India v West Indies: Group B - ICC Champions TrophyAt age 34, what Dinesh Karthik accomplished in international cricket from 15 years is nowhere justice to the talent he holds. he had only scored around 3000 international runs. Apart from his nimble effort to stump Michael Vaughan and an improbable 8 ball 29 against Bangladesh, there aren't many memorable highlights in his career. Hopefully, he may turn around his luck in the future considering he has at least three or four years of active cricket.
Australia v Sri Lanka - Commonwealth Bank SeriesAlmost everyone must have tried his bowling action at least once. Lasith Malinga has over 500 wickets in international cricket since his debut in 2004. He is one bowler who played his heart out every time he picked up a ball. His 4 wickets in 4 consecutive balls against SA in 2007 world cup is an anecdote for the same. Similar to Chris Gayle, with due respect to his performance in longer formats Malinga was at his foremost in T20. He was like an artist in the shortest format. His deadly Yorkers and slower balls were top-hole. He will leave the field as the best T20 bowler ever. No cricket fan will ever forget his unorthodox bowling style and his arduous efforts. Present Sri Lankan team is of no match for the team he started his career with. Yet he will play the 2019 world cup to give his last bit for the team.
England v Bangladesh - ICC Champions TrophyOn 19 January 2011, when Bangladesh cricket team announced their 15 member world cup squad, there was berserk among the cricket fans in Bangladesh over the exclusion of Mashrafe Mortaza. The brave-hearted cricketer faced the media the next day with tears. 8 years later, he is leading his country for one last time. Made his debut back in 2001,unfortunately injuries were impediments throughout his career. In the career spanning 18 years, he scored nearly 3000 runs and took over 380 wickets in international cricket. He led the Bangladesh cricket team into the quarterfinals of ICC world cup 2015 and semi-finals of ICC champions trophy 2017. More than the stats, he will be remembered for his lionheart. The History of Bangladesh's flourish in International cricket cannot be abridged without mentioning Mortaza's name. He has played a significant role in almost all of the country's cricketing milestones. An impeccable captain, Mortaza will leave the field with roars of applause from the cricket fans. remember, what he has done to Bangladesh cricket is equivalent to what Sourav Ganguly or Imran Khan had done to their team.
England v South Africa: 1st Investec Test - Day FourWhat Amla brings to crease is his serenity. After struggles in the initial years, Amla ensured himself a place in the history books of cricket. He has scored over 18000 international runs including 55 centuries. Initially regarded as a test batsman, his illustrious ODI stats are parallel only to that of Virat Kohli. At 35, he is probably playing his final World cup and would like to cease the world cup misery for the country. He certainly deserves the cup which many greats from his country were deprived. He would certainly end his career as one of the contemporary greats of cricket.
Winning Captain's Press Conference - 2011 ICC World CupAround 2005, during my early days of introduction to cricket, whenever a chase gets into a tense situation, the commentators cite a left-handed Australian batsman. They expect a Michael Bevan line innings for the batting team to win. 14 years later very rarely will anyone mention Michael Bevan in a similar situation. These days, an ever determined looking batsman from India epitomizes finishing the game under pressure. For MS Dhoni, Michael Bevan is among one of the few names he replaced in his 14 years long international career. With more than 17000 runs and 800 victims behind the stumps, he is among the finest in the game. As captain very few had tasted the level of success that he had. The greatest strength of Dhoni is his nonpareil equanimity. When he shakes hands and takes out the stump for one last time, the name MS Dhoni itself speak for what he has achieved. In 2019, MS Dhoni is still in his prime. If in this edition of world cup, there comes a situation akin to the 2011 world cup or the N number of instances where he came out to bat under pressure, MS Dhoni has procured enough confidence to save some air so that we can shout our lungs out while he finishes the game.
06-10-2019, 01:31 PM
