Down Down New Zealand

Well if one can go through cricinfo's latest article, wherein it has been expected out of New Zealand to take home some face before they leave the country, I can no doubt tell all you people out there that New Zealand has to play some lesser teams like say West Indies or Bangladesh (against which their next series is due) to gain some confidence before they take on the world's major teams in the 10^th edition of the world cup coincidentally held in few of the same venues where they lost their first three encounters against India, not before losing the test series.

Prior to the tournament, the new Zealand captain was found talking some positive stuff when he indicated that his team would gain a lot of exposure from the tours of India and Bangladesh prior to the world cup. But, if this is what the Kiwi captain is found to take home from this series, one can hope to see New Zealand wait until the next world cup in 2015 which luckily is scheduled on their home soil. Atleast, New Zealand should have won one of the one dayers to have been alive in the series if not the complete series.

Needless to be said, New Zealand managed to draw the first two tests before their loss to India in the third test at Nagpur by an innings and 198 runs. In both the innings, New Zealand failed to go past the 200 run mark. After the test series, may be India realized that they should have rested the key players like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh for the test series as well as it has been the case in the ongoing one dayers. When Harbhajan Singh was able to smash the Kiwi bowlers 7 times out of the ground, their caliber is well in front of all of us.

Though in case New Zealand manage to win the remaining two one day internationals against India, it would be India who would be experimenting with their opponenets rather than to say that New Zealand played decent cricket. If Gambhir plans to experiment with his team for the remaining two ODIs, may be New Zealand can take home a couple of wins. But, the ultimate loser would obviously be New Zealand who could not tackle a team with most of its key players being reserved. I hope the Kiwis should take lessons from Bangladesh who made history from an under - rated WI team last year.

Inspired By Sehwag

So far, if not for greats like Sachin Tendulkar and Muttiah Muralitharan, there have hardly been any followers for any of the existing players in international cricket. In fact, players like Dhoni and Sehwag have been inspired from Sachin Tendulkar to make it to the big stage. One has to ask Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara or Muttiah Muralitharan as to who or what on earth inspired them to take cricket as a career. Of course, though money factor exists in today's cricket, that was not the case some decade ago when Muttiah Muralitharan and Sachin Tendulkar were in their initial stages of their career.

Today's cricketers are more inspired by money and fame rather than the game or the challenges that come from within. Anyways, coming to the matter, a New Zealand cricketer Peter Ingram has said that it was after watching India's dashing opener Virender Sehwag that made him take the bat in his hands. The influence of Virender Sehwag on Ingram is to such an extent that though Peter Ingram has been repeated criticism for his lack of footwork, Ingram terms it to be the replica of his so called idol Virender Sehwag's style. If one goes by nature, their dates of birth differ by just 5 days.

At the same time, if their success in international cricket is considered, they stand way apart. Sehwag has gone too forward with two triple hundreds and six double centuries against his name in international test cricket which is bettered by only Sir Don Bradman, Walter Hammond and Brian Lara. Not even Sachin Tendulkar (Sehwag's batting idol) has been able to achieve the same in test cricket. It has been equaled by Pakistan's Javed Miandad and Sri Lanka's Marvan Attapattu, both of whom have 6 double hundreds against their names. However, this has to be justified if at all one has to believe that Sehwag is Ingram's batting idol.

Idols have to always stand apart from their followers in any field or else, who on earth would follow them? Likewise, cricketing greats like Vivian Richards, Clive Lloyd and Ian Botham have been an inspiration to batting youngsters after their retirement and so has been the case with bowlers like Shaun Pollock and Glenn McGrath. They were an inspiration after their team started making news for the good reasons. Likewise, someone like Andrew Flintoff and Craig McDermott could not be an inspiration though deserving to be so. Jonty Rhodes has hardly inspired anyone to take fielding as a career option.

Who Can Stop Sri Lanka from losing?

The fact that a team that could contain top rated batsmen like Sachin Tendulkar and VirenderSehwag could not continue the same when it comes to a 28 year old Gautam Gambhir and ViratKohli who a couple of years ago was seen lifting the under-19 world cup can make people laugh and nothing else. A couple of days ago, I happened to read in cricinfo regarding the chances that Sri Lanka can draw out of the injuries haunting Indian players-Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni in particular. And the result of all is that Sri Lanka have had their worst defeat so far in this tournament.

It is just disgusting to see someone like Ravindra Jadeja & Virat Kohli tearing apart the SriLankan bowling that included the likes of Lasith Malinga and co in the initial stages of their cricketing career. Added to that is Dinesh Karthik whose presence is felt only in the absence of the regular wicket keeper in Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Still, even he is able to make a mark against Sri Lanka. The lone six in the Indian innings came from the bats off Virat Kohli though it was Gautam Gambhir's 150 that sealed Sri Lanka's chances of being alive in the series.

Added to this was the 16 wides the Sri Lankan bowlers bowled as compared to 10 by the Indians. I just couldn't resist closing my eyes when the replays of Sri Lankan batsmen TissaraPerera hitting the ball straight in the air and nowhere when it came to the distance were shown repeatedly. That was the time when Perera was in full form and a responsible decision would have seen Sri Lanka piling up a more 20 runs. Neither did Sri Lanka lose wickets at regular intervals nor did they end their innings with a partly total like they have been doing in their previous matches.

It is not an unknown fact that in the last 5 years or so, a total of 300+ is not considered safe for any team. But, until yesterday, this was opposed atleast by the Eden Gardens where stats suggest that the highest run chase so far has been 293 by Pakistan once again against India in 2004. For the second time and fortunately in this year and against the very same Sri Lanka, Gautam Gambhir has scored exactly 150, the only difference being that this time he was unbeaten. The previous time Gambhir was found doing this was in February 2009 at Colombo that saw India taking the lead to 4-0 in the 5 match series. Next time, India can play their under-17 team to both beat Sri Lanka as well as get some match practice.

Indian Selectors Do It Yet Again

Well even before India are yet to play their first match in the ICC Champions trophy 2009, a news that India's dashing opener Yuvraj Singh is ruled out not only for the ICC Champions Trophy but also for six weeks which rules him out of the Champions Trophy completely. Another reason for India to worry is that they have to face their arch rivals Pakistan in their very first game of the Champions Trophy on Sunday. So, there is a lot of task at hand for India and especially for Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Anyway, that should not be the reason for worry when there are players like Dravid, Tendulkar and Dhoni out there.

However, the reason for team India to worry is the replacement who has turned out to be Virat Kolhi for reason best known to selectors. When there are so many players out there warming the banches, the inclusion of Virat Kolhi is real mystery. There was Robin Uttappa and Rohith Sharma who are declared well fit for the upcoming Champions League T20 and in addition the reason for the inclusion of Dinesh Karthik is still not clear whatsoever. With the winning combination itself not working for India in their warm up against New Zealand, a re-thinking would help to solve issues regarding selection.

This is not the first time that the Indian selectors have got into such a callous decision. In the world cup 2003 held at South Africa, V V S Laxman was replaced by Dinesh Mongia when the former had scored exceptionally well in the earlier tournaments against West Indies and New Zealand. There was absolutely no reason why Dinesh Mingia was included. So was the case with Mohd kaif whose lone impression was in guiding India to a 2 wicket victory against England in the finals of the NatWest series 2002. Then onwards, Kaif is remembered only for scoring 5 consecutive ducks in the series against Pakistan in 2006.

Then was the dropping of Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid which is quite evident to all of us. And people like Sarandeep Singh, Abhijith Kale and Amit Mishra have made it to team India despite their flash in the pan brilliance. Someone like Dinesh Mongia was included in all 11 world cup matches that India played in 2003 world cup to no avail. It was the presense of Sachin Tendulkar that overshadowed his dismal performance. May be that Virat Kolhi not be included in the playing eleven or atleast against crucial matches against Pakistan and Australia. However, Virat Kolhi is not that bad a player if his T20 stats are considered. But, is he the perefect replacement for Yuvi when there were so many in the ranks????Just think.

Royal Challengers......?

Hmm..when the name Royal Challengers come to someone's mind one thing is for sure..either they are considered to be talentless,unlucky,not hard working..etc...But, if one could watch the match between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Delhi Daredevils,one difference that could be seen is that the Delhi Daredevils were found to make a tough going when the going got to be tougher and tougher.This was what the Royal Challengers Bangalore were found lacking.Throughout the tournament,all that the Royal Challengers could manage was a shuffle in their batting order and nothing else.Also some selfishness in the bowling department wherein there was a leading bowler in Zaheer Khan who emerged as one of the leading wicket takers though not helping his team win or even save some face for his team.

And this time in the match against Delhi Daredevils,Oh!what a fantastic position they were in when they had a 24 run last over courtesy:Misbah-Ul-Haq.Though not a decent total posted by the Royal Challengers Bangalore,there's no rule that it shouldn't have been defended.Likewise,the best example being the Kolkata Knight Riders who rattled the stumps of the same Delhi Daredevils when the total they were defending was a handy 134.What's something special in Shoaib is that his hand bends legally and that shouldn't have been a major threat-because the same bowler was shown the gallows by Sanath Jayasuriya against Mumbai Indians.

Now,I guess the debate of the hour is the lack of a batsman of the caliber of Jayasuriya?Why are the likes of Jacques Kallis and Misbah (who nearly pulled off a win in the finals of the T20 finals) there for?

And coming to the latter part of the same,a complete control after Sehwag left should have made much use of.For,the Delhi Daredevils were struggling at 123/4 (3 wickets for 33 runs).But...?

All eyes on how to make Anil Kumble a scape goat now have to look out for someone else as the team had him ending up with figures of 2/18 off his allotted 4 overs.A test like stats.Wow!And at last,it is too much late for Goswamy.And Virender Sehwag is really worth the praise for he led the Delhi Daredevils courtesy:19 ball 47.Yet once again missing out on scoring the fastest IPL fifty.So Sad!!!

A Prefect Team Effort

Some occasions occur rarely.And in cricket one of the rare occasions is the one match in which there is a team effort as against a cricket game in which even in the winning team there is only a one man show.And this is most of the case in a losing team.But,in the game involving Mumbai Indians and the Deccan Chargers,one could see a team effort on the part of the Mumbai Indians,as all of the known batsmen were found to make a mark in the match.Starting from Sanath Jayasuriya,until Shah,almost everyone did what best they could have done with the bat.

Sanath Jayasuriya became the highest six hitter in the tournament with 20 big hits so far.The top scorer in the Mumbai Indians side was Abhisheik Nayar who scored only a handy 38 runs off 24 balls.But,the overall scorecard of the Mumbai Indians read 178/7 at the end of their alloted 20 overs.The run rate being almost 9.0 runs an over.Which is decent a decent one in the T20 format and that too in a team where none of them could manage a 50+ score.And when it came to the batting of Deccan Chargers,it was as usual.Lose couple of quick wickets and then towards the fag end of the innings,the prevailing batsmen can be seen only as though trying to draw a test match.

Shahid Afridi couldn't continue the good work he was found doing in the first three overs in the fourth over.It would raise eye-brows if one hears that Afridi's first three overs cost just 9 runs until he was blasted by Bravo for 14 runs in his fourth and the 16th over of the match.And when it came to his batting,the scoring was only in the minds of the fans of Shahid Afridi who are so far almost dejected.

An all round performance from Dwayne Bravo who scored a handy 30 off 17 balls with a couple of boundaries and an equal number of sixes.And in the second innings when it was his turn to take the ball into his hands,he never did a Virender Sehwag (who cost 22 runs in his only over against Kings XI Punjab).But,took 3 wickets giving away
24 runs from 4 overs.

The last time when the same two teams faced each other,the ball was on the Deccan Chargers' court owing to which Adam Gilchrist blasted a 42 ball hundred which was the then fastest hundred of the tournament.There it was a one man show unlike in the second round.But,Mumbai should have found it relaxing after it gave back Deccan Chargers what they (Deccan Chargers) had given them in the first meeting.

Captain Sets Up A Debacle for His Team

Well it would have been better had Virender Sehwag not got into such an act.This I mean is the decision of the Delhi Daredevils captain-Virender Sehwag who took the initiative by taking the ball in his hands,after some good work with the bat.As a result,this suicidal decision proved to be very costly for the Delhi Daredevils team as the over bowled by Virender Sehwag was belted for a costly 22 runs in the match which fate awarded it to the Kings XI Punjab after rain interrupted and the match had to be stopped after the Kings XI Punjab had batted for just 8 overs.Bad funda indeed!!
And a last ball six from the blades of Mahela Jayawardane locked the doors for the Delhi Daredevils.Oh!What a bad luck!Here comes the role of the unseen player in the form of fate which happened in this case to be the drizzles.Added to this,Virender Sehwag's score card read 47 runs from 19 balls and in the end 51 runs from 26 balls.Meaning just four runs from 7 balls towards the end of the innings.God knows as to why Sehwag decided to take the ball in his hands?

All batsmen belonging to the Delhi Daredevils team failed but for Sehwag and Gambhir.What better result can one expect with such a horrible thinking?With bowlers like Glenn McGrath and Maharoof,and with the showers pouring in,the unexpected could have been predicted.Don't know as to why Sehwag did this!It was something like the Proteas in the crucial league tie against Sri Lanka in the 2003 world cup which ended South Africa's world cup dreams for one more time.And one more such instance that I can give is the super eight match between Sri Lankaand Pakistan in which Mahela Jayawardane handed over the ball to Jayasuriya who got belted for 64 runs off his four overs,following which the same Jayasuriya scored a duck.

Return With A Bang!!

Well in the game between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings there was Laxmipathy Balaji who was found to make a grand comeback,the match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils saw the man whom people love to hate make a terrific comeback when he sent four batsmen back to the pevilion every time he came out to bowl out there.

The man was found to make news for all the bad reasons had something good in his very first Indian Premier League match.But,once again he's a man whom people love to hate.And once again he's made atleast Shahrukh do this.For his services were not available for most part of the IPL would have annoyed atleast me if not everyone.As far as the match goes,both the teams out there had to face humiliation when it came to batting.The first being the Kolkata Knight Riders who were bowled out for a mere total of 133 that was assumed to be chased down in a wick with the likes of Goutam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag.But,the Shoaib factor was not taken into account I guess.

And the funny thing the I like to highlight is the falling of three wickets in Laxmi Ratan Shukla's first five deliveries.So is it Shoaib Akthar who rattled the Daredevils' batsmen or the Delhi batsmen themselves got into self destruct mode.Well it is left for you people to judge it out.And the most successful bowler of the match being given just 3 out of four overs that could have bowled.

Well..I have a suggestion to Shoaib that the boundary in the T20 games is a bit less when compared to ODIs.Else,it would not be too far when one can see Shoaib Akthar starting his run-up from out of the boundary line.

Same Faces Again And Again

Well the match between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals as usual,not to mention..well I guess the result has already been guessed.Thats true..Well lets forget that.There's lots and lots that we can talk about the match.So lets not get our moods rotten by talking about Royal Challengers and their plight in the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League.

It is once again Shaun Marsh who was the match winner in the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore too as he was in the match against Kolkata Knight Riders. Some things-some good and the rest of them bad can and will never change. With the same people emerging as the match winners in each and every game they face.Some examples being Yousuf Pathan,Shane Watson,Brendon McCullum,Goutam Gambhir ...While there are some like Virender Sehwag,Sanath Jayasuriya,Adam Gilchrist etc who are good only on their particular days...while the third category which includes the likes of Rahul Dravid,Shahid Afridi,V V S Laxman..who are never found to fire what so ever.

Another Icon Player Comes out With a Wonder

Well until now it was only Virender Sehwag who was found to prove his icon status by having two match winning knocks against his mane,there was one more to join when Sourav Ganguly was found to do what he was supposed to so as to prove his icon status.For he was found belting the ball to not only score a 57 ball 91 but also lead his team to four victories from 8 games till date.

It all didn't happen overnight as words go out.The man had to wait patiently until he got his rhythm right which took as many as ten overs during which the scoreboard read 73/1.And a miracle was awaiting as he along with David Hussey put on 115 runs off the last 7 overs.And a rare feat happened when the Kolkata Knight Riders when they were found to cross the 200 run mark.

Even the Deccan Chargers-unlike the Royal Challengers Bangalore were found to put in some sort of resistance when they came close to chasing the mammoth total but ended 23 short when their innings stopped at 181/7 after the end of the 20th over.Courtesy a 42-ball 71 by Venugopal Rao,whose splendid efforts have so far resulted in only his team's loss.

A Perfect Revange For The Chennai Super Kings

Well after a series of three defeats by the Chennai Super Kings,it looked as though the Chennai Super Kings were found to learn their lessons.And also after a series of boring one-sided matches ever since the inaugural edition of the IPL started,there was some enthusiasm in the crowd I guess after the match between Chennai Super Kings and the Delhi Dare Devils-which resulted in a last ball win for Dhoni's men.

It is true that "Time and Tide wait for none".Since the first round robin of the IPL got over and the second round has already begun.When the same two teams met in the first round robin,the Delhi Dare Devils demolishes the Chennai Super kings by handing them their first ever defeat in the tournament.Since then th Chennai Super Kings have never been able to win a single match.And what better can it get by starting their winning streak once again by winning against a team which handed them the first ever defeat in the tournament?

The only positives in the Delhi Daredevils team being the knock of Gautam Gambhir who kept on fighting a losing battle,keeping the hopes of a Daredevils' win very much alive to a greater pert of the innings.But,no enough support for him at the other end (but for Shikar Dhawan) made things worse for the Delhi Dare Devils.

And one more thing that keeps on confusing/wondering me is the fact that Dhoni was awarded the man of the match award,with Stephen Fleming and Vidyut doing the scoring part for most part of the innings and also with a better strike rate of 170+ compared to Dhoni's run-a-ball 30.How?

Mumbai Indians: From Rags To Riches

The icon player of the tournament is a gone case I guess.With Sachin Tendulkar postponing his debut in the Indian Premier League every match,it is high time that the fans give their hopes of watching the magic of this Mumbai lad in this form of the game too.But,the Mumbai Indians don't seem to put it in front of them like it was apparent from the way they started their T20 League.It was some relief for the Mumbai Indians' fans for they were found to beat the in form Delhi Daredevils who have had a great start.

And even this time there was a little bit of disappointment for Jayasuriya fans out there because,though he got onto a great start as he always does,he could not get the momentum going.He was found to blast the bowlers all over the fence,but the innings life didn't last too long.The batsman scored 34 runs off 16 balls which included 6 hits to the fence followed up by one six.It is really disappointing to see the batsman who has held the record for the maximum sixes in one day internationals,is finding it hard to even pound one or a couple of them over the fence.

But,Shaun Pollock was delightful to watch as he had put up an all round performance by picking up 2 important wickets and also blasting a 15 ball 33 to see his side through.Well the funny aspect of the match being that Virender Sehwag was unable to get the strike.The man was found face just seven deliveries from the first six overs.For the last two matches,the Mumbai Indians have been able to find one or the other inform player.If it was Sanath Jayasuriya in the last game,it was Pollock in the match against Delhi Daredevils.

Sehwag:The Only One Icon Player?

Well the definition of icon player seemed to be redefined by Virender Sehwag for,he is the only one so called icon player to have proved to be worth his status.Unlike other so called icon players like Sachin Tendulkar-who is yet to make a mark in the tournament,Rahul Dravid-who can just defend the ball rather than see it clear the ropes,Sourav Ganguly who is only a step agead of Rahul Dravid when it comes to big hitting and last but not the least we have Anil Kumble,whose name has hardly been heard by the fans over.Guess this is why a thinking player like V V S Laxman chaose not to be one of those icon players citing the team's budget as the reasons to opt not to be one.Some intelligence to be observed.Ha ha ha..

The man for the second time was found to fire with the bat.The first against Deccan Chargers-wherein he scored a quickfire 91 off just 42 deliveries and this time against the Chennal Super Kings-who have until now been unbeaten.But,Sehwag took the initiative to see to that this dominance continues no more.There was nothing to complain from the side of M S Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings if not for Virender Sehwag.And also not to forget his wicket of Parthiv Patel to give initial breakthrough to his team.

Well Dhoni had set each and everything right for his team by putting on 169 runs which was rather the most a decent total.But,Sehwag had different plans.And that too without the likes of Matthew Hayden,Mike Hussey and Jacob Oram,who have been the right hand in posting three consecutive wins for their side.It looks like after this game against the Delhi Daredevils,the life span of the Chennai Super Kings has been numbered.Really??

Delhi Daredevils Provide Kings XI a Chance To Stay Alive?

Two consecutive losses to the sixer hero Yuvraj Singh's Kings XI Punjab,there was some sort of relief to the Kings XI team as they won the encounter against Virender Sehwag's Delhi Daredevils here by 4 wickets.Thanks to some blistering knocks from the blades of Simon Katich And Yuvraj Singh.Probably this would be the last time that Simon Katich would be playing in this tournament.

And not to forget the beauty of V R V Singh's bowling.The pacer who was struggling with his bowling,was found to learn his lessons long before he was to be dropped from the side.The pacer took 3 crucial wickets giving away just 29 runs.This in addition to Simon Katich's 52 ball 75,which included 11 hits to the fence and one huge six on the onside.

But,as my usual comment goes,as far as the Delhi Daredevils' innings were concerned,there was nothing much to say,as the entire team's face was dependent on debutant Manoj Tiwary,who scored a handy 39 off 34 balls.

Some highlights that can be shown is the leg before appeal turned down by umpire Rudi Koertzen when Katich was on 26 off the bowling off Glenn McGrath.And then the three consecutive boundaries struck by Simon Katich off Glenn McGrath,followed by the same treatment to Mohd Asif.

The Famous Indian Cricket Tradition Continues AT Motera

I guess everyone would have been upset over team India's hopeless performance against South Africa at Sardar Patel Stadium-Motera.Well the result was worth the disappointment.Well thats always the case with the Indian cricket team.It would be good to spot some stupidity in Indian cricket,when there was a pat on the back for Irfan Pathan for being the top scorer in the first innings where India were bundled out for 76 runs,rather than screwing the batsmen for not having done well.And also some consolation for not getting into the record books for the wrong reasons by settling for a score of less than 75 (India's previous best total,when seen from the bottom).All these were highlighted by the commentary team out there.Its a real frustration that the team is congratulated even on such debacles.

There's a saying "Some things never Change,what-so-ever".And one such thing is the team India in cricket.One good performance shadows the entire series,owing which,the rest of the series is rather forfeited without any good tough fight.The team which saw a batsmen scoring the fastest triple hundred was also found to witness one of the fastest batting collapse-losing all 10 wickets for a score of 76 and in just 20 overs.The scores of the Indian batsmen resembled telephone numbers,except for Irfan Pathan & M S Dhoni.

If all of you fans were delighted over watching the batting display in the first test at Chepauk,I wish one even take a look at the South African innings which was also full of delight from the blades of Hashim Amla,A B DeViliars and so.That was the only kind of pitches where someone like Wassim Jaffer likes to bat on.

And one more point is that,when everything was blamed regarding the pitch for India's batting debacle,it is a pity that the Indians had no bowlers in them to exploit the same like the South Africans.And when it comes to praising Sehwag for his wonderful batting display in the first test,no pitch was considered.Does the pitch change every three hours?And especially if it is India who is at the receiving end?

Finally,weather India wins or loses is a different issue altogether.But,it would be a positive sign if the team(coach & captain in particular) stop blaming each and everything that comes their way rather than putting a better performance in the next.

The Curse Of 300+

Well its was all cheers for Virender Sehwag the other day when he belted a 277 ball 300,the fastest triple hundred in the history of test cricket.But,in addition to this,there is also a harsh truth which is nothing but the result of that match which was a boring draw.Not the first time this has happened,but in most of the time the test match which has witnessed a batsman scoring a triple hundred has ended in a draw.The only thing that the fans could take home was some awesome shots and exciting batting by the batsman concerned.

Lets take a few examples concerning test matches having a triple centurion.Luckly the last time a batsman who scored a triple hundere for his team won the match for his team and that is Mahela Jayawardane who scored 374 runs to see his team win by an innings and 153 runs.

Then we have Chris Gayle's 317 against the same South Africa which once again made it into the batting record books as the match had as many as 8 centurions in that test.And then we have Matthew Hayden's 380 which off course saw his team through.But the opposition??Then the gr8 innings of Brian Lara-400* against England,his 375 against England,Sanath Jayasuriya's 340 versus India,Inzy's 329 against New Zealand-which Pakistan won by an innings and 324 runs,Mark Taylor's 334* which ended in a draw &finally Virender Sehwag's 309 against Pakistan which India won by an innings & 52 runs.

Taking stats together,there have been only 8 instances(out of 22) of a match producing a result which has a batsman scoring a triple hundred.

Virender Sehwag:The Record Breaker!!!

Well the last night,I just couldn't just believe in my own eyes when I turned my channel to Neo Sports to watch the first test between India and South Africa.And to be frank, today you can find me going through each and every cricket website to check weather there is something different than what I saw on TV.But,to no avail!

After I saw the first day's play by South African batsmen in Chepauk,I cursed myself and vowed not to watch the match anymore.But,it looked as though Viru had different plans.The man not only challenged the South African bowlers,but also crores of Indian cricket fans like me who had declared it as "All Over".And also for those people who came forward to criticize Viru whenever he put up a bad performance.

Earlier test stats shows us that his record was not an ordinary one when it came to only tests,keeping the facts about the other forms out of mind for the moment.The fact that Viru had gone well past 150+ after reaching 100 on previous 10 occasions was something special as hardly I knew about it-though being a avid cricket stat enthusiast.

All records put up by Sehwag are more the less known to each and everyone glued to their TV Sets or their newspapers turned to page number 21.Some more aspects that I could find regarding is that his second triple hundred made India in par with other sub-continent teams viz Pakistan and Sri Lanka,each of whom who have two triple centuries under their belt.Sanath Jayasuriya & Mahela Jayawardane for Sri Lanka,accompanied by Haneef Mohommed & Inzy for Pakistan.Out of them,only two of them have done it outside home,Viru(Multan) joining Haneef(Bridgetown).

It was a mistake done by the selectors to have dropped Sehwag for the home series against Pakistan -(which was found to have been his favourite team)last December. Not because of his Triple hundred,but because there was no questions about Sehwag's form when it came to tests.All was done taking into account his ODI form.With his fellowmen-Dravid & Tendulkar reaching their fourth double hundreds after attaining 30 yrs or more,it is really important to note that this man has done it at 29 itself.Perhabs Viru is the only one batsmen(keeping aside the big three,along with VVS Laxman-who form a different group altogether) to have scored a double hundred for India.The joint second highest double century scorer for India after Dravid(5), along with Gavaskar & Sachin(4 each).

An Indian win in this test would perhabs be the best possible treat because,rarely a team has produced a result with one of its batsmen scoring a triple hundred.