PLANNING OF A CHASE

India beat Australia earlier today by 4 wickets with 2 balls to spare at Adelaide in the 4th ODI of the CB Triangular Series. While Gautam Gambhir was India's top contributor with a measured 92, it was Dhoni's knock of 44* (58) that was the talking point of the day.

India won the match due to a massive 112 meter six by Dhoni followed by a no-ball by Clint McKay due to a above-waist height full toss. Once it was over, a lot of people called it all well and good... but was it just as well and good when the chase was on? My Twitter timeline at the time of the chase said that most of the viewers were having trouble understanding why Dhoni was leaving it so late. And I was with them... indeed, why so late?

The biggest question raised after Dhoni hit that monstrous six was that if one can hit such shots, why not try it earlier to ease a bit of pressure, rather than risking it all at the end. And these kind of queries were not just raised in the minds of casual viewers, but also the men in the dressing room. The Man of the Match Gautam Gambhir had this to say: "We should have finished this game in the 48th over. We shouldn't have taken this game to the 50th over, that's my personal observation."

What is the best way to plan and pace a chase? When do you attack and when do you rely on quick running? Obviously, the answers differ in different conditions, but I think certain things remain common everywhere. In my opinion, if the best finisher of the team (MS Dhoni) is coming in to bat with 92 needed of 95 balls and batsmen like Suresh Raina (batting), Jadeja and Ashwin (to follow), and the team ends up needing 13 in the final over with two of these above batsmen still batting, then the chase has been miscalculated somewhere.

And in this innings of MS Dhoni, it is quite apparent where the miscalculation occurred. His innings break up is like this - 8 runs of first 24 balls, 25 of next 31 balls, and 11 runs of the last 3 balls. He came in when 92 were needed of 95 balls, and ended up playing 30 dot balls, i.e. 52% of the total deliveries he faced. To put it in perspective, Gambhir faced 52 dot balls in his 111-ball innings, i.e. 47% of the total deliveries faced by him, despite batting through the middle overs as well!

One might well argue that since Dhoni was not doing much to get the required run rate down, Raina and Jadeja had to go for the big hits, and lose their wickets in the process. Gambhir was right when he said that it's difficult in the middle, and different people plan their chases differently, but surely, when you end up with 7 runs of 19 balls in the Batting Powerplay and play a dot ball in almost every over where you also take a 2, you are not doing a lot of good, are you?

Dhoni is usually a fabulous planner and executor of chases - stiff ones, tricky ones, easy ones and straightforward ones. He, along with Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli, have made India a very competent chasing unit in limited overs cricket, and also made the World Cup runners-up captain Kumar Sangakkara remark that a team needs about 350 runs on the board to feel safe against this Indian team. But every now and again, there arises a question mark of Dhoni's strategies in such situations.

Like it arose today, it had also arisen during the first Twenty20 between India and Australia earlier on this tour. One of the earlier occasions that I can remember when a similar question had arisen in my mind was not a chase, but India setting a target for New Zealand on the tour of 2009 in the 2nd Twenty20 International, where he wasted the middle overs with 8* (18) before ending up with 28* (30). In that match too, it might be argued that Dhoni's slow approach forced Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja to play shots that shouldn't have ideally been required in those situations.

The man I have written this post about - MS Dhoni - had brilliantly executed the 161 required runs of 170 balls in the World Cup finals. The run rate required then at Wankhede Stadium was 5.68 runs per over, and here at Adelaide Oval was 5.81 runs per over. If he can do it so well there, why couldn't he do it as well here? Had this been a one-off case, I wouldn't have bothered writing this long a post, presuming it to be a mistake. But it is not a one-off case, and thus this has to be considered a strategy of some sort - and in my opinion, a miscalculated strategy!

THOUGHTS BEFORE AARON'S DEBUT TEST

Varun Aaron gets his first Test cap at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai today. He's played 12 First Class games before his Test call-up. And his First Class bowling average is 41.50 runs per wicket, striking at 77.2 balls per wicket - hardly the figures of a bowler that blasts his way even through domestic batting line-ups!

Aaron possesses speeds consistently averaging 140+ kmph, but there is no denying that his career has been built around just one delivery that he bowled at 153 kmph during the Vijay Hazare Trophy final for Jharkhand against Gujarat. Had he not touched the 150-mark in that match and continued with his regular 140-145 range, he might never have gotten his 2 ODIs and 1 Test (starting now) for India (and not to forget, an all-expense paid trip to England).

He performed decently in his 2 chances to represent India in ODIs, and now comes his Test debut. What if he does well here too? Are we going to take him to Australia then? Based on a decent performance against an English ODI team beaten 5-0, and upcoming performances (howsoever good) against a less-than-average West Indies side in 1 Test and upto 5 ODIs, are we really going to select him to tour Australia? I really don't think I need to mention the First Class average of 41.50 once again!

I really have no intention of sounding like a pessimist... just trying to be a realist here! Varun Aaron, with his speed, has promise and potential. But he needs to put in performances in the domestic circuit first and then rise higher. A media campaign following one delivery of 153 kmph should not be a basis for selection in India's team in any format of cricket. If he cannot improve that First Class record despite bowling against the Plate League batsmen in the Ranji Trophy, then I don't think he deserves to get his chance for an India cap.

A good performance at Wankhede Stadium today or through this Test match may make a lot of people say that my words have been proven wrong. But this is not an opinion that can change on the basis of one match, just like it was not formed on the basis of one delivery!

THE ARCHITECTS OF THE WIN

I have been planning this blog for a week now, but just did not get the time to do it because of a distraction in the form of ICC's stupid decision to shut the Associates / Affiliates out of the 2015 World Cup. While that is a ridiculous decision, I will not be focusing any more on that. Instead, I will be talking in brief about the 5 men who, in my opinion, formed the backbone of India's win at the World Cup 2011.

I have listed these men in the order of importance, in my opinion:

1. Zaheer Khan
2. Yuvraj Singh
3. Gautam Gambhir
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Here are a few thoughts about each one of these men:

ZAHEER KHAN

In my view, Zaheer Khan is the reason India stood a chance of winning the World Cup, and actually won it! The joint-leading wicket-taker at 21 wickets in the World Cup with Pakistani skipper Shahid Afridi, Zak did not have a single 4- or 5-wicket haul in the World Cup. What does this tell you about him? He was consistent.

Indeed, amongst the bowlers who took 15 or more wickets in the World Cup, only Zaheer Khan and Tim Southee took at least 1 wicket in each match they played. To analyse further, Zak took at least 2 wickets in 8 of the 9 matches he played in - the only one in which he got only 1 wicket was the only match that India lost - against South Africa (though I do feel the urge to mention here that that wicket was of his bunny Graeme Smith)!

He held India's bowling together, and got wickets almost whenever the match seemed to be getting away from India's grip. His slower knuckle ball was almost impossible to read and was very effective against the left-handed batsmen. And not to forget, his reverse swing was phenomenal - that pinpoint reverse swinging yorker to nail Andrew Strauss LBW allowed India to come back and earn a tie in that match, which seemed to have completely gone out of hand.

An average of 18.76 and an economy rate of 4.83, accompanied by 4 maidens (3 of which came in his first spell of the World Cup Finals) tell a tale of a champion bowler. Given that he achieved all this on tracks that first assisted batsmen, then spinners and then pacers, those figures just glow brighter! He may have been a little expensive in the three knock out matches, but the value of that brilliant start in the Finals against the most prolific opening partnership of the World Cup just cannot be understated. A fast bowler, whose new-ball spell figures in a World Cup Finals read 5 overs - 3 maidens - 6 runs - 1 wicket, is someone special!

India could have won this World Cup with one batsman less, one spinner less, maybe even one man in the XI less... but never with one Zaheer Khan less!

YUVRAJ SINGH

Man of the Tournament! This cricketer was struggling for form, fitness and possibly even inspiration for the better part of 2010. He lost his place in the Indian squad in both forms of the game, fell prey to injuries, and was criticised by almost everyone, myself included. But despite this criticism, I am happy to say that I never lost faith in his match-winning abilities. I still have in record on my Google Buzz the reply I had written to a friend who had asked me why I though Yuvraj Singh was so important to India's World Cup cause long before the World Cup had begun (I think it was even before the South Africa tour, not sure)!

On pure potential alone, he is arguably amongst India's finest match-winners in the limited overs version of the game. And this was with the bat alone! But the way his bowling came along in this World Cup eased India's bowling worries in a HUGE manner. Out of his 15 wickets, the first 7 came against the non-Test playing Ireland and Netherlands, but the next 8 came against all former World Champions - 2 each against West Indies (Chennai), Australia (Ahmedabad), Pakistan (Mohali) and Sri Lanka (Mumbai).

Batting-wise, he started the tournament cautiously and acknowledged as such (when he won the Man of the Match against Ireland) that he was still not finding the fluency to be able to score at run-a-ball. But it came good and at its best over the past 2 years in a do-or-die knock out run chase in the Quarter Finals against Australia, where he guided India to a win in a tricky run chase.

To me, the most heartening aspect of his knock there was the way he guided Suresh Raina in that unbroken partnership, which started when the hopes had again started dwindling. Raina was looking nervous when he entered... he was sledged a bit by Shaun Tait... and attacked with bouncers at ferocious pace. And unnoticed by a lot of people, Yuvraj Singh kept on talking to Suresh Rania whenever he looked edgy, and it was almost a kind-of reminder to the Chennai Test of 2008 against England, where Tendulkar had played the elder-brother role to Yuvraj Singh in a difficult, yet successful, run chase (given that he had been 'sledged out' in the first innings).

This was clearly Yuvraj 2.0, a newer and more mature version, who gathered 4 Man of the Match trophies, and broke down when it dawned on him that India had won the World Cup. When Harbhajan Singh cried in the finals, it did not make a lot of difference to me. But when I saw Yuvraj Singh sobbing uncontrollably into Sachin Tendulkar's left shoulder, I became teary-eyed myself. This fellow has etched his name in history, and deservedly so!

GAUTAM GAMBHIR

Ian Chappell was of the opinion that Gambhir did not fit into the Indian XI. He was made to eat humble pie when Gambhir ended up being just 3 runs short of what could arguably have been a World Cup Finals Man-of-the-Match winning performance.

But before talking about his wonderful innings in the Finals, one must not forget the very vital contribution he made to India's successful chase against Australia in the Quarter Finals at Ahmedabad. A fine knock of 50 runs before his recurrent problem of running between the wickets came back to haunt him, and had him run out on the third attempt! His partnership with Virat Kohli in that match, though short-lived, was one of the highlights of that chase for me, simply because of the ease with which these two youngsters milked the Australian bowling around!

And now the last knock of 97. Just take in the situation - World Cup Finals, 0 for 1, opposition completely charged up with momentum, Sehwag out, a difficult chase, immense pressure, a quality fast bowler to face first up - that was no place for the weak-hearted!

For a major part of 2010, Gambhir too, like Yuvraj, was suffering from some injuries and a little bit of dip in form. Voices calling for his ouster from the team had grown from faint whispers to buzzing murmurs. A couple hundreds against the visiting Kiwis helped get his form back, and a couple of solid knocks in Tests in South Africa in extremely difficult conditions against the best bowling attack in the world, must have helped build a lot of confidence.

Four half-centuries and the second-highest run-scorer for India in a successful World Cup campaign, with a BIG role in the victory in World Cup finals was a deserving result. At Wankhede, the standout part of his innings was the way he resisted his urge to go inside out over the cover region to the three Sri Lankan off-spinners after he had been let off once early in the innings to that stroke. He saw that Sangakkara had set a very intelligent field for that very shot, with a straight-ish deep extra cover and a long off. That shot must have still been very tempting because of the three off-spinners in operation and the fact that it has been very productive for him in the past. But he resisted - he swept, he paddle-swept, he did a lot of things that he doesn't normally do (like dive in to make his ground on a tight second run) - but he stayed in there till the match was quite comfortably in India's reach!

One couldn't have asked for more from him at No. 3 for India. He consolidated and he attacked when least expected, both with great success. And though a few experts kept shaking their head in disapproval on his selection, he made sure that he had the last laugh!

SACHIN TENDULKAR

482 runs, second-highest run-scorer in the World Cup, highest for India, strike rate of 92, 2 centuries and 2 fifties, and the most sixes hit by an Indian in this World Cup (8) - all this just before turning 38 years of age. In his record-equaling 6th World Cup appearance, a winner's medal was what he deserved and what he achieved!

His centuries may be remembered for the wrong reasons of non-winning causes, but do not play down the mastery in their construction. In both those hundreds, Sachin Tendulkar decided to take the attack to the opponent's best bowler. At Bangalore, he blasted two consecutive sixes off Graeme Swann's first two balls of a new spell to send a signal to Strauss that his best bowler means nothing to him! At Nagpur, he pulled a Dale Steyn bouncer for a six to backward square leg to tell him that his pace and ferocity meant nothing and that he could be easily blunted! It is a pity, a real shame, that both these matches were not won by India, for these hundreds deserved to be called match-winning ones for their sheer quality.

In the Quarter Finals against Australia, his 53 might look a moderate score, but it was the second-highest in India's innings, bettered only by Yuvraj Singh's winning hit for 4 that moved him to 57*. He gave India a brisk start and held fort with Gambhir after Sehwag fell relatively early in that chase. His attack on Shaun Tait in his very first over sent his radar wayward, which eventually proved to be a pressure-releasing factor for India in a lot of crunch moments later in the match.

In the Semi Finals against Pakistan, his only Man-of-the-Match performance in this World Cup, he scored an error-strewn 85 aided by five lives. Irrespective of the manner of those runs, it was his innings and that of Suresh Raina's at the end that eventually proved to be the difference between the two sides. In the final analysis, Sachin Tendulkar and Misbah-ul-Haq had very similar strike rates, but the superiority with which Tendulkar paced his innings despite the obvious discomfort in picking Ajmal's spin proved to be a crucial factor at the end.

He may have failed in the Finals, with just 18 runs off 12 balls... but he did provide early indication as to which bowler will be the easiest to attack for India. And that glorious straight drive off Nuwan Kulasekara was one for the ages! This man will stop scoring consistently only on The Judgement Day!

MAHENDRA SINGH DHONI

A lot of times in the past, MS Dhoni has been praised by the 'experts' for even his smallest and most insignificant of moves. A lot of times in the past, I have just brushed these comments aside and as I always do, formed my own opinion with my perspective. But on the night of 2nd April 2011, it was all very different! On that night, Mahendra Singh Dhoni played a knock that will be fondly placed as one of the very best in limited overs cricket under ENORMOUS pressure in the annals of not only Indian cricket, but also the World Cup cricket.

Had he not promoted himself over Yuvraj Singh to play the trio of Sri Lankan off-spinners, I may not even have placed his name in this list. But that sharp bit of captaincy followed by a knock of immense maturity, devoid of a single careless shot, has gained MS Dhoni an entry into this and numerous other lists. The surreal clam with which he hoisted the winning six will be replayed over and over again in every household of the myriad communities in India, for nothing less than that kind of a shot would have been worthy of sealing India's historical win and Dhoni's name in a list of all-time great captains of the world!

In the euphoria of the win at Wankhede, it was very easy to forget Dhoni's contribution as a captain in the other knockout matches, especially the Quarter Finals against Australia at Ahmedabad. I have never seen Dhoni attack so much in the field in an ODI as he did against Australia on the 24th March 2011. Be it Ricky Ponting nearing his century or a rusty Cameron White, MS Dhoni was relentless in applying enormous pressure to their batsmen. An eventual score of 260 was in a big way, the result of some fine captaincy by Dhoni.

In the semi-finals too, against Pakistan, Dhoni did well to attack the batsmen in the middle overs. In this match, his attack was not focussed on taking wickets. Rather, he set his close fields very close, and his deep fields very deep, to ensure that the boundaries as well as singles are minimised. Since Pakistan is not reputed for athleticism, the chances of conceding a lot of twos was minimal. And the introduction of Harbhajan Singh to grab the wicket of Umar Akmal was a vindication of captain's gut feel!

An average World Cup with the bat, illuminated by an innings of abnormal calm and composure in the Finals, MS Dhoni has finally helped India get hold of the biggest prize that limited overs cricket has to offer - after 28 years of long and sometimes agonising wait!

WANKHEDE STADIUM, MUMBAI

The failed light tower

The Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai is getting ready to host the Finals of ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 on 2nd April 2011. We have been reading about tightening security, lack of tickets, Haroon Lorgat's comments about why Wankhede Stadium was chosen, speculation of who will eventually play there and so on.

Amidst all this, one concern that I have not read or heard much about was the fact that one of the light towers during the New Zealand v. Sri Lanka match at that stadium had met with power failure. The match continued as the umpires deemed that the light from the rest of the towers was good enough, which is commendable. However, such a fiasco will not be seen in good light again if it happens in the World Cup Finals.

A few days back, I got a link to this interview of Mr. Sudhir Naik (the pitch curator of Wankhede Stadium) uploaded as a podcast (via @grangergabblog). Here, he addresses the concern about the failing light tower, and also touches on other interesting bit about the kind of surface he will prepare for the Finals, especially if India makes it till there. It is an interesting interview, and you must listen to it if you have not already done so.

THE IMPORTANCE OF AUS V ZIM GAME

The 10th Cricket World Cup has kicked off... We have had India beating Bangladesh in a one-sided affair and then New Zealand gobble up Kenya in an even more one-sided affair. I'm sure that the currently ongoing Sri Lanka v Canada game will also end up being just as one-sided, despite the fact that Canadians have bowled pretty tidily in the first 9 overs.

Tomorrow, Australia play Zimbabwe at Motera, Ahmedabad. At first sight, it looks to be another one-sided unimportant game on the itinerary... and it might well be just that! But if you are a passionate Indian cricket fan wanting to see India win this World Cup, support Zimbabwe with all your might! This is the most important game for India's World Cup chances!

Let me explain. Zimbabwe beat Australia in their opening match of the 1983 World Cup... it was June 9, 1983. Just 16 days later, India had won that World Cup. Fast forward now... 24 years later, Zimbabwe beat Australia again in the inaugural World Twenty20 Championships in 2007 (September 12th) by 5 wickets to kick off their campaigns. Again, just 12 days later, India had won that World Championship!

Now in 2011, both teams will again be kicking off their campaigns against each other on February 21st. If Zimbabwe can beat Australia tomorrow, we don't have to worry at all about India's chances. Come April 2, Team India will be smiling at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.

However, if Australia get the better of Zimbabwe, then Indian team will have to defy history to win this World Cup. History states that India has never won a World Cup in any form of the game where Australia have not been beaten by Zimbabwe. Can we do it this time?

ABSURD TICKET PRICING FOR WORLD CUP

I wonder how exactly do the organisers plan to sell the tickets for New Zealand v Canada and New Zealand v Sri Lanka games at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai at such obnoxiously high prices!

EDEN GARDENS - THE UNLUCKY 13TH?

I don't know how many of you believe in numerology and how many of you consider the number 13 unlucky. If you do, then I must let you know that there are a total of 13 cricket grounds across the sub-continent that are scheduled to host the World Cup matches.

1. Mirpur (Dhaka), Bangladesh - Shere Bangla National Stadium
2. Chittagong, Bangladesh - Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium
3. Ahmedabad, India - Sardar Patel Stadium (Motera)
4. Bangalore, India - M. Chinnaswamy Stadium
5. Chennai, India - MA Chidambaram Stadium (Chepauk)
6. Kolkata, India - Eden Gardens
7. Mohali, India - PCA Stadium
8. Mumbai, India - Wankhede Stadium
9. Nagpur, India - VCA Stadium (Jamtha)
10. New Delhi, India - Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium
11. Colombo, Sri Lanka - R. Premadasa Stadium
12. Hambantota, Sri Lanka - Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium
13. Pallekele (Kandy), Sri Lanka - Pallekele International Cricket Stadium

If you believe that 13 is unlucky, then be prepared to see Eden Gardens lose its right to host the remaining matches as well in a few days' time.

WHY BANGALORE?

The BCCI has recommended that the India v. England World Cup match scheduled for February 27 be shifted to Bangalore's Chinnaswamy Stadium after ICC disbarred the Eden Gardens, Kolkata from hosting it. And needless to say, ICC has accepted BCCI's recommendation and now ICC's official website shows the venue of this match as Bangalore.

But the question to be asked here is why Bangalore?

There were a total of 8 venues in India hosting matches in the original itinerary. Out of these eight, 5 had been given 1 India match and 3 non-India matches each. These 5 are New Delhi (Ferozeshah Kotla), Kolkata (Eden Gardens), Bangalore (Chinnaswamy), Chennai (M Chidambaram) and Nagpur (VCA Jamtha).

The other 3 venues had been awarded 2 non-India matches and 1 Knock Out match each. These three venues are Ahmedabad (Sardar Patel - Quarterfinal), Mohali (PCA - Semifinal) and Mumbai (Wankhede - Finals).

This was a logical allocation rule to follow between the top-8 Test centers of India. So now that Eden Gardens' India match is out of the picture, why did Bangalore land this match? They already have their 1 India match on March 6 (India v. Ireland).

Logically, I would have thought that Ahmedabad, Mohali or Mumbai should have landed this match because they are hosting 1 match less as compared to the other venues and are not assured of hosting an India match. Before I'd heard that Bangalore might get that match, I was thinking on the lines of Mohali because it is one of India's finest cricket grounds and is not assured of hosting an India match because favourites or not, India have to reach the semifinals first to play at Mohali.

Whatsoever may be the reason, shifting this match to Bangalore has perplexed me a bit. It would be nice if BCCI were to come up with an explanation and a reasoning as to why was Bangalore recommended over other venues. But then, this is BCCI we are talking about! Maybe I am expecting too much!

ABSURD SCHEDULING

Nagpur will be hosting the third Test instead of Mumbai during New Zealand's tour of India in November - December 2010. Earlier, this match (20 - 24 November) was scheduled for Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. But after Mumbai Cricket Association's announcement that it will be unable to host the match due to the preparations for World Cup 2011, BCCI decided to shift it to Nagpur.

Empty Stands don't bear a pretty sight!

The current BCCI President Shashank Manohar, originally from Nagpur, was elected to his post on 29th September 2008. From that point, India played 33 international home games (11 Tests, 20 ODIs, 2 T20Is), out of which Nagpur has hosted the most number for any venue - 5 matches (2 Tests, 2 ODIs, 1 T20I).

By the end of this year, Nagpur and Mohali would have hosted 3 Tests each (starting from October 2008). Given that these two venues have seen extremely low crowd attendances in Test cricket over the recent past, it seems that BCCI is not using any head in its scheduling. In 2008 against Australia, Sachin Tendulkar went past Brian Lara as the highest run scorer in Test cricket in front of virtually empty stands at Mohali. And a couple of weeks later at Nagpur's new stadium in Jamtha, he scored a century acknowledged by a handful of spectators.

Things were no different when Mohali hosted its next Test against England and Nagpur hosted against South Africa. Part of the reason for low attendance for Test cricket in these grounds (apart from the dwindling interest in the purest form of the game) is the fact that these stadiums (at Mohali and Jamtha) are located quite some distance away from the main cities of Chandigarh and Nagpur respectively. Most spectators are unwilling to travel that far for a day of Test cricket that might not even bear a result.

So I am stumped as to why BCCI has ignored the other Tests grounds that have shown good crowd attendance whenever they have had a chance to witness Test cricket. Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata have hosted just 1 Test each during this period... and by the end of 2010, Bangalore will be the only venue amongst these four to increase its tally to 2 against Australia. These grounds have seen good crowd support for Test cricket... but either BCCI is blind and deaf or it is dumb. I guess it's the latter!

GANGULY TAKES HIS SHIRT OFF

A brattish upstart brings the tone of Lord's down a notch or two

London, 13 July 2002

I remember it vividly. Mum was woken from her sleep, dad was going ballistic in his rocking chair, and I was prancing between hall, kitchen and mid-air. All of a sudden, one glance at the television and there was Sourav Ganguly baring his torso, swinging his India shirt, hurling invective, making quite a spectacle of himself.

The camera moved to Freddie Flintoff, a destroyed bowler, squatting on the pitch after conceding the winning run. The same Flintoff who'd charged topless around the Wankhede Stadium a few months earlier. Ganguly, standing on the Lord's balcony, was delivering the mother of all tit-for-tats, and it took some time before we could grasp the enormity of the defiance. Headquarters of cricket, the MCC's sanctum sanctorum, egg-and-bacon ties… and here was a scene out of Kolkata's Salt Lake Stadium after a local derby.

An extraordinary match got its perfect climax - hero extracting revenge and indulging in a war dance. The Wankhede and Lord's would be treated equally. We needed no further vindication that this Indian team was playing an inspired brand of cricket, not only with bat and ball but also with the head, and that it would wear its heart on its sleeve.

Dad, who grew up on tales of Ken Barrington, was a little shocked when he witnessed the scenes, and we ended up having a silly argument over the "spirit of the game". I simply loved it, mostly because it was the one moment where the essence of Ganguly was plain to see, the one moment we related perfectly to. Dada taught us several things on the cricket field; that day, he taught us how to celebrate.

- Siddhartha Vaidyanathan

Link to the Original Article - Ranked at No. 37 by Cricinfo.