 with a 31-run win over
Royal Challengers Bangalore in the final. The Harbhajan Singh-led side
suffered injuries to key players like
Sachin Tendulkar,
Rohit Sharma and Davy Jacobs, and tournament rules were relaxed for
them to play an extra overseas player. Lasith Malinga was the
differentiator, with both bat and ball.
NO FURY LIKE A CRICKETER SCORNED (October 28):
Many were surprised when reliable opening batsman Simon Katich was
denied a Cricket Australia contract. Katich then lambasted the selectors
(with his now famous 'if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys') and new
skipper Michael Clarke. He attributed his 2009 spat with Clarke as the
cause for his axing, and was later officially reprimanded for making the
claims.
JAILED ABROAD (November 3): The
murky spot-fixing case of 2010 came to a close this year with Pakistani
cricketers Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir receiving jail
terms in the UK for conspiracy to cheat and accept corrupt payments.
This was not before Butt and Asif faced a criminal trial, the first of
its kind for the sport wherein they continued to deny their role in the
scandal.
21 FOR 9 (November 10): Australia seemed to have the Johannesburg Test in their pocked when Shane Watson's incredible spell of 5-15 shot
South Africa out for 96. What followed was a
once-in-a-lifetime event
for those who witnessed it. Debutant Vernon Philander, Morne Morkel and
Dale Steyn reduced Australia to 21-9, in danger of beating New
Zealand's record of 26. They reached 47, thanks to the last-wicket
stand, but lost the Test by eight wickets.
THE 'TIED' DRAW (November 26):
India and West Indies competed in what turned out to be the second tied
draw in history: the scores were level but India were one run short and
nine wickets down when the final ball was bowled at the Wankhede.
Ravichandran Ashwin displayed great presence of mind in blocking the
penultimate ball to eliminate the possibility of defeat. But he had a
brain-freeze on the final ball, not trying to get the second run needed for the win. 'Win or draw' was what Darren Sammy kept shouting to perk up his boys.
THE SLAUGHTER (December 8): Virender Sehwag smashed the world record for the highest ODI score, making
219 against West Indies in Indore. The Indian opener smashed 25 fours and seven sixes, breaking his hero
Sachin Tendulkar's record set in February 2010 in Gwalior. Both pitches were prepared by the same curator.
KIWIS SOAR (December 12): New Zealand's astonishing
seven-run win in Hobart
was their first over Australia in 18 years of Test cricket, and their
first in that country since 1985. The defining image of the game was
Australia's disappointed No. 11 Nathan Lyon on his hunches, having added
34 runs for the final wicket.
BOOKS IN THE NEWS: Shoaib Akhtar's tall tales in his autobiography (
Controversially Yours) didn't find resonance in India. What worked against him were his flimsy arguments on
Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid (' They are not match-winners'). England Graeme Swann also released his autobiography,
The Breaks Are Off,
and it was a laugh riot. Kevin Pietersen, who's the recipient of some
of Swann's uncharitable remarks, says it was a bad idea to write about
colleagues he's still playing with. Greg Chappell published his story,
Fierce Focus, and says he regrets his falling out with Tendulkar when he was India's coach.
THEIR BATS ALONE DIDN'T DO THE TALKING: What is it with elegant No. 3 batsmen and powerful speeches? The year's top two Test batsmen - Rahul Dravid (at the
Sir Donald Bradman Oration)
and Kumar Sangakkara (at the MCC Colin Cowdrey Lecture) expounded on
the game's history, current concerns and uncertain future. Both speeches
won accolades for their foresight and fearless questioning of
administrative follies.
AND THEY ALL FALL DOWN: Injuries
were expected with so much cricket abound, but 2011 set a record for
the number of players that had to pull out of tours. Teams across the
world suffered with India particularly troubled. Every day of their
England sojourn
seemed to bring news of a new injury.
Zaheer Khan's limping off on Day 1 at Lord's prompted Andrew Flintoff's
prophetic tweet: "If Zaheer doesn't come back on, there goes the number
1 spot!." By the end of the 8-0 hammering over Tests, ODIs and a T20,
India were operating with practically a second string side in England.
TROUBLE IN PARADISE: When
Sri Lanka finished runners-up in the World Cup, the year seemed nicely
set up for them. But ever since Tillakaratne Dilshan took over the
captaincy from Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lanka haven't won a series in any
format. There were also off-field problems: administrative woes, intense
politics (setting up ruling party member Sanath Jayasuriya's farcical
swansong) and financial problems. The team was left without wages before
the ICC paid 45 percent of the delayed salaries in December. But that's
not all. With Muttiah Muralitharan's retirement (
above) their
superstars at the end of their careers with no like-for-like
replacements in sight, Sri Lanka's future doesn't appear rosy. But after
the many lows, especially Cardiff where they were bowled out for 82,
the
win in Durban comes as a breather.
YEAR OF THE DEBUTANTS: India's
Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav,
Varun Aaron; South African pacers
Vernon Philander and Marchant de Lange; the Australian quartet of James Pattinson, Pat Cummins,
Nathan Lyon
and Ed Cowan; young New Zealand all-rounder Doug Bracewell; West Indies
top-order batsman Kirk Edwards and Bangladesh left-arm spinner Elias
Sunny announced their arrivals on the international scene with
eye-catching performances for their respective teams.
RIP, PETER, TIGER AND DOLLY: Cricket lost three of its biggest icons this year. Mansur Ali Khan 'Tiger' Pataudi, 70, royalty and
arguably India's finest captain
succumbed to intense lung infection on September 22. Peter Roebuck, 55,
former Somerset captain and the finest cricket writer of his time, met a
gory end on November 12 when he
jumped off his hotel room window when South African police came to arrest him for an alleged sexual assault. A week later,
Basil D'Oliveira,
80, the South African-born all-rounder who played for England, and in
doing so, triggered the slow demise of the cruel apartheid regime in
South Africa, died November 19, due to Parkinson's disease.
COMEBACK KID:
1145 Test runs, five centuries (including his first at Lord's) and a
limited-overs recall (two years after being callously axed) which he
handled with dignity
(choosing to retire immediately after), it was a good year for Rahul
Dravid. At 38, faced by an extended lean period marked by self doubt and
calls for retirement, he raised his game to add many more chapters to
his legend.
TO REVIEW OR NOT TO REVIEW: The Decision Review System continues to be a
pain point for cricketers, administrators and fans alike.
At the heart of the matter, it's a fight between the BCCI (who don't
trust the ball-tracking technology and heat-seeking cameras) and the ICC
(who have failed to make DRS mandatory for all games). Who's to say if
common sense will prevail in 2012.
And finally...
THE MOMENT THAT NEVER ARRIVED:
After 18 innings, nearly nine months, some close calls (none closer
than the 94 on his home ground, where he disappointed countless fans
like the one above), we're still waiting for
Sachin Tendulkar's 100th international hundred.
Realms of newsprint (and its corollaries on the TV and web) have been
devoted in anticipation of the ton of tons. Then again, you've got
something to look forward to in the New Year.
See ya, folks, and have a terrific 2012!
Sachin Tendulkar with Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina Wajid in Dhaka.Retirement is a very personal matter, isn't it?
