Famous Quotes on Sachin Tendulkar

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When Sachin Tendulkar traveled to Pakistan to face one of the finest bowling attacks ever assembled in cricket; Michael Schumacher was yet to race a F1 car, Lance Armstrong had never been to the Tour de France, Diego Maradona was still the captain of a world champion Argentina team, Pete Sampras had never won a Grand Slam.

When Tendulkar embarked on a glorious career taming Imran and company, Roger Federer was a name unheard of; Lionel Messi was in his nappies, Usain Bolt was an unknown kid in the Jamaican backwaters. The Berlin Wall was still intact, USSR was one big, big country, Dr Manmohan Singh was yet to “open” the Nehruvian economy. It seems while Time was having his toll on every individual on the face of this planet, he excused one man. Time stands frozen in front of Sachin Tendulkar. We have had champions, we have had legends, but we have never had another Sachin Tendulkar and we never will.

-Time magazine

Sachin Tendulkar's Unforgettable Innings

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And then..., there comes a day when Sachin Tendulkar announces his retirement from One Day International (ODI) Cricket. As an ardent Sachin Tendulkar fan, I had mixed emotions, may be, failing to express myself - whether to celebrate his golden career, or to express displeasure about his early retirement (than expected). But as I write this, taking emotions out of of mind and coming to reality with his decision, as a blogger, I thoroughly welcome his decision to retire from ODIs. He has done everything that a human being can do in ODIs.

In our lifetimes, I am sure, we will never ever be able to see another player having 49 ODI centuries, 96 ODI half centuries, 18426 ODI runs and all this with an amazing strike rate of 86.14 and an unbelievable average of 44.83! Ours is the generation, highly blessed I will say, which has seen the jersey number 10 playing one 'divine' innings after the other and we will be telling our children, grandchildren that 'yes, there was this man, I have seen him batting Live!'

Well, for that generation, which will want a glimpse of Sachin's batting, here is a list of must watch Sachin Tendulkar innings. If you have not seen these innings, may be you have not seen the real Sachin Tendulkar. If you have seen them, may be there is no doubt in your mind, why he is called 'the God of Cricket!'

A gentle advice: I recommend you to add this post to your bookmark/ share on your wall. So whenever you want to get inspired, get sheer joy and entertainment, forget your sorrows and worries, just tune in - watch these innings highlights, and get blessed!

Negative effects of IPL

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Poor form in Test Cricket- IPL to blame?

In one of the earlier posts related to Indian Premier League (IPL), we had enthusiastically talked about Positive effects of IPL. Before the start of IPL 2012, India had lost Test series to England 0-4 in England, to Australia 0-4 in Australia and India failed to qualify for the CB Series and Asia Cup finals. After that, the exciting IPL 2012 happened and all of a sudden, everyone forgot about the most depressing season of Test Cricket for India. And then, new season of Cricket started with tours of Sri Lanka, New Zealand followed by T20 World Cup. As if this schedule was not hectic for Indian team, players were sent to the Champions League in October, this year. And now, we have seen what has happened with Indian team versus England in home series.

In the same post, I had mentioned that there are positive as well as negative effects of IPL. Let's try to find out what aspects of IPL are NOT good for Indian Cricket, particularly, Indian Test Cricket, since the time is right to raise some hard questions.

Bad scheduling of IPL?

1. IPL is scheduled in April and May, which are hottest months of Indian summer. Traditionally, these months were reserved for rest to the players before next season of Cricket - domestic and international - begins. If players are made to play 15 high intensity games in 10 different parts of India, the travel and over-Cricket is bound to take a toll on players, physically and mentally. Finally, who wants to work on Holidays, even if one is paid!
2. It becomes compelling for BCCI to organize this event in these months as Indian Team neither travels nor hosts any international tournament in these months. But, this also means, players are overly exhausted, they do not have recovery time, they do not have time to operate themselves on injuries.
3. At the same time, no other international team has compulsion to adjust team's schedule according to IPL. International players have limited presence in IPL, that too, after their Cricket Board's approval.

The point is, Indian players are more stressed up than their international counterparts, which definitely reflects in their fitness levels.

Possibility of deterioration of Cricketing skills?

1. In IPL, if a batsman gets out playing a rash shot, it is NOT considered as 'throwing of a wicket' or 'batsman not putting price on his wicket'. It is accepted in IPL to play brave shots, even if that means wasting your wicket. On the other hand, Test Cricket teaches you to keep your wicket as long as you can.
2. In IPL, a bowler has maximum of 4 overs. How is it possible to test bowler's fitness, skills in these 4 overs? If a bowler has higher strike rate and higher average, it is not considered a guilt, neither it is associated with the bowler's ability in IPL. Further, since batsmen are always prone to make mistakes while scoring quick runs, many of IPL wickets are not bowlers' wickets but those are just batsmen making mistake and bowler getting wickets.

In Test Cricket, no batsman gets to score runs without hard work, and similarly no bowler gets easy wickets; as they might get in IPL. Lac of 'test' of concentration, fitness, temperament, Cricketing skills and mostly ignored - 'Cricketing intelligence' in IPL makes it tough for players to adapt to Test Cricket as it requires all these skills and their application on field, day after day!

Is motivation to play for country/ Test Cricket reduced?

1. If the player has played just one or two domestic Cricket seasons, he can play IPL. It offers huge amount of money in just 2 to 3 months. Good for them, but due to this early money, fame and opportunity, will those players be still motivated enough to play Test Cricket or be part of International Indian Cricket Team? If one calculates, an average player will definitely get more money by playing IPL than by playing whole season of Test Cricket.

In the end, no one wants to take harder route to earn same amount of money. This leads to the further point:

Have priorities of Indian players changed?

Sachin Tendulkar announces retirement

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Oh My God..! Did I just miss 'if' at the start of the post title? Relax guys, Sachin has not announced his retirement, YET. But there are number of experts, bloggers and at random anyone who knows Cricket, is talking about the 'un-talkable' subject of Sachin Tendulkar's retirement.

Let's just imagine (again- the unimaginable), that Sachin Tendulkar has called it a day and has taken the decision to retire from Cricket. What an impact it will have all over Cricketing and non Cricketing world! How media will react to the news? What news-stories will trend all over the media? Let's look it from funny and 'LOL'ing manner.

Presenting, 'the Retirement that wasn't declared': The news spoofs about Sachin's retirement! Read the effects of this biggest retirement of century and start LOLing..!

Cricketing Effects:

Hmm... Let's start news, what Sachin's colleagues say:

Kohli, Dhoni WELCOME Sachin's retirement, stating this would give youngsters a chance.

On condition of anonymity a source in the team said that the real reason to welcome retirement is because many of Tendulkar ad brands are going to come their (Kohli/ Dhoni's) way.
See... How concerned our team icons are about new comer lads ;-)

Moving on,

Shane Warne- finally able to quit daily dose of sleeping pills

We heard he was prescribed the pills after Sachin started to appear in his dreams- hitting him all over ground nonstop for last 16 years- making it a nightmare!

Indian Test Cricket team to keep number 4 spot vacant as a mark of respect for Sachin Tendulkar!

Our well-placed sources confirmed the real reason being-- NO ONE ELSE TO REPLACE HIM..!!! Vacancy..!! Urgently Required..!!! Apply Now..!!!!

Steve Buckner to restart his umpiring career.

Says, now his umpiring can be impartial! Hmm.. True... No Tendulkar, no need to be partial with opponent team!

Further on,

Sachin to become selector, coach, remote-controlling-captain, mentor and motivator of Indian Cricket Team- OFFICIALLY

Asking how? Yes, he was in these roles 'unofficially' till now, hereon, it will be official role!! No big deal... is it??

Further in spoofs,

Ganguly is made the captain of retired Indian Cricket players (age above 37), the team beats Dhoni's team 3-0 in a "T20" domestic series.

Sachin gets man of the series award for his 3 consecutive centuries. Dhoni blames 'the turning pitches' for the defeat!!!
T20- pitches, Mr Dhoni, are you all right???

13 Cricketers on ground refuse to play Cricket, as crowd INSULTED them.

Crowd stars shouting: 'Sachinnn... Sachin... dhann dhann dhann... Sachinnn... Sachin... dhann dhann dhann... Sachinnn... Sachin... dhann dhann dhann...' when they saw Sachin coming as a commentator in commentary box! Players hurt with this insult, as no one to cheer them.

(News in year 2020) Sachin's unbreakable record of 34000+ international runs and 100 centuries is finally broken, by---

combined efforts of all international batsmen after 7 years of performance in all formats of the game! ICC to facilitate all involved in the effort..!!!

Social Effects:

You can no more commit all your 'sins' as God will no more be busy watching Sachin play!

So... be a good guy/ girl that you are.. and don't commit any sins that you used to :-P

Mumbai and entire Maharashtra along with Sydney to remain shut for entire week to mourn retirement of Sachin Tendulkar.

Extended Christmas Holidays, you know! 

Bloggers, newspaper columnist, statisticians loose their jobs due to slow-down in 'market'

Yes! The most iconic, the most written about, the most talked about Cricketer is no more in action! On whom to write, talk!!! No job, sit idle :-)

Sachin's critics desperately in search of another bread and butter

Ohh.. How can you forget them! They had a very secured job for last 23 years...

Moving on,

A crazy Sachin fan names his twins as:- 1. Sachin, 2. Tendulkar.

We learned both of them are-- baby GIRLS!
Crazy fan perhaps mad too..!!!

Sudhir Kumar Chaudhary changes his appearance first time.

After... about.. many years. Yes, for the first time! You know him... He paints his body in tricolor, writes Tendulkar-10 on his back!

Further in the news,

Arjun Tendulkar files application for changing his name to:- BharatRatna

making his full name read:-- Bharatratna Sachin Tendulkar
Hmmm... Now that's a very smart kid...

Suddenly, half of grounds in India are to be named after Sachin Tendulkar, and we heard those are football and hockey grounds.. not cricket..!

How strange..!
In fact, terrible... because Cricket in India is run by full time politicians.. how can they give anything to anyone except between themselves, even names!

As soon as Sachin's retirement news broke, 5 people reportedly died out of heart attack, 13 tried to set ablaze themselves

RIP Sachin fans!

News and Media Effects:

Why Cricket is not part of the Olympics?

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But at first place, what makes the Olympic Games different than other sports events?

Why Cricket is not part of the Olympics?

The Olympic Games are one of the biggest sporting events of our time. Athletes from the entire world take part in this traditional event. Their achievements are watched from both near and far by hundreds of millions of spectators and the Olympic medals become Country’s status symbols and athletes’ pride. The Games are held every four years. They are the largest sporting celebration in terms of the number of sports on the program.

The Games are also part of a broader framework which is that of the Olympic Movement. The purpose of the Olympic Movement is to:

- Link sport with culture and education

- Promote the practice of sport and the joy found in effort

- Help to build a better world through sport practiced in a spirit of peace, excellence, friendship and respect.

The obvious question comes to a Cricket Lover’s mind is why Cricket is not a part of the historical Olympics?

And that brings us to the basic question as to what are the criteria for a sport to be part of the Olympic game? After thorough search, I found official explanation from none other than the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The Explanation offered:

...The IOC sets the program and decides which sports will be included. The IOC also has the right to accept or refuse any proposed new sport, discipline or event.

Sport - For a sport to be made an Olympic sport it has to be governed by an International Federation recognized by the IOC.

e.g.: Swimming at the Games is governed by the International Swimming Federation (FINA)

In case of Cricket, it is International Cricket Council (ICC)

Discipline - an Olympic sport comprises one or several disciplines.

e.g.: Water polo and diving are disciplines of swimming.

In case of Cricket, Twently20 makes the optimal choice

Event - a discipline includes one or more events or competitions. An event gives rise to a result for which medals are awarded.

e.g.: The 10m platform for women is a diving event; the men’s 500m is a speed skating event.

A football style or Cricket World-cup Cricket format can bring a winner to whom medal can be presented

Above basic notions are to be followed by IOC for selecting a sport. In addition, below criteria should be met by the sport itself to push its case forward to IOC:

World Cup T20 2012 and other tour schedules

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Which is the the next (exciting) Cricket series?

After the glamorous, noisy, controversial and thrilling IPL season 5 got over, cricketing fields are empty, stands are uncrowded, TV channels are running soccer news in otherwise "only cricket" news hours, facebook cricket pages, groups, blogs are not finding anything substantial to comment on, offices are no longer following cricinfos and all the Cricket Lovers are getting bored without any magnificent battle on cricket ground. And then one colleague asks me, 'hey when is the next match?'

Thus, comes this post. Following images are the schedules of important international series that would take place in coming months. Following list of schedules contain the important series like Aus vs Eng, Ind vs SL, NZ vs Ind, Eng vs Ind and perhaps the most awaited event - T20 World Cup schedule. Let's check in chronological order.

(P.S.: Please click on the image to view them to the original size, and yes, you can download them to your device and share with your friends)

1. Australia's Tour of England : June - July 2012

Australia's Tour of England : June - July 2012

2. India's Tour of Sri Lanka : July - August 2012

3. New Zealand's Tour of India : August - September 2012

New Zealand's Tour of India : August - September 2012

4. T20 World Cup 2012, Sri Lanka Schedule:

Cricket Rules - No Ball

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Know, if you know the No Ball!

Do you remember the second last over of KKR vs CSK IPL 2012 final, when Bisla –after scoring blitzkrieg and Kallis – were back to the dugout. CSK had a real hope to win the title clash. Ben Hilfenhaus was bowling the crucial last ball of 19^th over – 7 balls remaining, 16 still runs required. Tik tik – tik tik and he bowls a ball which Shakib ul Hasan plays in the air – gets caught – and meanwhile umpire calls it a NO BALL for ball above waist height. Between all these commotions, batsmen completed 2 runs. Then, equation became 7 balls remaining, 13 runs to get (1 run of no ball + 2 runs that batsmen ran). The extra ball that required to be bowled fetched another 4 runs for KKR thanks to Shakib for that leg glance, simplifying the equation to 9 runs from 6 balls. Rest is history now!

No Ball Signal

The NO BALL was, in effect – 1 delivery bowled and 7 runs scored! This was, for me, the one of the costliest errors made by CSK bowlers. The No Ball can be this much harsh. What are the different scenarios in which an umpire can call a ball- No Ball? What do the rules say? It is simple, is it? Are you sure about the simplicity? Let’s check it out!

The 7 laws of a NO BALL

1.       Right hand – over the wicket!

  A.      Oh Yes, the umpire shall make sure whether the bowler intends to bowl right handed or left handed, over or round the wicket, and shall so inform the striker. It is unfair if the bowler fails to notify the umpire of a change in his mode of delivery. In this case the umpire shall call and signal No ball.

  B.      Underarm bowling shall not be permitted except by special agreement before the match.

Positive effects of IPL

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Why IPL is such a mega hit event - for all of us?

DLF IPL Logo

Indian Premier League (IPL), the glamorous baby of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has now entered in its 5th year. For any newly organised event this is sufficient period to make a mark - and so did  IPL, in style. At the beginning of first season in 2008, nobody knew what shape IPL will take. The only know thing was that it may have inspired from English Premier League - ace football league - as far as concept of format was concerned and it was to be played in India - where Cricket is religion.

While taking its shape, IPL has already impacted Cricket, Business and Entertainment. The effects of IPL, there are several - positive and negative. Let's talk the positive effects of IPL.

1. Cricketing Effects

• Youngsters get experience, money:

In country like India, sports is not generally something parents ask their children to persue. Because, if you reach to the top, only then, you get money, fame and can secure your life. Else you are just another unknown face. And you cannot earn a safe bread butter, because you are not a Doctor or an Engineer! But IPL has provided chance for all those 'middle level Cricketers' from India and abroad, who were unknown faces but IPL provided them stage to put their performance and get instant recognition, money and fame. Ravindra Jadeja, prime example from India or Shaun Marsh from Australia.

Talking about experience, how amazing and invaluable would it be for these upcoming young Cricketers to share dressing rooms with the legends of Cricket! What a learning it would be to bat under guidance of Sachin Tendulkar or being trained leg spin by Share Warne. Generally, the international players do not play domestic Cricket. So, these players never have chance to have interaction with the greats of game. But with IPL, it is a 2 month long journey that these youngsters can travel with the big daddys of Cricket. Indeed, the most positive effect IPL.

• International icons playing alongside:

Now how did it feel when Sachin Tendulkar came along with Sanath Jayasurya for opening the innings for Mumbai Indians in first IPL edition? May be the most explosive opening pair one can imagine. What a different site it is when Dale Steyn clean bowled Jack Kallis - his national teammate - and celebrated it wildly. This is another biggest effect of IPL. The iconic players rub shoulders together, forgetting their country monetarily, and bring out the best for their clubs. This is not just interesting to watch but also great professional lesson to everyone of us as to how to value team more than an individual.

IPL also gives rare chance for the ageing and fading icons to play Cricket. This not only extends their innings in Cricket but also gives chance to their fans to see them play again. It is always better to see players like Sourav Ganguly, Adam Gilchrist in Cricketing jersey rather than 3 piece suit, isn't it?

IPL 2012 Theme

IPL Matches Highlights

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The Must Watch Video Highlights of IPL 2012 (Updated after every Must Watch Action on Field)

Hey, did you see Chris Gayle's 5 sixers? Did you see Ajinkya Rahane's 6 fours in an over? Checked yesterday's match highlights? Watched that extraordinary catch in today's match, buddy? Are you able to watch IPL matches - Live? If your answer to all above questions is a big NO... amm... or let's say, a big YES, even then, watching IPL matches' highlights is a very exciting stuff! 

But where do you get the videos that YOU want to watch? Well, who wants to visit a site having 2000+, and counting, IPL 2012 highlights videos, not sorted accordingly our liking, find out which video to watch and then start buffering... time consuming, isn't it? Hmm... not anymore! Bringing specially for YOU, the selective videos which are the must watch! A brilliant catch or a brilliant over bowled, or a superb nail-biting finish or a batting power packed performance happened in IPL till now, you will get all over here.

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• Best Player Bowling: IPL 2012 - MI vs DC - Dale Steyn, Match 40

Watch this for the best spell in this IPL. Steyn - the master of swing, pace, accuracy!

• 2nd Inning Highlights: IPL 2012 - DD vs RR, Match 39

Watch this for
(a) Ajinkya Rahane's performance (b) How one good over can change result of match- 19th over

• 1st Inning Highlights: IPL 2012 - KKR vs RCB, Match 38:

Watch this for Gambhi's fireworks:

2012 IPL Season 5 Schedule, Teams, Tickets

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IPL Trophy

(For 2013 IPL Season 6 click here! For 2012 IPL Season 5, continue reading!)

Do you remember the days of ‘circus’ in your town? It had that huge tent built on a big ground near to the town. The preparations for that tent and sets would start a couple of weeks prior to the first mega show of circus. Then the local newspapers, radio, cable channels would have advertisement citing the specialty, uniqueness of the circus - African elephants, Bengali tigers, cyclist monkeys, speaking parrots, Russian athletes and comic jokers!  All that was so much exciting. The thing why I remembered all those memories is the ads currently aired on TV for 2012 IPL season 5. They have chosen very unique Circus theme this time. Yes, the great IPL circus is here, all over again! More glamorous, more star studded, more exciting and of course more rich!

IPL Season 5 that is IPL 2012 will be played between 4^th April 2012 and 27^th May 2012. Following is the schedule of entire IPL Season 5, followed by teams, tickets. Cheer up your favorite team!

Powerplay Rule in Cricket

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Nowadays, when you check the scoreline for an ODI match, shown mostly at the bottom of TV screen, you see characters such as 'P1', 'P2' or 'P3'. Or when we listen to the commentators, we hear phrases such as 'mandatory Powerplay', 'batting/ bowling Powerplay'. Now all these rules come under the category of 'the field restrictions'. ODI innings is divided into parts where there are certain rules, restrictions for the field placement such as number of fielders on a particular side, distance of fielders from batsman in certain overs etc. This field restriction rules are a little complex to understand. But when to get the idea, it becomes easier to understand the strategy of captains as to why they place certain fielders at certain place only. Or why Powerplay are taken instantly or delayed. Let's looks at what rules say:

• In any Powerplay/ non Powerplay over, there cannot be more than 5 fieldsmen on the leg side.
• In non Powerplay overs, there cannot be more than 5 fielders outside the field restriction area.
• Once a side nominates a Powerplay, the decision cannot be reversed.

The 30 Yard Circle

How is the field restriction area is marked? Two semi-circles, with 30 yard radius, are drawn on the field of play with center of the middle stump at either end of the pitch as their center. And they are connected by two parallel lines. (Many a times you must have heard ‘the 30 yard circle’- this is the area commentators refer to!) This - the field restriction area - is shown in blue color in adjacent picture.

During the first block of Powerplay Overs, only two fieldsmen are permitted outside this fielding restriction area. Two fieldsmen should be within the 15 yard from the batsman on strike (15 yard aread marked by the dotted circles, mostly seen as white discs on ground). However, this 15 yard restriction is not observed if fielders are standing in slip, leg slip or gully position. This is the ‘mandatory Powerplay’, as in, no team has any choice about its selection, always taken between over  number 1 to 10 i.e., at  commencement of an innings , marked as ‘P1’.

Tendulkar's List of 100 Centuries

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Sachin Tendulkar in Traditional 'Pheta'

Sachin Tendulkar! Well, the name speaks for the man himself. As described one of Sachin's online profiles, he is "Perhaps the most complete batsman and the most worshiped cricketer in the world, Tendulkar holds just about every batting record worth owning in the game, including those for most runs and hundreds in Tests and ODIs, and most international runs." Arguably, he is the best batsman, the world has ever seen! Non- arguably he is the highest test run scorer (15470), the highest ODI run getter (18260) AND, most centuries in both the formats (51 Test + 48 ODIs = 99 International Centuries).

As I write this, there is a huge talk in media about this year in which Sachin Tendulkar is unable to score a century. And rightly so, it's been more than a year that Sachin has failed to cross 100 figure mark in an international innings. After Dravid, few people, including legendary Kapil Dev, are asking Sachin to retire. But in all the commotion, what matters is how Sachin feels about himself. And if he thinks, he is fit enough - mentally and physically, to play, then he should, rather he must. It's privilege to watch Sachin Tendulkar bat.

Now, coming to the topic, Tendulkar's  List of Centuries! Today morning, when I woke up, I suddenly felt that today is the day when Sachin will reach the 100th Ton milestone. Let's see if my hunch turns out to be correct or not. But in the meantime, let's all cherish the other 99 internaltional hundreds Sachin Tendulkar has scored so far. There is another myth which I would like to rubbish- but that is at after this list.

Rahul Dravid

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'Rahul Dravid announced his retirement today from Test Cricket.' This can be the headline in tomorrow's news. Yes, Rahul Dravid is likely to announce his retirement, says the reports. Rahul Dravid- the Wall, well, words fail to describe the greatness of this man. First, I feel very sad to post about his retirement. But then, I am glad that 'Rahul Dravid' happened in Cricket, happened in India.

Rahul Dravid- What a batting profile!

Dravid, started his career with brilliant performances in Test Cricket. Then, he was stamped as the 'only' Test Cricket batsman, later proved himself in ODI Cricket. He adapted to the situation like nobody could have. Later, he took wicket - keeping responsibility so that his team could afford to play an extra batsman! Who can make such big sacrifices for team? Navjot Singh Sidhu, once said that 'if captain asks Dravid to walk on the path full of broken glasses, for the team, he will walk that path!' Such is the greatness of the man!

Asia Cup 2012

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While excitement for CB Series 2012, as to who will be playing finals against Australia, is still on, there comes buzz about the Asia Cup 2012 with the controversies surrounding the Team India selection. While Sehwag (and selectors) claim that he has been rested, nobody can buy this statement considering Sehwag's poor run with bat Down Under. Second, Gambhir is still in the team, why suddenly Virat Kohli was made Vice Captain? Anyway, any team selection cannot satisfy 100% of people and there will always be debates going on about what is correct and what is not- till the team wins!

Coming to the facts, following is Indian Squad selected for Asia Cup 2012:

CB Series 2012 Points Table

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After India's historic win over Sri Lanka, where they chased 321 runs in 36.4 overs at the loss of 3 wickets and claimed the bonus point, the race for finals in CB Series 2012, is still wide open. If Australia beats Sri Lanka in last league match, India will qualify for finals. Find out how:

Following stats are updated after the 11th CB Series Match played today.

CB Series Points Table:

Obstructing the Field

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India versus Australia, the 10th ODI of CB series being played on the bright Sunday Morning at beautiful Sydney. And there comes the 6th ball of 23rd over. The situation is- Wade plays ball to short covers and calls for a single run. David Hussey responds and takes off to the other end. Meanwhile- the lightning in field, Suresh Raina, picks up the ball single handed and throws to the end of wicket-keeper where David Hussey is running. While throw is in the air- travelling towards Dhoni, Hussey, who meanwhile reaches between the line of throw to the stumps, and stops it with his right hand- and completes the run. No sooner did Dhoni see Hussey stopping the ball, than he appealed to the square leg umpire with reference to the "Obstructing the Field" law of Cricket.

The umpires on field, very experienced, Simon Toufel and Billy Bowden went up stares for the Decision Review System and called 3rd umpire to make the final decision. Indian camp was together- making a huddle- almost pretty sure of decision. But after watching several camera angles and almost 3 to 4 minutes of reviews, the 3rd umpire- S.D. Fry came with decision that Hussey is Not Out! There was huge uproar from the Indian supporters in the ground and also a few words exchanged between Hussey and his best mates in Indian team ;-) . So, it was definite that Hussy had stopped ball using his hand, and still was not given out. What does the law say?

Meanwhile, Warner made an attacking half century.

Here it goes-

Poor Indian Batting Performance Continues

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It is said that when calamities strike, they strike from all directions. Indian team, trapped deep inside tornado, must have realized by now that this is the darkest hour of their cricketing life. If they have not realized, well, God help them! Perth debacle takes the tally to the straight 7th Test Match loss for India away from home. While the only match they won at home was against very weak West Indies side. And in that series too, India could have easily lost the last game, thanks to R Ashwin for the last over sensible batting, which saved the Test and series!

Batting: The real culprit

Last 7 Away Test Matches Batting 'non'- Performance

India vs Australia Boxing Day test match

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When India and Australia meet down under, one can rest assured that it's gonna be mouth-watering cricket. The boxing day test match between India and Australia was a perfect showpiece of  how interesting test matches can get. The balance of pendulum kept swinging in the direction of both teams - almost every day. On first day, both teams looked balanced, on second day, India looked on top with firm grip on match. At the stumps of very next day, again Australia had slight edge with respectable lead but India also in well within game. On stumps of 3rd day, Indian media almost declared that Indian team will give a good news on 4th day. But on contrary, 4th day ended with result in favor of Australia. The series which has been named as 'Agneepath' series (road filled with fire) in sensational promotional videos, is indeed Agneepath for both the teams.

Indian team has now lost 5th consecutive abroad test match. Has failed to cross 300 runs mark in last 9 innings. Though there were some brilliant individual performances, big guns have failed to perform when it mattered the most. And, Sachin again 'failed' to fulfill dreams of over a billion people by not scoring 100th 100.

Sometimes while appearing for exam, one feels that he is weak in certain area and when exam actually begins, he performs exceptionally well in that area and he fails to deliver in area where he was supposed to perform the best. The same thing happened with Indian team.